Preparation of AlSi9Mg alloy semi-solid slurry by electromagnetic stirring combined with mechanical vibration

The electromagnetic stirring combined with mechanical stirring (EMSCMV) method was developed for preparing the AlSi9Mg alloy semi-solid slurry. The experimental results demonstrate that, the preparation of semi-solid slurry by EMSCMV is sufficient to obtain fine microstructure of billet. The primary α-Al particles are small, spherical and uniform throughout the microstructure. When increasing the stirring power and the vibrating power, the size of primary α-Al particles decreases while the shape factor increases, and its distribution is more uniform. The fine microstructure of billet prepared by EMSCMV was obtained at the stirring power of 2.0~2.4 kW and vibrating power of 0.8 kW. © (2013) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.