| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/M17334/01 |
| Title: |
MODELLING THIXOTROPIC FLOW OF METAL ALLOYS INTO A DIE |
| Principal Investigator: |
Atkinson, Professor HV |
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| Department: |
Materials Science and Engineering |
| Organisation: |
University of Sheffield |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
01 October 1998 |
Ends: |
30 September 2001 |
Value (£): |
225,161
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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Thixoforming (the shaping of metal components in the semi-solid state) is rapidly being commercialised with millions of components now being produced annually for the automotive industry. There is an industrial need to be able to model the die filling so that dies can be designed and manufactured more efficiently. The project aims to establish general rheological equations which satisfactorily describe the isothermal flow behaviour of a thixotropic alloy slurry during rapid shearing and which can be included in a Computational Fluid Dynamics program to predict the mode of die filling in thixoforming. The project requires cylindrical rheometry and rapid compression experiments to obtain the material parameters for a thixotropy equation which will then be incorporated into a finite difference Computational Fluid Dynamics program. The work is particularly novel because it will explore the non-steady state behaviour of thixotropic materials under rapid shear and in a time regime which has not previously been investigated in detail. It is these short times (<1sec) which are of relevance to the industrial process of thixoforming. The development of the CFD program will also be novel. It will be used to predict die filling; validation will be carried out with the Sheffield thixoforming press.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.shef.ac.uk |