Numerical and experimental investigations of semi-solid AZ91D magnesium alloy in thixoforming process

Many complicated factors affect thixoforming fluidity in thixoforming process of semi-solid metal (SSM). So, it is important to forecast the flow property of SSM. Rigid visco-plastic constitutive model of semi-solid AZ91D Mg alloy was established at different strain rate. The thixoforming process of semi-solid AZ91D Mg alloy was simulated using commercial finite element software DEFORM-3D™. The fluid and effective stress–strain fields in the thixoforming process were obtained and the relationships among stress, strain rate and temperature also were analyzed. The thixoforming experiments were performed at 570 °C with different holding time. Finite element analysis results were compared with experimental ones, and experimental data has good agreements with the simulation results.