Semi-solid metal (SSM) processing, as a viable alternative manufacturing route to those of conventional casting and forging, has not yet been fully exploited despite nearly half a century since its introduction to the metal industry. The slow pace of adopting SSM routes may be due to various reasons, including capital costs, profit margins, and, most importantly, the lack of detailed analysis of various SSM processes in open literature to confidently establish their advantages over more conventional routes. Therefore, the SSM community must disseminate their findings more effectively to generate increased confidence in SSM processes in the eyes of our industrial leaders. As such, we have embarked on the task to invite the leaders in SSM research to share their findings in a Special Issue dedicated to semi-solid processing of metals and composites. SSM processing takes advantage of both forming and shaping characteristics usually employed for liquid and solid materials. In the absence of shear forces, the semi-solid metal has similar characteristics to solids, i.e., easily transferred and shaped; by applying a defined force, the viscosity is reduced and the material flows like a liquid. These unique dual characteristics have made SSM routes attractive alternatives to conventional casting on an industrial scale. With the intention of taking full advantage of SSM characteristics, it is crucial to understand SSM processing, including topics such as solidification and structural evolution, flow behavior through modelling and rheology, new processes and process control, alloy development, and properties in general. This Special Issue focuses on the recent research and findings in the field with the aim of filling the gap between industry and academia, and to shed light on some of the fundamentals of science and technology of semi-solid processing.

Selected, peer reviewed papers from the 10th International Conference on Semi-Solid Processing of Alloys and Composites, S2P 2008, September 16th -18th, 2008, Aachen, Germany and Liège, Belgium

Semisolid metallurgy (SSM) is now some 37-years-old in terms of time from its conception and ?rst reduction to practice in the laboratory. In the intervening years, there has been a steadily growing body of research on the subject and the beginning of signi?cant industrial applications. The overall ?eld of SSM comprises today a large number of speci?c process routes, almost all of which fall in the category of either “Rheocasting” or Thi- casting.” The former begins with liquid metal and involves agitation during partial solidi?cation followed by forming. The latter begins with solid metal of suitable structure and involves heating to the desired fraction solid and forming. Research over the past 37 years, and particularly over the last decade, has provided a detailed picture of process fundamentals and led to a wide range of speci?c SSM processes and process innovations. Industrial studies and actual p- duction experience are providing a growing picture of the process advantages and limitations. At this time, the conditions for eventual wide adoption of SSM appear favorable, both for nonferrous and ferrous alloys. It must, however, be recognized that major innovations, such as SSM become adopted only slowly by industries where capital costsarehigh,pro?tmarginsaremodest,andfailuretomeetcustomercommitments carries a high penalty.

This volume is dedicated to the science and technology of the semi-solid processing of metals.

Selected peer-reviewed extended articles based on abstracts presented at the 17th International Conference on Semi-Solid Processing of Alloys and Composites (S2P) Aggregated Book

This book describes in great detail the semi-solid processing of aluminum alloys. The authors examine the fundamentals of semi-solid metal processing, provide guidelines for research, illustrate the tools that are employed, and explain the measured parameters for semi-solid processing characterization.

A comprehensive treatise on the hot working of aluminum and its alloys, Hot Deformation and Processing of Aluminum Alloys details the possible microstructural developments that can occur with hot deformation of various alloys, as well as the kind of mechanical properties that can be anticipated. The authors take great care to explain and differentiate hot working in the context of other elevated temperature phenomena, such as creep, superplasticity, cold working, and annealing. They also pay particular attention to the fundamental mechanisms of aluminum plasticity at hot working temperatures. Using extensive analysis derived from polarized light optical microscopy (POM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD) scanning electron-microscopy with electron backscatter imaging (SEM-EBSD), and orientation imaging microscopy (OIM), the authors examine those microstructures that evolve in torsion, compression, extrusion, and rolling. Further microstructural analysis leads to detailed explanations of dynamic recovery (DRV), static recovery (SRV), discontinuous dynamic recrystallization (dDRX), discontinuous static recrystallization (dSRX), grain defining dynamic recovery (gDRV) (formerly geometric dynamic recrystallization, or gDRX), and continuous dynamic recrystallization involving both a single phase (cDRX/1-phase) and multiple phases (cDRX/2-phase). A companion to other works that focus on modeling, manufacturing involving plastic and superplastic deformation, and control of texture and phase transformations, this book provides thorough explanations of microstructural development to lay the foundation for further study of the mechanisms of thermomechanical processes and their application.

Comprehensive Materials Processing, Thirteen Volume Set provides students and professionals with a one-stop resource consolidating and enhancing the literature of the materials processing and manufacturing universe. It provides authoritative analysis of all processes, technologies, and techniques for converting industrial materials from a raw state into finished parts or products. Assisting scientists and engineers in the selection, design, and use of materials, whether in the lab or in industry, it matches the adaptive complexity of emergent materials and processing technologies. Extensive traditional article-level academic discussion of core theories and applications is supplemented by applied case studies and advanced multimedia features. Coverage encompasses the general categories of solidification, powder, deposition, and deformation processing, and includes discussion on plant and tool design, analysis and characterization of processing techniques, high-temperatures studies, and the influence of process scale on component characteristics and behavior. Authored and reviewed by world-class academic and industrial specialists in each subject field Practical tools such as integrated case studies, user-defined process schemata, and multimedia modeling and functionality Maximizes research efficiency by collating the most important and established information in one place with integrated applets linking to relevant outside sources

Offering a sound technological overview, while also including the fundamental aspects, this book provides the knowledge needed to master the highly challenging process characteristics for successful application in industrial production. It summarizes the first-hand experience gained from twelve years of collaborative research covering materials science, rheology, casting and forming, control and surface technology as well as the modeling of flow behavior, tool engineering and systems engineering, and thus treats all the vital aspects of this field. For materials scientists, physicists, engineers, and those working in the metal processing industry.

The field of materials science and engineering is rapidly evolving into a science of its own. While traditional literature in this area often concentrates primarily on property and structure, the Materials Processing Handbook provides a much needed examination from the materials processing perspective. This unique focus reflects the changing comple