a b s t r a c tSemi-solid forming is an effective near-net-shape forming process to produce components with complex geometry and in fewer forming steps. It benefits from the complex thixotropic behaviour of semi-solids. However, the consequences of such behaviour on the flow during thixoforming, is still neither completely characterized and nor fully understood, especially for high melting point alloys. The study described in this paper investigates thixoextrusion for C38 low carbon steel material using dies at temperatures much lower than the slug temperature. Four different process parameters were studied: the initial slug temperature, the die temperature, the ram speed and the presence of a ceramic layer at the tool/material interface. The extruded parts were found to have an exact shape and a good surface state only if the temperature was below a certain value. This critical temperature is not an intrinsic material property since its value depends on die temperature and the presence of the Ceraspray©layer. Two kinds of flow were highlighted: a homogeneous flow controlled by the behaviour of the solid skeleton characterized by a positive strain rate sensitivity, and a non homogeneous flow (macro liquid/solid phase separation) dominated by the flow of the free liquid. With decreasing ram speed, heat losses increase so that the overall consistency of the material improves, leading to apparent negative strain rate sensitivity. Finally, some ways to optimise thixoforming are proposed.

Microstructure is of crucial importance to the flow behavior of semi-solid slurries during the thixoforging process. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the microstructure evolution is required. In order to achieve this, high temperature confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and high energy X-ray microtomography were used to investigate the microstructure evolution of several steel grades (M2, 100Cr6 and C38LTT) during the heating process from as-received conditions to the semi-solid state. It was found that the microstructure development of M2 can be directly studied at high temperature via these two techniques. Two types of small carbides (MC and M 6 C) were present in the as-received state, while totally new interconnected carbides of specific size and composition were formed from liquid zones after cooling. It was also noted using CLSM that the diffusion rate of the alloying elements during the cooling of M2 was very low. This confirms that the volume fraction of the liquid phase of M2 at high temperature can be evaluated by threedimensional X-ray microtomography in situ at high temperature and on quenched specimens. Contrary to M2, the microstructure of the steel grades 100Cr6 and C38LTT in the semi-solid state can only be revealed by CLSM at high temperature. All these observations are discussed in terms of microstructural development and liquid fraction during heating.

Steel thixoforging is an innovative semi-solid forming process. It allows the manufacturing of complex parts and minimises the forming load. This work aims to identify and characterise the main feature zones of a thixoforging part. The material flow and the forging load are dependent on the thixoforging speed, the tool temperature and the initial temperature of the slug. The data are obtained for C38 thixoforging steel. A specific extrusion tool was designed that integrates the heating of the tool and the slug. This tool was set up on a high-speed hydraulic press. This work highlights the effects of heat exchange on the microstructure, the internal flow and the mechanical characteristics of thixoforging material. These heat exchanges depend primarily on the working speed and tool temperature. The internal flow is composed of three distinct zones. Among them, only semisolid zone is observed during working. The microstructures of thixoforming C38 steel consist of ferrite, pearlite and bainite.

Based on several years of research, this paper presents some approaches on industrial installation on thixoforging steel with an important potential of an innovative technology. The possibility of Thixoforging industrialization makes it possible to consider new steel components production. From billet to final part with complex shape obtained in one step, several “keys” are developed as heating system, transfer system, part and die design.

Through different papers [1,2], authors shown that the influence of thermal exchanges was a first order parameter on the semi-solid steel behaviour, and certainly for every semi-solid metallic materials. These thermal exchanges hide other parameters effect like, for example, the strain rate influence. This paper tries to determine the influence of these two parameters by using a new extrusion device on a hydraulic press. This new tools conception annihilated the influence of the decrease of the punch speed before stopping and permitted to have a constant speed during the experiment. This work also deals with the homogeneous flow during thixoforming of steel and shows the importance to couple initial temperature of the slug with punch speed. This paper presents different conditions which permitted to have a homogeneous flow by keeping a low load.

is an open access repository that collects the work of Arts et Métiers ParisTech researchers and makes it freely available over the web where possible. In situ tensile tests were performed at room temperature on a ferrite-cementite steel specifically designed for this study. The evolution of the average stress in ferrite during loading was analyzed by Xray diffraction. Lattice strain measurements were performed with synchrotron ring diffraction in both ferrite and cementite. These in situ tests were complemented by macroscopic tensile and reversible tensile-compression tests to study the Bauschinger effect. In order to reproduce stresses in ferrite and cementite particles, a recently developed micromechanical Internal Length Mean Field (ILMF) model based on a generalized self-consistent scheme is applied. In this designed ferrite-cementite steel, the third ''phase'' of the model represents finite intermediate ''layers'' in ferrite due to large geometrically necessary dislocation (GND) densities around cementite particles. The assumed constant thickness of the layers is calibrated thanks to the obtained experimental data. The ILMF model is validated by realistic estimates of the Bauschinger stress and the large difference between mean stresses in ferrite and in cementite phases. This difference cannot be reproduced by classic two-phase homogenization schemes without intermediate GND layers.

Process control in forging industry is essential to ensure a better quality of the product with a lower cost at the end of the manufacturing process. To control the process, a number of key parameters must be monitored to prevent product or forging plan deviations. This paper will illustrate how a variation in a process parameter can create product specifications deviations and how key parameters influence product final state. The illustration work is done on a part obtained via hot forging. An analysis is made on product parameters such as geometry, by varying the key process parameter values previously determined from a created methodology. This later is represented as a decision support system that connects product specifications (geometry, absence of defects, etc.) or other forging specifications (tool wear, involved energy...) to the process parameters.

Forging in semi-solid state significantly extends the possibilities of classical hot forging. In order to fully exploit its potential, the process requires a specific and demanding environment, penalizing its industrial deployment. In this context, an alternative route is proposed. In the proposed process, semi-solid zones at the heart of the material coexist with surrounding solid zones within the part. The outcome is an optimized process where the benefits of thixoforging are reached at a significant extent within the classical process framework of hot forging. The paper investigates this proposal up to a full-scale proof-of-concept in an industrial setting.