Journal of Materials Processing Technology 96 (1999) 59±72

Mathematical and computational modeling of

die ®lling in semisolid metal processing
Andreas Alexandroua,*, Franc,ois Bardineta, Willem LoueÂb
a
Semisolid Materials Processing Laboratory, Material Processing Institute, WPI, Worcester, MA 01609, USA
b
PECHINEY Centre de Recherche de Voreppe BP 27, 38340 Voreppe, France

Received 19 March 1998

Abstract

Semisolid metal processing is gaining interest very rapidly in the casting industry. It offers distinct advantages over other near-net-shape
technologies, such as a more homogeneous microstructure, less porosity and thus improved mechanical properties. A perfect control of die
®lling during processing is however necessary, especially in the case of semisolid forming of aluminum, where a non-controlled die ®lling
can lead to oxide inclusions.
Numerical simulation can be used to predict die ®lling, and hence to optimize the die design. However, the constitutive behavior of
semisolid metals is quite complex. Their non-Newtonian behavior depends not only on the volume fraction of liquid, but also on the metal's
history prior to processing, and the processing conditions.
In this study, a ``Bingham type'', or Herschel±Bulkley constitutive relation is introduced, capable of describing correctly the bulk
behavior of the semisolid slurry. This constitutive equation is implemented in a modi®ed version of the casting simulation package PAM
CAST SIMULOR. Simulations for the ®lling of 2-D and 3-D cavities using different injection speeds and material parameters are
presented. The results are in good agreement with experimental evidences featuring similar geometric characteristics. Optimization of die
design using numerical simulation is also introduced. # 1999 Published by Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction can be used in process optimization and design. Consistent

Semisolid metal forming is a relatively new technology,
®rst explored in the early 1970s by Flemings and his cow-
orkers [1,2]. In this process, cast parts are produced from
slurries kept at a temperature between the solidus and the
liquidus isotherms. This process produces complex parts
with better metallurgical quality when compared to parts
made by regular liquid casting. It also allows net-shape
forming, reducing further machining operations. The pro-
cess combines the advantages of both liquid metal casting
and solid metal forging.
The rheological theory governing semisolid materials
during the shape-making operations is not very well devel-
oped. A complete understanding requires a two-phase model
that describes both solid-solid and solid±liquid interactions.
Current knowledge base has not developed to the extent to
make this possible. However, due to the rapid development
of the process, and its application to many manufacturing
processes, there is an urgent need for reliable models that
*
Corresponding author.
with this need, we introduce a phenomenological constitu-
tive relation that describes with ®delity the available experi-
mental results and can be used to study the bulk behavior of
semisolid slurries.
Following a description of the important features of both
the process and material behavior, we introduce a constitu-
tive relation to model the rheology of semisolid slurries. This
relation is implemented in a modi®ed version of the casting
and solidi®cation package PAM CAST SIMULOR, devel-
oped by ALUMINIUM PECH1NEY, CISI and ESI/PSI.
These modi®cations are then applied to modeling 2-D ¯ow
in a pipe. Finally, the simulation results for 2-D and 3-D cast
pieces are presented together with a parametric study on the
in¯uence of the constitutive parameters on the ®lling
process.
The objective is to describe, as accurately as possible, the
major characteristics of the ¯ow behavior, in order to use the
simulation to improve die design and processing conditions
by predicting the ¯ow pattern and the possible formation of
defects. This information reduces the need for expensive
trial and error experimental approach.

0924-0136/99/$ ± see front matter # 1999 Published by Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 9 2 4 - 0 1 3 6 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 3 1 6 - 7
60 A. Alexandrou et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 96 (1999) 59±72
2. Background
Semisolid casting is a two-step process. The slurry pro-
cessed in the mushy state requires a ®ne globular micro-
structure, in order to reduce its resistance to shear. In the ®rst
stage, the raw material is processed so that during solidi®ca-
tion of the alloy melt, the dendrites that usually form are
destroyed either by mechanical or by electromagnetic stir-
ring. Due to stirring, the dendrites arms break into small
parts, which evolve towards a spherical shape. At low solid
fractions (fs < 0.5), the globular microstructure prevents the
solid phase from forming a coherent network. In the second
stage, the stirred billets are reheated to a temperature in the
mushy zone and processed into ®nal parts. Reheating of the
billets must be handled with special caution since the solid
fraction in the mushy zone is sensitive to small temperature
variations. In practice, billets are reheated in several stages,
usually by induction. The reheating during the early stages is
very fast in order to allow the temperature to reach a high
value in short time. Afterwards, the reheating is slower, in
order to obtain the required temperature and to homogenize
the temperature distribution throughout the billet. Finally,
each billet is injected in a die with a piston operating at
constant speed. Depending on the assigned processing
requirements, and the ability of the casting press, this speed
may range between 1 mm/s and 5 m/s.
Semisolid processing has three major characteristics: (a) the
material viscosity during processing is higher than the visc-
osity of the liquid alloy, (b) the shrinkage of the ®nal cast piece
during solidi®cation is smaller than during normal casting, and
(c) due to the lower operating temperature the internal energy is
also lower than in regular casting conditions.
The viscosity of liquid aluminum is as low as that of
water, around 0.001 Pa s. In contrast, semisolid slurries
exhibit a much larger viscosity, depending on both their
microstructure and the local solid fraction. The viscosity can
vary over a large range, from 0.1 Pa s to 1 MPa s. Therefore,
the ¯ow during the injection process remains mostly lami-
nar, which allows a progressive ®lling of the die, thus
preventing recirculation of the slurry and air entrapment.
As the slurry is already partially solid, the shrinkage
during solidi®cation is smaller, thus allowing casting to
almost net-shape, with the ®nal part being closer to the
nominal dimensions. It is also possible to design complex
geometries while reducing the need for further machining
operations. The cost of the processing operation is therefore
reduced. The pressure drop in the piece due to shrinkage is
much smaller than during regular casting, and hydrogen
porosity is also less likely to occur. The compactness of the
cast piece is higher, leading to improved mechanical proper-
ties. Additionally, as the slurry remains partially solid during
the casting operations, the microstructure is controlled
throughout the entire process. The microstructure of the
solid part is very similar to that of the semisolid slurry. The
liquid phase is almost at eutectic composition and solidi®es
with very little diffusion.
Finally, processing in the semisolid state uses less thermal
energy than liquid casting. This is due to the fact that the
injection temperature is lower than typical operating tem-
peratures during casting operations. Also, the lower tem-
perature reduces the amount of heat to be extracted during
cooling, thus decreasing the cycle time. With faster produc-
tion cycle, and smaller thermal stresses, die productivity and
durability are higher than for other processes [3].
These advantages make semisolid processing a very
attractive technology. However, its applications are limited
to speci®c parts, for either physical or economical reasons.
Semisolid casting cannot be implemented for every alloy.
Near eutectic alloys and almost pure metals cannot be used
in this process, since it is practically impossible to obtain a
uniform temperature pro®le in the reheated slug. There is
also a limitation on the size of the ®nal pieces. For the
reheating process to be successful, billets cannot exceed a
certain weight. Their height is also limited, in order to
prevent them from collapsing when left standing in the
semisolid state. Finally, the ®rst stage of the process (billets
casting) increases the cost of the raw material. The imple-
mentation of the process in an industrial environment
requires also a large initial investment. As a result, this
process is limited to small to average size cast pieces (less
than 10 kg) with mass production that require very good
mechanical properties. Automotive parts precisely meet
these criteria and production lines using this process have
already been implemented [4].
2.1. Importance of modeling
The ¯ow of semisolid slurries in shape making operations
is highly unsteady, which signi®cantly in¯uences the overall
quality of the ®nal product. In order to develop a better
understanding of the process and to optimize the operation,
it is important to gain a deeper insight into the underlying
theoretical and physical concepts associated with such
materials.
Most of the reported works are primarily devoted to the
experimental understanding of the rheology. Currently, it is
well-documented [5] that during steady state ¯ow, the
semisolid materials show a shear thinning thixotropic beha-
vior. The apparent viscosity decreases with an increase of
the applied shear rate. Additionally, Brown et al. [6] reported
that these materials behave differently during rapid proces-
sing conditions; instead of shear thinning, they show shear-
thickening behavior. In addition, experimental results show
that these materials can resist ®nite shear stresses, hence
behaving like Bingham ¯uids.
The discrepancy between the available experimental
results is due to the complexity of semisolid slurry. In the
mushy state, the mixture is a dense suspension made up of
liquid metal and solid particles. The average solid volume
fraction is a function of the bulk temperature of the suspen-
sion which, as the temperature varies from the liquidus to the
 A. Alexandrou et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 96 (1999) 59±72
solidus limits, changes from zero to unity. Correspondingly,
in the two-phase region, the viscosity of the suspension
changes signi®cantly. However, even at constant tempera-
ture, the internal microstructure is not permanent, but
changes continuously due to the packing of the solid
phase.
Implicit in the above discussion is the fact that the
behavior of the slurry is highly time-dependent. At rest,
the solid globules tend to agglomerate, whereas at high shear
rate, the liquid±solid and the solid-solid interactions destroy
these links, thus decreasing the apparent viscosity of the
slurry. Therefore, depending on the elapsed time and the
processing history, the material exhibits a hysteresis beha-
vior. The material behavior is also a strong function of
interparticule dynamics. Under rapidly increasing shear rate,
the stress increases, thus illustrating the slurry's strong
resistance to deformation, due to solid-solid particle inter-
actions. When the shear rate remains constant, the micro-
structure evolves towards its steady state and the associated
stress levels decrease. This behavior was described exten-
sively by Brown et al. [6]. They emphasized that a precise
description of the ¯ow behavior requires complete knowl-
edge of the microstructure during the process. In their work,
the history dependence of the slurry was introduced using a
model based on an internal variable approach. The internal
variable was related to the microstructure of the material, or
more precisely to the degree of agglomeration. The agglom-
eration variable measured the links between particles, with
zero indicating the case when the links were all separated,
and one when they are all linked. However, this model does
not account for the Bingham behavior of the slurry and it is
dif®cult to implement numerically.
Loue [7] studied experimentally the stress±strain rate
relationship for semisolid slurries over a large range of
conditions. He performed both backward extrusion and
parallel plates compression. Therefore, it was possible to
study the viscous behavior over a very large range in
apparent shear stress, from 10ÿ3 to 103 sÿ1 including very
low shear rates. In addition to the shear-thinning behavior,
he documented the existence of a ®nite yield stress. If the
loading is less than a ®nite stress level, the slurry does not
deform, thus behaving like a solid. This is quite obvious, as
semisolid billets maintain their original shape (i.e. they
support their own weight) when left standing. This
yield stress depends on the solid fraction of the slurry; at
very low solid fraction (less than 0.2), the yield stress is
negligible, since the slurry is essentially liquid with sus-
pended particles. At higher solid fractions, the slurry
becomes a porous solid and can no longer be considered
as a liquid.
From these results, Sigworth [8] determined the variation
of the yield stress  0 as a function of the solid fraction fs for
the alloy Al-Si7 under steady state condition as:
fs3
 0 ˆ 9615 …Pa† with fm ˆ 0:6:
fm ÿfs
61
The yield stress also depends on the microstructure of the
slurry, since a dendritic network will result in a much higher
resistance to shear than a globular microstructure. Eq. (1)
describes a slurry with a globular microstructure.
As stated above, a complete description of the behavior of
semisolid materials requires a two-phase model that
accounts for the liquid±particle, particle±particle and parti-
cle±die wall interactions along with the thermal response of
the mixture. However, at present, our knowledge of the
material is not at the level to make this possible. A simpler
alternative approach is to describe the most important
features of the process as documented experimentally, by
developing models that accurately describe the bulk beha-
vior. However, a number of two-phase models using basic
solid and ¯uid mechanics ideas are currently being devel-
oped [9±11].
3. Proposed rheology
In this work, we use a single-phase model introduced by
Ahmed and Alexandrou [12] and Alexandrou [13,14]. The
model is based on a Herschel±Bulkley constitutive ¯uid,
which is a combination of a Bingham ¯uid and a ``power
law'' ¯uid. The Bingham behavior takes into account the
®nite yield shear, and the power law considers both shear-
thinning and thickening behavior. The viscous stress tensor
is given by:
8   p9
< 0 1ÿexp ÿm DII =2 =
p
 ij ˆ D ; (2a)
: DII =2 ; ij
 ˆ K…DII =2†…nÿ1†=2 ; (2b)
where Dij = uij + uj,i and DII is the second invariant of the
deformation rate tensor.  0 is the finite yield stress the
semisolid slurry can sustain without deformation. When
the local stress is larger than  0 the slurry behaves as a
non-Newtonian fluid. m controls the exponential rise in the
stress at small rates of strain and depending on the value of
the power law coefficient n, the behavior is either shear-
thinning (n < l) or shear-thickening (n > l). This continuous
Bingham law is similar to the one introduced by Pananas-
tasiou [15], and modified to include the ``power law''
behavior of the material. According to the experimental
evidence to date [6±8],  0 and n are functions of the solid
volume fraction, temperature and processing history (i.e.
time). In this work,  0 is expressed using Eq. (1), where fs is
directly related to the temperature using the phase diagram
of aluminum±silicon alloys. The exponent n is assumed to
be a function of the rate of change of the rate of strain. These
parameters can be established by extensive experimentation.
The relationship between the state of the material and the
power law exponent was not identified in detail, and most
(1)
computations were performed with n = 1.
62 A. Alexandrou et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 96 (1999) 59±72

4. Numerical simulations Continuity equation for the gas:

@ 1 DP
All numerical simulations were performed using the ÿ ‡ r
……1ÿ†~
v† ‡ …1ÿ† ˆ 0: (4)
casting and solidi®cation simulation package PAM CAST @t P Dt
SIMULOR [16±18]. It is a ®nite volume software developed Momentum equation:
by ALUMINIUM PECHINEY, CISI and ESI/PSI. PAM  
  ~
ÿ ‡   ~
ÿ
CAST SIMULOR simulates ¯uid ¯ow, heat transfer and @~
v rP f f f g g g
phase transformation. In post-processing, it also predicts ˆ ÿ  ÿ~ v‡ 
v
r~ 
@t f f ‡ g g f f ‡ g g
porosity in the cast piece. The ®lling is described using a
two-component (¯uid and air) model. By assuming that the r
…f f  f r~
v†
‡ : (5)
¯uid is incompressible, the mass and momentum conserva- f f ‡ g g
tion equations can be written as:
Continuity equation for the ¯uid: Energy equation:
@ @H
‡ r
…~
v† ˆ 0: (3) ˆ r…rT † ‡ SH ÿr…H~
v†: (6)
@t @t

Fig. 1. (a) Schematic of the test problem; (b) comparison between the exact analytic solution and the numerical simulation; (c and d) comparison between a
Newtonian velocity profile and a Bingham type profile.
 A. Alexandrou et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 96 (1999) 59±72 63

At any given location, the velocities of the ¯uid and the

gas are considered identical. H is the enthalpy of the ¯uid±
gas mixture and SH is an enthalpy source term. The viscous
heat dissipation is currently neglected but it will be imple-
mented in the next version of the software.
SIMULOR solves the mass balance equation for the
gas and for the ¯uid. In the total momentum conservation
equation, gas and ¯uid contributions are both included for
the calculation of the density and the body forces. However,
the gas viscous contribution is neglected. Finally, the gas
contribution in the energy equation is also neglected.

5. Results and discussion

5.1. Study of the flow field for a Bingham fluid

In the ®rst part of this study, the constitutive Bingham

parameters are set constant and independent of the proces-
sing conditions. Before studying the unsteady ¯ow during
die ®lling, the accuracy of the modi®ed version of PAM
CAST SIMULOR was tested in the ®lling of a long, 2-D
pipe, 5 cm wide (Fig. 1a). This simulation eventually
describes the steady state ¯ow, since the outlet of the pipe
was left open at constant pressure. At the inlet, this pipe was
®lled with ¯uid at constant velocity (0.1 m/s). Since the pipe
is long relative to its width, the velocity pro®le becomes Fig. 2. Comparison between filling of an actual experimental part and
filling obtained from simulations.
fully developed away from the inlet.
At the outlet of the pipe, the fully developed ¯ow obtained
numerically ( 0 = 10 Pa, n = 1, m = 100 and K = 0.1) was
found to be identical to the exact analytic solution. Both
results are plotted in Fig. 1b. Fig. 1c and d show the
difference between a typical Newtonian velocity pro®le
and a Bingham type pro®le. Due to the ®nite yield stress,
the velocity pro®le for the Bingham case shows a large
unyielded area where the material in the center part ¯ows
like a solid. This behavior can be important during proces-
sing in locations where the stresses are small. In such places
it is likely to have uniform microstructure as the slurry does
not deform signi®cantly. A similar result was obtained for
the ¯ow in a circular pipe. The Bingham type velocity pro®le
shows a large circular unyielded domain at the center of the Fig. 3. Geometry of the 2-D die.
¯ow.
Fig. 2 shows the comparison between actual ®lling of an
experimental part using an aluminum semisolid slurry and  0 depend on temperature. Under these circumstances, the
the ®lling obtained using the code described above. As balance equations of mass (3) and (4) and momentum (5)
shown in the ®gure despite the complex rheology of the uncouple from the energy equation (6). Consequently, velo-
material and geometry the simulated results agree fairly well city and pressure can be found calculating the temperature.
with the ®lling obtained in the experiments. Using n = 1,  0 = 25 kPa, m = l00, K = 1, we simulated the
®lling of a cavity in two dimensions, as shown in Fig. 3. The
die is 19 cm long, the main cavity is 12 cm long and 10 cm
5.2. Influence of numerical and physical parameters on the wide. Under these conditions, the ¯uid is an ideal Bingham
filling process material.
Fig. 4a±c represents the results for a Newtonian slurry
The simulation results presented in this section are also (A356, viscosity: 0.001 Pa s), and Fig. 5a±c corresponds to
based on the simplifying assumption that neither n, m, K nor the non-Newtonian behavior. The boundary conditions are
64 A. Alexandrou et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 96 (1999) 59±72
Fig. 4. Newtonian filling of the 2-D cavity.
the same in both cases, with a velocity of 0.5 m/s applied at
the inlet, therefore, the ®lling rate is the same for both
simulations. Under these conditions, the Newtonian ®lling
turns out to be turbulent. The ¯ow in various parts of the die
develops zones of recirculation. Fig. 4c shows vortices in
both, the upper and lower corners of the cavity. As a
consequence, in a real process air entrapment is very likely
to occur, resulting in a poor metallurgical quality of the cast
part. The Bingham simulation leads to very different beha-
vior, the material front remains rather ¯at (Fig. 5a) and
®lling occurs in a much more progressive fashion (Fig. 5b
and c). Once the end of the cavity is ®lled, the slurry remains
stagnant in that area. Furthermore, there is no recirculation
in the last steps of ®lling, showing the potential of the
process to prevent damage due to air entrapment. However,
experiments show instabilities that are not yet reproduced by
isothermal simulations with constant model parameters.
Experimental observations indicate that the slurry hits the
die wall, and de¯ects to only one side (``tooth-paste''
behavior).
Figs. 6 and 7 show the in¯uence of the yield stress and the
power law exponent on ®lling time (time required to fully ®ll
the cavity) at constant applied pressure at the inlet (50 kPa).
Fig. 6 represents the variation of the ®lling time as function
of the ®nite stress  0 (n = l, m = 100, K = 1). When  0 = 0,
the behavior is Newtonian and the ®lling time is very short
(less than 0.1 s). As  0 increases, the ®lling time becomes
longer. For a given yield stress, there is a minimum inlet
pressure that must be applied in order to enable the ®lling to
proceed. Fig. 7 shows the in¯uence of the power law
exponent n on ®lling time ( 0 = 20 kPa, m = 100, K = 1).
When n > 1, the rheological behavior of the slurry is shear-
thickening and as expected, due to the increased viscosity,
the ®lling time is longer. On the contrary, the ®lling time is
shorter at small values of the exponent (n < 1).
Fig. 8 represents the relationship between applied pres-
sure, velocity at the entrance of the die, and the yield stress.
The other parameters remain constant (n = l, m = 100,
K = 1). At a constant yield stress, this graph emphasizes
that, a large increase of injection speed leads only in a small
 A. Alexandrou et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 96 (1999) 59±72 65

Fig. 5. Bingham filling of the 2-D cavity.

Fig. 6. Influence of the Bingham yield stress on the filling time. Fig. 7. Influence of the power law exponent on the filling time.
66 A. Alexandrou et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 96 (1999) 59±72
Fig. 8. Relation between the inlet velocity, the Bingham yield stress.
variation of the resulting maximum pressure at the inlet;
when multiplying the velocity by 100, the resulting pressure
at the inlet is multiplied only by 1.5. This indicates the small
contribution of the viscous stress compared to the yield
stress. Fig. 9 shows the ®lling time as a function of the
applied pressure. This picture puts into evidence that a
minimum inlet pressure (around 20 kPa) is required for
the ®lling of the die to proceed under these conditions
( 0 = 25 kPa, n = l, m = 100, K = 1).
We also studied the dynamics of ®lling of a 3-D cavity
with a core, which exhibits several distinct features speci®c
to the non-Newtonian behavior. The cavity is similar to the
previous one, but its thickness (in the third direction) is
2.5 cm. The core is a cylinder with diameter of 5 cm at the
location shown by the Fig. 10. The parameters of the
Bingham law are the same for the two following simulations
( 0 = 25 kPa, n = 1, m = 100, K = 1).
Fig. 11a±c represent the ®lling of the die with a New-
tonian liquid, using the same cavity with a core discussed
earlier, with a constant inlet velocity (0.5 m/s). As expected,
recirculation zones developed. Fig. 12a±c show the same
casting steps for semisolid slurry. The ®lling is more pro-
gressive and the metal front remains approximately ¯at. The
Fig. 9. Influence of the pressure applied at the inlet on the filling time.
Fig. 10. Geometry of the 3-D cavity.
two entrance corners of the die are ®lled before the rest of the
cavity. At the last step, the two metal fronts meet, forming a
¯ow rewelding line behind the core. These numerical results
are in very good agreement with experimental results.
Additionally, it is important to notice that in the Newtonian
case, the velocity vectors at the rewelding front point
towards the core, whereas in the Bingham case, they point
away from the core.
5.3. Temperature dependence
As pointed out earlier, semisolid materials are very sen-
sitive to the process parameters, especially the temperature
and the microstructure. As billets are cast in the semisolid
state, their solid fraction varies between zero (fully liquid
slurry) and one (fully solid) over a small temperature range.
During normal casting, the temperature variation during
®lling is not always taken into account, since it does not
affect the rheology of the material. On the contrary, semi-
solid slurries are very sensitive to temperature.
Before processing, the mold is usually heated up to a
temperature between 2008C and 3008C, which is still much
lower than the temperature of the slurry. As a consequence,
the material along the wall of the mold is cooling faster than
the center of the die and, therefore solidi®es earlier. As a
result, the slurry effectively ¯ows between boundaries made
by already solidi®ed alloy, which largely modi®es the ¯ow
pattern. The other important feature is the freezing of the
metal front. The metal front naturally cools down because of
its contact with the air in the mold and the fact that the
material there has the longest residence time. If the metal
front freezes in narrow sections, the ®lling of the cavity will
stop and the cast part will remain incomplete.
In our work, we introduced the temperature dependence
by making the yield stress a function of temperature. As a
result, the balance of mass, momentum and energy are all
coupled and must be solved simultaneously. The evolution
of the yield stress with the solid fraction was introduced as
 A. Alexandrou et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 96 (1999) 59±72
Fig. 11. Newtonian filling of the 3-D cavity.
documented by Loue [7] and Sigworth [8]. We derived the
temperature dependence from the Al±Si phase diagram and
Eq. (1). The yield stress±temperature curve in Fig. 13 was
obtained by interpolation using a number of points. We
studied the temperature dependence on a slightly modi®ed
mold having a thin section attached to it, as shown in
Fig. 14. The other parameters of the constitutive relation
are assumed to be constant (n = 1, m = 100 and K = 1).
We performed non-isothermal numerical simulations by
considering several inlet velocities, from 0.2 to 2 m/s, and
the results are presented in Fig. 15. These results show the
velocity ®eld in the three cases for the same ®lling fraction
(90%). For a high inlet velocity (Fig. 15a, 2 m/s), the
material along the wall solidi®es only in the corner of the
cavity, and therefore the ®lling proceeds until completion.
For an intermediate velocity (Fig. 15b, 0.5 m/s), the material
solidi®es along the wall during ®lling and the velocity at
these locations is almost zero. Nevertheless, the ®lling under
these conditions proceeds until the die is fully ®lled. Finally,
Fig. 15c shows the ¯ow ®eld for an inlet velocity of 0.2 m/s.
67
At the same ®lling fraction, not only the slurry along the wall
is solid, but the metal front as well. When the temperature
reaches 5708C, the material can no longer ¯ow. Since the
fully solidi®ed condition is represented numerically by a
sudden increase in viscosity, the transition between semi-
solid and solid states only results in a dramatic increase of
viscosity. As the ¯ow rate is ®xed at the inlet, the numerical
®lling continues, even if this is no longer realistic. Fig. 16
represents the evolution of the pressure at the entrance of the
die during ®lling, as a function of the ®lling rate. The results
for an inlet velocity of 2 m sÿ1 indicate a progressive
increase of the pressure during ®lling. The curve for an
inlet velocity of 0.2 m sÿ1 exhibits a sudden jump in pres-
sure for t = 1.35 s. This point indicates that the front has
frozen and that the ®lling can no longer proceed.
This example points out the signi®cant role of computer
simulation for semisolid die-casting. It enables one to
optimize processing conditions in order to obtain high
quality cast parts. It also reduces the number of trial and
error tests, which are both costly and time consuming.
68 A. Alexandrou et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 96 (1999) 59±72

Fig. 12. Bingham filling of the 3-D cavity.

Fig. 14. Modification of the 3-D cavity (addition of a thin section).

Fig. 13. Influence of the temperature on the Bingham yield stress.

5.4. History dependence
As mentioned earlier, the rheological behavior of semi-
solid materials depends strongly on the history of the billet
prior to processing and on the evolution of the microstruc-
ture during shape making. Under steady shear, the micro-
structure evolves towards a ``steady con®guration'', while
the effective viscosity decreases. During rapid transients, the
microstructure does not have enough time to change, and
therefore, the effective viscosity increases. In order to
 A. Alexandrou et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 96 (1999) 59±72 69

Fig. 15. Effect of the inlet velocity and the temperature on the flow profile.

account for this behavior, we modi®ed the model by calcu-

Fig. 16. Evolution of the pressure at the inlet during filling.
lating the rate of change of the rate of strain to decide
whether the material is in steady state (n < 1) or unsteady
conditions (n > 1).
@DII @DII
")n > 1; <")n<1;
@t @t
where  is a predefined limit indicating steady or unsteady
conditions. A more precise description would involve the
tracking of the history of deformation of each particle of the
slurry, which is very difficult to achieve within the present
framework. Within the accuracy limits of the single-phase
model, the simple approach suggested here provides a
reasonable alternative. Consistent though with earlier results
for this geometry, the effect of changing n on the flow field is
not significant. However, the other parameters, such as inlet
pressure and filling time (Fig. 7), are modified.
70 A. Alexandrou et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 96 (1999) 59±72
Fig. 17. Bingham filling of the 3-D cavity with a thin section.
5.5. Use of numerical simulation for die design
Die design is a major issue in semisolid material proces-
sing. For instance, the die must be designed properly to
avoid early freezing. Additionally, since in aluminum pro-
cessing oxides develop over free surfaces, rewelding of melt
Fig. 18. Modification of the 3-D cavity (addition of an overflow).
fronts is a major concern; when two melt fronts merge, the
oxide ®lms present at the surface become imbedded in the
part, thus reducing its mechanical properties. Using the
numerical code, the localization of these rewelding zones
can be predicted and the die design can be optimized to
remove these rewelding zones, or have them developed in a
non-critical zone of the part. The mold described in Fig. 14
(where the thin extension is added) is a possible option to
remove the rewelding zone from the main cavity. As shown
in Fig. 17, the slurry penetrates the thin section after the two
¯ows merged. Filling then proceeds and the oxide layer is
pushed out of the main cavity. This numerical result is in
good agreement with experimental evidence. These results
also emphasizes the solid like behavior of semisolid slurries;
®lling of thin sections starts only after the complete ®lling of
the thicker area.
Another option to remove the entrapped oxide layer is to
design an over¯ow cavity behind the core (Fig. 18).
When both metal fronts merge, and form an oxide
layer, it is subsequently pushed in the over¯ow cavity
 A. Alexandrou et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 96 (1999) 59±72
Fig. 19. Bingham filling of the 3-D cavity with an overflow.
(Fig. 19). Therefore, the high quality of the part is main-
tained. The location of such over¯ow cavities can be easily
identi®ed and designed properly using numerical simula-
tions. The alternative is a very expensive process by trial and
error.
6. Discussion and conclusion
Numerical simulation of die ®lling is essential in the
design and optimization of semisolid forming processes like
thixocasting. Thixocasting is an emerging process and the
experimental knowledge is still rather limited. Numerical
simulation gives the opportunity to identify better proces-
sing conditions without performing extensive experimenta-
tion. Furthermore, it allows to identify most potential
problems occurring during ®lling even before producing
the die, which can be improved before physical testing. The
simultaneous development of the thixoforming process and
numerical simulation is a unique opportunity. Liquid casting
71
was fully documented well before the development of
computer aided design. On the other hand, numerical simu-
lation in thixoforming and experimental evidences simulta-
neously contribute to expand our knowledge of this
emerging process. The complete description of the rheology
of semisolid materials requires a two-phase model that can
separately follow the liquid and solid phases. For example
the present model cannot describe the segregation of the
liquid phase. Due to shearing, the solid globules tend to pack
at the center of the ¯ow and the liquid fraction increases at
the walls of the die. This results in a decrease of the apparent
viscosity, and the resistance to ¯ow is lower. This behavior
can only be captured when all interactions between the die
walls, the liquid phase and the solid globules are accounted
for separately. Current knowledge of the process and today's
computer resources make this approach dif®cult at the
present time. However, such models may revealed to be
essential in the coming years.
In the absence of such models, attempts to describe the
bulk behavior of these materials can be extremely useful in
72 A. Alexandrou et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 96 (1999) 59±72

the optimization of real processes. As demonstrated in this acknowledges to ®nancial support of ALUMINIUM
study, the Herschel±Bulkley constitutive model used here PECHINEY.
reproduces with good agreement many experimental obser-
vations. Despite the simplicity of the model, it is capable of
describing many characteristics of this non-Newtonian ®ll- References
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