Rheoforging of Steel

Rheoforging is a modification of semi-solid forging starting directly from the liquid phase instead of reheating of a billet. In this process semi-solid slurry is prepared by pouring slightly overheated melt over a slope into a holding cup to induce homogenous nucleation. By controlling the casting temperature and holding time in the cup the desired semi-solid slurry with fine, globular microstructure is successfully created. The inline forging trials using this slurry show the principal feasibility of the process.