A WIRE CUTTING TEST TO EVALUATE THE CRYSTALLINE STRUCTURE OF CYLINDRICAL ALUMINUM SPECIMENS AT THIXOTEMPERATURES

摘要

In the present paper a wire cutting test is introduced to examine the structural homogeneity of cylindrical Al-specimens inductively heated up to thixo temperatures. The advantage of this procedure compared to based ones on temperature measurements, is that information concerning the specimen's structural homogeneity in semi solid state can be obtained all over the critical billet cross sections considering the recorded force signals during the wire cutting test. Moreover these force signals are taken into account in a FEM simulation of this process, in order to determine material mechanical strength properties at thixo temperatures. By means of the developed procedure, the effect of several heating strategies, as well as of further parameters such as the specimen material, the geometry of the specimen supporting cases etc., on the specimen thixotropic behavior was investigated.