The semi-solid slurry of 7075 aluminum alloy was prepared via series water-cooled copper serpentine pouring channel machine which was self-designed and built.Influences of pouring temperature

the curve numbers and the cooling water on the microstructure of semi-solid 7075 alloy slurry were investigated.The results show that the semi-solid 7075 aluminum alloy slurry with satisfied quality can be prepared by a serpentine pouring channel when the pouring temperature is in range of 680

7

00 ℃.The average grain size of primaryα-Al in the semi-solid slurry is less than 41μm and the shape factor is more than 0.79.With a given pouring temperature

the equivalent size of the primaryα-Al grains is decreased and the shape factor is increased with the increase of the curve numbers.When the cooling water is 450 L/h

the obtained semi-solid slurry has the satisfied microstructure.During the slurry preparation of semi-solid 7075 aluminum alloy with low superheat pouring

the alloy melt changes flow direction many times when it flows in a curved and closed serpentine channel with the effect of"stirring"in the serpentine curve

so the primary nuclei is gradually evolved into spherical and near-spherical grains.