A Rheological Model of Semisolid Magnesium Alloy Slurries

In this paper a rheological model is presented which describes the rheological behaviors of liquid-like semisolid magnesium alloy under a simple shearing flow. On the basis of Chen and Fan’s mono-dispersion microstructure model of semisolid metal slurry, the particle size distribution is considered in this model. It is believed that it is the state of agglomeration which determines the rheological behaviors of the slurry, whereas the external flow conditions such as shear rate and shearing time, affect the rheological properties by changing the state of agglomeration. The expressions of collision rate between two agglomerates, effective solid fraction and the formula of apparent viscosity of Chen and Fan’s model are corrected according to the experimental results and statistical mechanics. Finally calculated apparent viscosity and the average number of the particles of AZ91D by the developed model as functions of shear rate are presented. These results show that there is a one to one coupling between the rheological properties of the magnesium alloy slurries and the state of the agglomeration.