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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: GR/M17334/01
Title: MODELLING THIXOTROPIC FLOW OF METAL ALLOYS INTO A DIE
Principal Investigator: Atkinson, Professor HV
Other Investigators:
Chin, Dr SB Bush, Dr A Bush, Dr A
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Pre Nexus Migration
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
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Materials Processing
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Information Technologies
Related Grants:
Panel History:  
Summary on Grant Application Form
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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Organisation Website: http://www.shef.ac.uk