Experimental Study and FEM Simulation of the Effect of Significant Parameters in the Thixoforging of the Gearbox Cap

Semi-solid forming processes are now used for producing near net shape parts especially in the automotive and aircraft industries. Non Newtonian rheology of semisolid alloys and its dependence on the various parameters such as reheating cycle, method used to produce non-dendritic structure, thermo-shear history etc. have made the simulation of the flow behavior of semisolid material a difficult mater in engineering. One of the semi-solid forming processes is thixoforging process. Thixoforming takes place between liquidous and solidous temperature and liquid phase and solid one that exists at the same time. The significant parameters in this method can be strain rate, friction and temperature terms. In this research, the simulation of thixoforging process is done using Deform-3D software and parameters such as friction factor, process temperature and rams speeds are studied. In order to verify the model, thixoforging tests were conducted with various parameters and under isothermal conditions on the A356 Alloy. The comparison of numerical results at different solid fractions with experimental data is shown. These simulations can provide an accurate model of the process. Also the simulation results had shown the effects of various parameters. Results showed that increasing the mould temperature, causes more inhomogeneous microstructure and therefore the hardness and forming force decreased %12.5 and %20.6 respectively