Particle and liquid motion in semi-solid aluminium alloys: A quantitative in situ microradioscopy study

Semi-solid melts exhibit a very unpredictable rheology and filling dynamics, when injected into thin-walled components. Optimization of the process requires an insight into the casting process during injection. For this purpose we injected semi-solid an Al–Ge alloy into two different thin channel geometries while recording high resolution radiographs at fast frame rates (up to 1000 images per s). Comparison of a bottleneck channel, which has previously been used for slower experiments, with a right-angle turn geometry reveals a significant influence of the channel shape on the flow behaviour of the particle–liquid mixture. While the bottleneck is quickly sealed with densified solid, turbulences in the right-angle turn apparently permit solid particles and clusters to move conjointly with the liquid and thus achieve a more complete filling. Single particle trajectories and rapid break-up of solid skeletons in such a system have been observed for the first time in situ.