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Field’s metal, a low-melting-point eutectic alloy composed of 51% In, 32.5 Bi% and 16.5% Sn by weight and with a melting temperature of 333 K, is widely used as liquid metal coolant in advanced nuclear reactors and in electro–magneto–hydrodynamic two-phase flow loops. However, its rheological and wetting properties in liquid state make this metal suitable for the formation of droplets and other structures for application in microfabrication. As with other low-melting-point metal alloys, in the presence of air, Field’s metal has an oxide film on its surface, which provides a degree of malleability and stability. In this paper, the viscoelastic properties of Field’s metal oxide skin were studied in a parallel-plate rheometer, while surface tension and solidification and contact angles were determined using drop shape analysis techniques.

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The air entrapment mechanisms in die-casting injection chambers that may produce porosity in manufactured parts are analyzed in this work using visualization techniques of the flow in a transparent injection chamber model, using water as working fluid. In particular, results for the free-surface profile evolution and for the volume of air remaining in the chamber at the instant at which the water begins to flow through the runner are analyzed for different maximum plunger speeds and initial filling fractions. A comparison between these visualizations and the numerical results of Zamora et al. (2007, “Experimental Verification of Numerical Predictions for the Optimum Plunger Speed in the Slow-Phase of a High-Pressure Die Casting Machine,” Int. J. Adv. Manuf. Technol., 33, pp. 266–276) which were obtained using a three-dimensional numerical model, shows a good degree of agreement. After discussing the air entrapment mechanisms that may produce porosity in manufactured parts, different experiments, which were carried out under real operating conditions using an aluminum alloy in a high-pressure die-casting machine with horizontal cold chamber, will be presented. The die-cavity geometry used in the experiments was appropriately modified to isolate the slow shot phase from the rest of the injection process, and the porosity levels in the manufactured parts were measured using a gravimetric technique. The optimum values of the maximum plunger speed that minimizes porosity in the manufactured parts have been determined. These values are very close to the previous numerical predictions of López et al. (2003, “On the Critical Plunger Speed and Three-Dimensional Effects in High-Pressure Die Casting Injection Chambers,” ASME J. Manuf. Sci. Eng., 125, pp. 529–537)