Abstract:
The mechanical stirring of C-SiC/Cu semi-solid slurry was conducted in a cylindrical crucible by a straight-blade stirrer. The distribution of graphite particles and SiC particles (SiC
P) in the C-SiC/Cu semi-solid slurry was studied under 200 r/min for stirring speed and 10 mm/s for speed of moving up and down of stirrer. The results show that there is a quadratic relationship between the angle
γ between the straight blade and the horizontal plane and the content of the graphite particles and SiC
P in the top and bottom of the crucible. When
γ=30°, the axial distributions in the crucible of graphite particles and SiC
P are homogeneous, but the SiC
P are still segregated, which indicates that the segregation of SiC
P leads to the unhomogeneity of C-SiC/Cu semi-solid slurry in conventional straight-blade mechanical stirring. The double-blade agitator is used instead of the conventional straight blade agitator to adjust the blade layer spacing
h to 10–20 mm, which can eliminate the segregation of SiC
P. The wear tests of the C-SiC/Cu composites obtained by mechanical stirring casting with single blade stirrer and double-layer blade stirrer were carried out. The wear rates of different parts of C-SiC/Cu composites in the single blade mechanical stirring casting are different, however, they are nearly the same in the double-layer blade. It shows that the segregation of SiC
P can be eliminated by increasing the mechanical agitation shearing action. The uniform distribution of C-SiC/Cu semi-solid slurry can be achieved by double-layer-stirrer mechanical stirring.