Based on analysis of the main forming methods for double-layer tube,a new short-term forming process called thixo-co-extrusion was put forward in producing double-layer tube by combining the semi-solid forming technology and multi-billet extrusion technology.By means of forward extrusion with shaft,a finite element model of thixo-co-extrusion with A356/AZ91 was constructed by ABAQUS FEM software.The distributions of temperature field and velocity field as well as the contact force during thixo-co-extrusion were studied.The diffusion on the interfaces between inner and outer metals was analyzed.The simulation results show that,in the beginning of thixo-co-extrusion,the uneven wall thickness can appear.To thickness ratio of 5:5,a double layer tube with good inner and outer wall combination can be realized if VA356 is 0.12 m/s and VAZ91 is 0.20 m/s.
The rapid development of electronic packaging industry has resulted in higher requirement for packaging materials.The packaging material of SiC reinforced A356 aluminum alloy was fabricated by mechanical mixing method,and the SiCp/Al composite billet was formed by thixo-forging to manufacture the electronic packaging shell.The microstructure of the produced part was investigated.Two different thixo-forging procedures for manufacturing electronic packaging shell were analyzed.The results show that after being heated to 600 ℃ and held for 3 h,SiCp has good compatibility with A356 aluminum alloy and the SiCp/A356 composite billet can meet the requirements of thixo-forging.When the billet was remelted to 580℃,held for 10 min,the homogeneous microstructure with the best thixo-formability can be realized.The thixo-forging of electronic packaging shell is feasible.
To fabricate electronic packaging shell of coppermatrix composite with characteristics of high ther mal conductivity and low thermal expansion coefficient, semisolid forming technology, and powder metallurgy was combined. Conventional mechanical mixing of Cu and SiC could have insufficient wettability, and a new method of semisolid processing was introduced for billets preparation. The SiC/Cu composites were first prepared by PM, and then, semisolid reheating was performed for the successive semisolid forging. Composite billets with SiC 35 % vol ume fraction were compacted and sintered pressurelessly, microstructure analysis showed that the composites pre pared by PM had high density, and the combination between SiC particles and Cualloy was good. Semisolid reheating was the crucial factor in determining the micro structure and thixotropic property of the billet. An opti mised reheating strategy was proposed： temperature 1,025 ℃and holding time 5 min.
Based on the research of modem electronic packaging materials, thixo-forming technology was used to fabricate electronic packaging shell. The process of thixo-extrusion with SiCp/A356 composites was simulated by the finite element software DEFORM-3D, then the flow velocity field, equivalent strain field and temperature field were analyzed. The electronic packaging shell was manufactured by extrusion according to the results from numerical simulation. The results show that thixo-forming technology can be used in producing electronic package shell with SiCp/A356 composites, and high volume fraction of SiCp with homogeneous distribution can be achieved, being in agreement with the requirements of electronic packaging materials.
In order to investigate the formability of metal material in semisolid state, a series of experiments were carried out by thixo-forging the complex part of aluminum alloy AlSi7Mg. Through changing the upper punch, aluminum parts with different upper-cup dimensions can be successfully produced. The numerical simulation was conducted for investigating the forming limits of AlSi7Mg during thixo-forging. It is found that the simulation result is in good agreement with the experiment one.
