2012 Volume 53 Issue 10 Pages 1775-1781
Semisolid injection molding is expected to be increasingly utilized as a forming process applicable to highly flammable magnesium alloys, since it can be carried out at temperatures lower than those of die casting. In this study, we investigated the effects of molding conditions on the tensile strength and internal casting defects of AZ91D magnesium alloy. Semisolid injection molding was conducted at injection speeds of 220, 300 and 400 mm·s−1 and fraction solids of 0.0, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5. Whereas the volume fraction of casting defects decreased together with the decrease of injection speed, the mechanical strength reached a maximum at an injection speed of 300 mm·s−1. The investigation results show that in the solidification microstructure, α-Mg and β-Mg17Al12 phases, which were liquid during injection, were refined at higher injection speeds, suggesting that the tensile strength increases together with the injection speed if there are no casting defects. This trend might be due to the increased heat transfer coefficient between the mold and the slurry from the higher flow rate. On the other hand, the volume fraction of casting defects increased together with injection speed, and as a result the tensile strength deteriorated. When the injection speed was increased, the effects of decreased strength due to the increase in the volume fraction of casting defects counterbalanced the effects of increased strength due to the refinement of α-Mg + β-Mg17Al12 mixed phase. For this reason, the mechanical strength is considered to reach a maximum at an injection speed of 300 mm·s−1. Thus, we demonstrated that the tensile strength of semisolid products is affected not only by the volume fraction of casting defects, but also by the microstructure of the residual mixed phase precipitated, which is refined by increasing the injection speed.
