Mechanical Properties and Fracture Surfaces of Thixoformed HP9/4/30 Steel

Most work in semi-solid metal processing has been focused on relatively low-melting temperature materials such as aluminium, magnesium, tin, lead and their composites. Because of the high melting temperatures and related measurement difficulties, there is relatively small amount of experimental data available on the thixoforming of high temperature materials such as steels. This paper discusses the relationships between tensile tests data and the fracture surfaces of HP9/4/30 steel samples, in as-received and as-thixoformed conditions. Some of the as-thixoformed samples were subjected to commercial heat treatments before the tests were carried out. The as-received samples showed a typical ductile fracture of 'cup' and 'cone' surface appearance. The thixoformed samples, although showing some significant increase in tensile strength values, failed in a brittle manner, with the fracture surfaces showing a 'cobbled' surface appearance. The application of the commercial heat treatment to the thixoformed samples has significantly improved their ductility