The primary phase evolution of ADC12 aluminum alloy rheo-processed by mechanical rotational barrel system was studied by differential scanning calorimetry（DSC）, optical microscopy（OM） and scanning electron microscopy（SEM）. The semisolid slurry analyses show that the solid fraction of ADC12 aluminum alloy increases from 0.38 to 0.43 while the roundness decreases from 0.45 to 0.38 with increasing the rotational speed from 30 to 120 r/min. When the pouring temperature decreases from 620 to 580 °C, the primary α（Al） morphology changes from spheroidal to rosette-like. Besides, the average particle size of primary phase and solid fraction increase with the decrease of pouring temperature. By rheo-diecasting process, the components with fine, spherical and uniformly distributed primary α（Al） particles were obtained, and the best microstructure was contained at the pouring temperature ranging from 595 to 605 °C. The rheo-processing feasibility of ADC12 aluminum alloy can be explained by the grains controlled growth theory, and the semisolid slurry obeys the Mullins-Sekerka criterion when solidifying in the high pressure die casting machine.
Dry wear behavior of the rheo-casting Al-16Si-4Cu-0.5Mg alloy was investigated by micro-scratch and dry sliding weartests. Analyses of the microstructure, scratch grooves, wear tracks, worn surfaces and wear debris of the alloy were carried out byoptical microscope and scanning electron microscope. The microstructural analysis showed that via rheo-processing, the primary Siwas refined and rounded, eutectics dispersed more homogenously, and even the skeleton AlFeMnSi phase was fragmented into facetshape. Micro-scratch test showed that the microstructural refinement resulted in better wear resistance. Dry sliding wear test revealedthat the rheo-processed sample exhibit obviously superior wear resistance because of the microstructure improvement. The dominantmechanism in mild wear condition is abrasion, but it turned to adhesion and oxidation in high applied load and fast sliding velocityconditions.
