Recycling Al-Si Alloy by Semisolid Material Dragged during Continuous-Casting Strip Processing

Recycled Al–Si (9.2%) alloy contaminated with Fe (0.3%), Pb (3.1%) and Sn (11.4 %) was cast and poured at 650 oC, approximately 50 oC above the liquidus line. A cooling slope was used to obtain a semisolid material that feeds a ceramic nozzle designed to function as a good contact area for solidification and improve the quality of strip casting. The internally cooled material rolls in soluble oil (1 oil / 9 water) at a rate of 0.2 l/s and works as a heat exchanger which drags the metallic slurry puddle generated at the roll surface at a speed of 0.12 m/s. This forms a metallic strip with a thickness of 2 mm and a width varying from approximately 45 mm to 60 mm. The cooling system of the rolls, combined with four springs placed at the housing screw, prevented adhering of the metallic strip during production at a pressure of approximately 450 N. Cracks were observed on the strip surfaces; however, these defects did not interrupt the continuous flow of the solidified strip during manufacturing. The strip’s poor surface quality could be related to the Pb and Sn contamination as well as cold cracks due to the low pouring temperature. Al-Si eutectics positioned at a grain boundary of α-Al globular structures, as well as the presence of a Sn phase, resulted in a metallic strip with a yield stress, maximum stress and elongation of 94.5 MPa, 100.2 MPa and 1.6%, respectively.

Effect of indirect cryogenic cooling on the machining accuracy and tool vibration in the turning of polysulfone

Cutting deformation and cracks are common problems during the machining of precise polymer parts. This paper aims to explore the effect of different conditions on the contour profile of machined surfaces and tool vibration. Turning experiments of polysulfone (PSU) were performed under three conditions: dry, conventional flood cooling, and indirect cryogenic cooling. Then the formation mechanism of machined surfaces contour profile under different cutting conditions was clarified by the Eyring equation from the perspective of molecular chains relaxation time. Furthermore, extension models of crazing and cracks were proposed through the microscopic morphology of machined surfaces and the discriminant formula of crazing generation to explain the differences in tool vibration. The results indicated that the indirect cryogenic cooling condition with the internally cooled cutting tool could significantly improve the machinability of polysulfone, and have an excellent performance on the contour profile of machined surfaces with and the inhibition of crazing. Compared with dry and conventional flood cooling, indirect cryogenic cooling could reduce the mean of the Contour profile (Ra) by 40.3% and 30.1% and the machining accuracy error by 41% and 83%. The indirect cryogenic cooling method proposed in this work provides a reference for the cryogenic machining for polymers.

Experimental and Numerical Analysis of High-Speed Internally Cooled Milling

Advanced cooling technology is a crucial measure of thermal dissipation for high-speed end-milling. In order to get an appropriate cooling technology and decrease the negative effects of traditional wet cutting, internally cooled cutting has been paid more and more attention. Because of interrupted cutting and uneven force, there was few application and investigation on internally cooled end-milling. In the paper, the effect of the end-milling tool with different internally cooled channel structure has been researched by experiment and theoretical analysis. The experimental results indicate that the end-milling tool with double helix channels carried out best machined surface quality. And the experiment result was also been analyzed and explained by computational fluid dynamics simulation, which provides a basis for the applying of the high-speed internally cooled end-milling tool.