Study of the Liquid Fraction and Thermophysical Properties of Semi-Solid Steels and Application to the Simulation of Inductive Heating for Thixoforming

Summary. The thixoforming of steels is so complex that it requires more investi-gations regarding both the materials and the technical tools dedicated to the elab-oration of the process. In this paper we will show the experimental determination of appropriate solidus-liquidus interval on eight different steel compositions. This critical parameter was obtained using Differential Scanning Calorimetry. The paper also presents the results of thermophysical property determination. These param-eters are important for the inductive heating phase of a semi-solid forming (SSF) process. Thanks to the simulations of the inductive heating process, the other main results consist on the developments of the heating techniques that are suitable for the achieving of the sine qua none condition to the semi-solid process, which is the uniform temperature distribution in the reheated billet. Key words: steel, thixoforming, thermophysical properties, liquid fraction, simulation.