Au cours de ce travail, nous nous sommes attachés à prédire les caractéristiques rhéologiques de suspensions de particules dans des situations non newtoniennes. Nous avons tout d'abord étudié expérimentalement le comportement rhéologique de suspensions bidisperses de particules non colloïdales et non browniennes immergées dans un fluide à seuil dans les situations où les interactions entre particules sont hydrodynamiques (mécaniques). Nous avons montré que l'influence de la polydispersité des particules sur le module élastique et le seuil de contrainte de la suspension pouvait être décrit en utilisant un modèle d'empilement développé pour les matériaux granulaires secs. Deux relations analytiques simples permettant d'estimer le module élastique et la contrainte seuil d'une suspension non newtonienne polydisperse en fonction des caractéristiques des constituants ont alors été proposées et validées. Nous nous sommes ensuite intéressés à la prédiction des caractéristiques globales de suspensions contenant une forte concentration de particules de taille différente dans le cadre d'une approche par changement d'échelle. Pour cela, nous avons mis en uvre une approche par motifs morphologiques permettant la prise en compte de paramètres géométriques tels que la distribution de tailles des inclusions ou les distances entre particules voisines. Les résultats de ce modèle ont été validés par comparaison avec des données expérimentales de la littérature. Nous avons ensuite montré que les modèles morphologiques permettaient également de décrire l'évolution des modules complexes d'un matériau thixotrope subissant une transition de phase liquide-solide due à la croissance et la percolation d'un réseau de particules attractives. Dans la dernière partie de cette étude, nous avons étudié expérimentalement l'influence de l'histoire de cisaillement sur la structuration et la déstructuration d'une suspension colloïdale thixotrope / In this work, we aimed to predict the rheological properties of suspensions of particles in non-Newtonian fluids. We first studied experimentally the rheological behaviour of bidisperse suspensions of non colloidal particles and non-Brownian immersed in a yield stress fluid in situations where interactions between particles are hydrodynamic (mechanical). We showed that the influence of the polydispersity on the elastic modulus and yield stress of the suspension could be described using a packing model developed for dry granular materials.Two simple closed form estimates for both the elastic modulus and the yield stress of non-Newtonian polydisperse suspension as a function of the characteristics of the constituents were proposed and validated. This study was then extended in a micromechanical analytical framework to predict the macroscopic characteristics of suspensions containing highly concentration of particles with different size. Our ne w model, called a "Morphologically Representative Pattern - Based Approach" (MRP-based approach), successfully predicts the behaviour of such materials by taking into account some geometrical parameters such as the particle size distribution or the distance between the nearest-neighbour particles. This model has been validated by a comparison with the experimental data in the literature. We then showed that the MRP-based approach also allowed describing the evolution of complex modules of a thixotropic material undergoing a liquid-solid transition due to the growth and the percolation of an attractive particle network. In the last part of this work, we studied experimentally the influence of the flow history on the structure of a thixotropic colloidal suspension

Ce travail s’intéresse à la formulation et à la caractérisation de mortiers cimentaires imprimables en 3D. Il a été réalisé dans le cadre du projet MATRICE cofinancé par le fonds Feder et la région Hauts de France. Un cahier des charges pour un matériau cimentaire imprimable est tout d’abord défini sur la base de trois critères : l’extrudabilité, la constructibilité et la conservation des résistances mécaniques sur matériau imprimé. Deux mortiers imprimables sont formulés en utilisant des essais simples à l’échelle du laboratoire. Le premier mortier, à prise lente, est composé d’un liant à base de ciment Portland (OPC). Le second mortier, à prise accélérée, est composé d’un liant mixte (93 % d’OPC et 7 % de ciment sulfoalumineux (CSA)). Des impressions à l’échelle réelle sont ensuite réalisées dans le cadre du projet MATRICE et permettent de valider leur imprimabilité selon l’application de chacun. Le comportement chimique de mélanges de ciment Portland et de ciment sulfoalumineux est ensuite étudié expérimentalement. Les chaleurs d’hydratation mesurées par calorimétrie isotherme augmentent avec le dosage en CSA (de 2 % jusqu’à 10 %) et sont plus élevées que celles des pâtes de ciment contenant 100 % d’OPC et 100 % de CSA. La comparaison des hydrates identifiés dans le mélange à 7 % de CSA à ceux présents dans les deux pâtes de ciment pures montre que la présence de gypse et de chaux provenant du ciment Portland entraîne une hydratation plus rapide de la ye’elimite provenant du CSA et une formation d’ettringite à très court terme. Par contre, la nature des hydrates du ciment Portland n’est pas affectée. Le comportement rhéologique, notamment, la thixotropie, de pâtes constituées de mélanges de ciment Portland et sulfoalumineux (jusqu’à 10 %) est ensuite étudié en fonction de différents paramètres de formulation pendant la première heure. L’augmentation du dosage en CSA (0 % à 10 %) entraîne une augmentation quasi linéaire du coefficient de structuration (Athix) de ces mélanges. Pour les mélanges à 7 % de CSA et 100 % d’OPC, l’influence du rapport E/C et du dosage en superplastifiant sur la thixotropie est ensuite étudiée. L’augmentation du rapport E/C entraîne une diminution quasi linéaire de Athix pour chacune des pâtes de ciment. En revanche, le superplastifiant présente une faible influence comparativement au rapport E/C. / The interest of this study is the formulation and characterization of 3D printing cementitious mortars. This research work has been carried out in the frame of the MATRICE Project, co-funded by the region “Hauts de France” and the European Union with the European Regional Development Fund. Specifications for a cementitious printable material are first set based on three criteria: extrudability, buildability and conserving the compressive strength of the printed material. Two printable mortars are formulated using simple tests on a laboratory scale. The first, with slow setting, is composed of a Portland-based binder (OPC). The second, with accelerated setting, is composed of a mixed binder (93% OPC and 7% sulfoaluminous cement (CSA)). Real scale prints are then realized in the frame of the project MATRICE allowing the validation of the printability of each mortar upon its application. The chemical behavior of Portland cement and sulfoaluminate cement mixes is then studied experimentally. The heats of hydration measured by isothermal calorimetry increase with the CSA dosage (2% to 10%) and are higher than those of cement pastes containing 100% OPC and 100% CSA. The comparison of the hydrates identified in the mix mad of 7% CSA to those present in the two other cement pastes of each cement alone shows that the presence of gypsum and lime from the Portland cement lead to a faster hydration of the ye’elimite from CSA and to an early formation of ettringite. However, the nature of hydrates is not affected. The rheological behavior, in particular the thixotropy, of the cement pastes made of Portland cement and sulfoaluminate cement (up to 10%) is then studied in function of different formulation parameters during the first hour. The increase in CSA dosage (0% to 10%) leads to an almost linear increase of the structuration coefficient (Athix) of theses mixes. For mixes with 7% CSA and 100% OPC, the influence of the W/C ratio and superplasticizer on the thixotropy is then studied. The increase in W/C ratio leads to an almost linear decrease of the Athix for each of cement paste. However, the superplasticizer present a low influence compared to the W/C ratio.

Self-compacting concrete (SCC) offers rational and fast casting process since it merely has to be poured, or pumped, into the formwork without any compaction work needed. But this can be at the cost of high form pressure. However, reported results show that SCC can act thixotropically, i.e., build up a structure at rest, and this can reduce the form pressure considerably. Thus, in order to utilise the favourable possibilities to increase effectiveness without risking form collapses, the need arises for deeper and broader understanding of the mechanisms behind this thixotropic behaviour. Methodologies have been developed for the characterisation and measurement of the structural build-up at rest, both for the fluid (micro mortar) phase and the concrete itself. Hypotheses state that thixotropic mechanisms originate within the colloidal domain and, thus, motivate studies on the fluid phase comprising this domain. The stress-strain methodology is based on the hypothesis stating that the magnitude of the structure is represented by the maximum elastic stress the fresh material can withstand before the structure breaks. An instrumented steel tube is used to simulate various casting heights and rates. Results show that both micro mortar and SCC are thixotropic and this behaviour is influenced by every measure taken influencing the interparticle colloidal forces. The time-dependent structural build-up of SCC is a function of an irreversible structure (slump-loss) and a reversible, thixotropic structure. There is apparently a threshold value of the structural build-up necessary to reach before obtaining any significant form pressure reduction. Housing SCC´s, with W/C = 0.58, show low degree of structural build-up and pressure decrease while civil engineering SCC´s can show the opposite, but this often at the cost of slump-loss. Recommendations are presented and for the nearest future, suggesting a conservatism regarding design of formwork systems when SCC is used. If the behaviour of a SCC is known it should be used to optimise the formwork. If not, calculating with hydrostatic pressure should be done or the knowledge missing should be gained by using this methodology. A third option is given and this is to monitor the form pressure in real time using sensors. / QC 20100812

[pt] A performance de protocolos geralmente empregados na caracterização reológica de pastas de cimento é investigada. Para este fim duas pastas de cimento foram utilizadas, Pasta A e Pasta B, com a mesma densidade e razão água-cimento, diferindo quanto aos aditivos empregados. O procedimento API (American Petroleum Institute), tal qual, sua modificação é estudada. Curvas de escoamento são determinadas com o auxílio de um reômetro rotacional através de três diferentes métodos (ramp up/ramp down, ramp down e viscosidade mínima). O procedimento API gerou curvas de escoamento que superestimaram (Pasta A) ou subestimaram (Pasta B) a viscosidade dentro da faixa de cisalhamento estudada. Os desvios tornam-se particulamente maiores em baixas taxas, e para Pasta B, por causa de efeitos tixotrópicos, o regime permanente não é atingido. A modificação do protocolo API investigada resultou em curvas de escoamento similares ao método de viscosidade mínima. Um novo modelo constitutivo fenomenológico irreversível é proposto para descrição reológica de pastas de cimento (voltadas para poços de petróleo) sob escoamento de cisalhamento simples. Para esse objetivo uma série de experimentos foram realizados, como taxa de deformação constante, construção e destruição da microestrutura. O modelo proposto utiliza a própria fluidez, recíproca da viscosidade, para descrever a evolução da estrutura da pasta. O efeito macroscópico do fenômeno de hidratação na reologia é introduzido por meio de uma função exponencial para tensão limite de escoamento. Todos os dez parâmetros necessários no modelo são experimentalmente obtíveis. Os resultados mostraram boa concordância entre os dados experimentais e a modelagem, embora pequenas diferenças tenham sido observadas para taxas de deformação abaixo de 7,1 s(−1). / [en] The performance of reological protocols usually employed for the rheological characterization of oil well cement slurries is investigated. To this end two cement slurries were employed, namely Paste A and Paste B. The API procedure is addressed and a modification to it is investigated. Flow curves are determined with the aid of a rotational rheometer using three different methods (ramp up/down, ramp down, and minimum-viscosity). The API procedure yielded flow curves that significantly overestimate (Paste A) or underestimate (Paste B) the viscosity throughout the whole range of shear rate. The deviations become particularly dramatic in the low end of this range and for Paste B, clearly because the steady state is not attained due to a thixotropic behavior. The investigated modification to the API procedure resulted in flow curves similar to the ones based on the minimum-viscosity method. A novel irrevesible phenomenological constitutive model is proposed to describe oil well cement slurry rheology under simple shear flow. To this end several rheological experiments were conducted, namely constant shear rate, construction and microstructural destruction experiment. The proposed model employ the fluidity itself, reciprocal of viscosity, to describe the paste s structure evolution. The macroscopical rheological effect of hydration phenomena is introduced in the model by means of a yield stress exponential function. All ten parameters needed in the model are experimentally obtainable. The present results have shown a good agreement between experimental data and modeling, albeit minor differences were observed for low shear rates below 7.1 s(−1).

Orientador: Maria Helena Robert / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Mecanica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-13T05:19:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Cristofolini_Renato_D.pdf: 5642775 bytes, checksum: 04967fdc1ef436f81dd6c3fb1fcb52d0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Resumo: Este trabalho analisa a tixohabilidade, a viabilidade de produção de pastas tixotrópicas e as transformações de fase que ocorrem na tixofundição do ferro fundido nodular ASTM A536 60-40-18. A análise da tixohabilidade é feita através de análises térmicas utilizando técnicas de Análise Térmica Diferencial (ATD) e Calorimetria Exploratória Diferencial (CED) em diferentes condições operacionais (tipo de ciclo e taxas de aquecimento/resfriamento), e através de simulação termodinâmica utilizando software THERMOCALC®. São discutidas a influência das condições dos ensaios nas temperaturas de transformações e intervalos de solidificação, e os resultados comparados com os obtidos por simulação. São discutidas as transformações de fases que ocorrem e as respectivas temperaturas, sendo proposto diagrama de fases para a liga específica em estudo. São determinadas a sensibilidade da variação da fração líquida com a temperatura (dFL/dT) e sugeridas janelas de tixoconformação, para todas as condições analisadas. Os resultados obtidos indicam uma faixa de operação para a tixoconformação da ordem de 20oC, onde uma transformação eutética se faz presente e a variação da fração líquida com a temperatura pode ser controlada adequadamente. A janela de tixoconformação depende da taxa de transferência de calor empregada: quanto maior a taxa, maior o intervalo de transformação eutética e maior a janela de tixoconformação. Quanto à análise da viabilidade de produção de pastas tixotrópicas, foram produzidas pastas por fusão parcial controlada a distintas temperaturas dentro da faixa de operação para tixoconformação determinada previamente. As microestruturas resultantes foram analisadas por microscopia ótica (MO) e eletrônica de varredura (MEV), difratometria de raios-x e microanálise utilizando energia dispersiva (EDS). Os resultados mostram a viabilidade de produção de pastas com características tixotrópicas, nas condições analisadas, apesar da estreita faixa de temperaturas da janela de tixoconformação do material estudado. Mostram ainda que a temperatura de tratamento influencia a quantidade e dimensões dos nódulos de grafita presentes na matriz da pasta, sendo que temperaturas de tixofundição superiores à faixa de transformação eutética podem levar à rápida dissolução desses nódulos e como consequência, o aumento da dureza da liga e redução de sua ductilidade. O produto tixofundido apresenta, à temperatura ambiente, estrutura constituída essencialmente de martensita, resultado do resfriamento rápido da austenita, grafita nodular de pequenas dimensões e de fases complexas em contornos de grãos martensíticos. / Abstract: This work analyses the thixoability, the viability of actual production of thixotropic semi-solid of ferritic nodular cast iron ASTM A536 60-40-18, as well as the phase transformations taking place in the process. Thixoability evaluation is made through thermal analysis by Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) tests in different conditions (cycle type and heating/cooling rate), and also through thermodynamic simulations using THERMOCALC® software. Related to these analysis it is evaluated the influence of tests conditions on transformations temperatures and ranges; results are compared to those obtained by simulation. Phase transformations are discussed and a specific phase diagram for the alloy investigated is proposed. Liquid fraction sensitivities with temperature (dFL/dT) are determined, and thixoforming windows are suggested. Results indicate that a thixoforming window in the order of 20°C are available; in this range a eutectic transformation takes place and the liquid fraction can be controlled. Beyond the eutectic temperature liquid fraction increases significantly with temperature variation and processing control can not be assured. Thixoforming windows depend on heat transfer rates: higher the rate, higher the eutectic range and the thixoforming window. To analyse the viability of actually producing thixotropic slurries by partial melting, samples were heated to temperatures within the thixoforming windows previously suggested. Resulting microstructures were analysed by optical and electronic microscopy, X-R diffraction and EDS microanalysis. Results show the feasibility of producing thixotropic semi-solid of the studied nodular iron, in spite of its narrow thixoforming field; treatment temperature influences the size and amount of graphite nodules in the matrix. Higher temperatures can lead to fast dissolution of graphite, jeopardizing the ductility of the material. Thixocast product presents, at room temperature, small nodules of graphite in a martensitic matrix and a complex phase in grain boundaries. / Doutorado / Materiais e Processos de Fabricação / Doutor em Engenharia Mecânica

Un des problèmes de mise en œuvre des bétons rencontrés sur des chantiers de pieux forés à la tarière creuse est la difficulté d’introduire la cage d’armatures dans le béton frais dans 15 % des cas. Cette difficulté est liée en partie au comportement rhéologique du béton et au phénomène de ressuage qui sont des problèmes de formulation du béton. En effet, des études sur des fluides à seuil (pâtes de ciment, solutions de Carbopol, émulsions) comme le béton, montrent une corrélation entre le déplacement d’objets dans ces fluides et leurs seuils de cisaillement.L’objectif de cette étude est de développer un outil de caractérisation du béton sur chantier qui permette de tester la capacité des armatures à être introduites dans le béton à partir d’une technique basée sur le principe de la pénétrométrie. Une formulation de base de béton pour pieux a été choisie sur chantier et modifiée en laboratoire de façon à obtenir des bétons aux comportements variés (seuil de cisaillement, perte d’ouvrabilité et thixotropie) représentatifs des conditions sur site. L’influence de ces différents paramètres rhéologiques sur l’enfoncement des armatures a été étudiée. Elle a permis d’identifier des valeurs seuils pour lesquels un refus d’enfoncement de la cage d’armatures (blocage) est observé : slump<18 cm; τs>780 Pa et τ0>340 Pa.Une étude complémentaire menée sur 4 chantiers de pieux forés à la tarière creuse a permis de valider et d’affiner les conclusions précédentes et de prédire les blocages éventuels. / This study is mainly concerned with a concrete placement problem encountered on continuous flight auger (CFA) pile, namely the difficulty of introducing a reinforcement cage into fresh concrete, difficulty that occurs in 15 percent of cases. These difficulties are correlated in part with the rheological behavior of the concrete as well as with the bleeding phenomenon, both of which pertain to concrete mix design problems. Indeed, studies carried out on yield stress fluids, like concrete, reveal a correlation between object displacements in these fluids and their actual yield stresses.The aim of this study is to develop a tool for the in situ characterization of concrete at rest, based on the principles of penetrometry, which can assess the capability of introducing reinforcements into concrete.A widespread pile concrete mix design was chosen on-site and modified in the laboratory to obtain concrete mixtures with various behavior (yield stress, loss of workability and thixotropy) which are representative of on-site conditions. The influence of these rheological properties on the reinforcement embedment capacity has been studied. For low viscosity values (6 to 12 Pa.s), the rejection of reinforcement becomes a real risk for some threshold values : slump<18 cm; τs>780 Pa and τ0>340 Pa. To avoid blocking τ0 should be limited during casting process.An additional study was conducted on CFA piles on-site and helps to validate previous findings. It also describes reinforcement embedment kinetic. A correlation was found between reinforcement depreciation period during its setting and concrete viscosity.

Disertační práce se zabývá studiem reologického chování materiálů na bázi cementu. Úvodní část obsahuje teoretické poznatky týkající se reologie a zkoumaných materiálů (cement, samozhutnitelný beton, superplastifikátory). Poté následuje detailní popis reologických vlastností čerstvých cementových materiálů. Kromě toho je dále uvedena hydratace cementu, kalorimetrie, Vicatův test, rentgenová difrakční analýza a elektronová mikroskopie. Experimentální část práce je rozdělena do dvou částí. První část se zabývá základní charakterizací, reologickým měřením a studiem statické meze toku směsí samozhutnitelných betonů a jejich matric. Druhá část se týká cementových past, které byly podrobeny testování pomocí reometru, Vicatova přístroje, isoperibolického a modulárního kalorimetru, rentgenového difraktometru a elektronového mikroskopu.

[pt] O aparecimento de tensão limite decorrente da gelificação de óleo parafínicos constitui um problema significativo em linhas submarinas nos sistemas de produção de petróleo em água profundas. Essencialmente, existem dois modos para garantir retorno da produção em oleodutos após longas paradas: aplicar um elevado diferencial de pressão suficiente para mover o gel no duto, reinício de produção, ou injetar um fluido misccível de baixa viscosidade, preferencialmente Newtoniano, na entrada do duto, processo denominado deslocamento de fluido. Nós investigamos os efeitos da tensão limite e da tixotropia no escoamento de fluidos não Newtonianos em dutos horizontais, considerando tanto o reinício de produção quanto o deslocamento de fluidos sem diferença de densidade. Tanto a tensão limite como as propriedades tixotrópicas dos óleos parafínicos foram simuladas reologicamente por fluidos base água, soluções de Carbopol e suspensões de Laponita. Os resultados experimentais e os estudos numéricos do deslocamento de fluidos com tensão limite sem diferença de densidade são apresentados. Três tipos distintos de escoamento, que pertencem a categoria deslocamento central, foram identificados nos experimentos e chamados de corrugado, ondulado e liso a depender do nível de variação da camada residual ao longo do duto. A transição entre esses regimes foi identificada como da razão entre a tensão inercial e a tensão característica do fluido viscoplástico. Além disso, a influência das concentrações de NaCl e Laponita nos parâmetros reológicos das suspensões de Laponita é detalhada e o impacto da tixotropia no reinício de produção de suspensões de Laponita foi analisada com base em dados experimentais. / [en] The yield stress appearance when gelation occurs in wax crude oils constitutes a significant problem in subsea flowline in deepwater oil production systems. In essence, there exist two stages in a pipeline flow restart after a long shutdown: apply a large enough differential pressure in order to mobilize the gel in the pipe, i.e. a process of fluid start-up or inject miscible fluid with low viscosity, preferably Newtonian, at the pipe inlet, to flush the gelled oil out of the pipe, i.e. a process of fluid displacement. We investigate yield stress and thixotropy effects over non-Newtonian fluid flows in a horizontal pipe, considering the fluid start- up and the fluid displacement in the isodense limit. The yield stress and thixotropic properties of waxy crude oils are rheologicaly simulated by water base fluids, Carbopol solutions and Laponite suspensions. The results of experimental and numerical studies of isodense displacement of a yield stress fluid are presented. Three distinct flow types belonging to this central displacement are identified in the experiments namely corrugated, wavy and smooth depending on the level of the residual layer variation along the pipe. The transition between these flow regimes is found to be a function of the ratio between the inertial stress and the characteristic viscous stress of the viscoplastic fluid. Besides, the influence of NaCl and Laponite concentrations in the rheological parameters of Laponite suspensions is detailed and the impact of thixotropy in the start-up of Laponite suspensions are analyzed based on experimental results.

The main objective of this research was to exploit the interrelations between the rheological behavior and nano-microstructure of complex fluids in solving two state-of-the-art problems, one in the field of biomedical engineering: controlling the amount and characteristics of bioaerosol droplets generated during coughing, and the other in the bitumen-heavy oil industry: characterizing the nano-microstructure of asphaltene particles in bitumen and heavy oil from their rheological behavior. For the first problem, effect of viscoelastic and surface properties of artificial mucus simulant gels on the size distribution and amount of airborne bioaerosol droplets generated during simulated coughing were investigated. The results revealed that suppressing the generation of bioaerosol droplets and/or reducing the number of emitted droplets to a minimum during coughing are practically achievable through modulation of mucus viscoelastic properties. While variation of surface tension did not show any change in the droplet size distribution, an increase in particle size was observed as the samples changed from elastic solid type to viscoelastic type to viscous fluid type samples. This knowledge will help in the development of a new class of drugs being developed at the University of Alberta, aimed at controlling the transmission of airborne epidemic diseases by modifying the viscoelastic properties of mucus. For the second problem, studies of viscoelastic behavior of Athabasca bitumen (Alberta) and Maya crude (Mexico) oil samples, along with their Nano-filtered and chemically separated-plus-reconstituted samples were performed. The results revealed that the rheological behaviors of the bitumen-heavy oil samples are governed by their multiphase nature. The rheological behavior of all feeds, permeates and retentate samples followed a single master curve over the entire temperature interval, consistent with that of a slurry comprising a Newtonian liquid plus a dispersed solid comprising non-interacting hard spheres. The behavior of asphaltenes in the reconstituted samples, however, was found to be significantly different from that in nanofiltered samples. The information about the characteristics and behaviors of asphaltenes obtained in this study will help better understand the asphaltene structures, and support the effort to determine solutions for numerous asphaltene-related industrial problems. In the long run, this knowledge will help to create more efficient extraction and upgrading processes for bitumen and heavy oils. / Thermo Fluids

Semi-solid thixoforming processes rely on a material microstructure made of globular solid grains more or less connected to each other, thus developing a solid skeleton deforming into a liquid phase. During processing, the material structure changes with the processing history due to the agglomeration of the particles and the breaking of the grains bonds. This particular evolutive microstructure makes semi-solid materials behave as solids at rest and as liquids during shearing, which causes a decrease of the viscosity and of the resistance to deformation while shearing. Thixoforming of aluminum and magnesium alloys is state of the art and a growing number of serial production lines are in operation all over the world. But there are only few applications of semi-solid processing of higher melting point alloys such as steel. This can partly be attributed to the high forming temperature combined with the intense high temperature corrosion that requires new technical solutions. However the semi-solid forming of steels reveals high potential to reduce material as well as energy consumption compared to conventional process technologies, such as casting and forging. Simulation techniques exhibit a great potential to acquire a good understanding of the semi-solid material process. Therefore, this work deals with the development of an appropriate constitutive model for semi-solid thixoforming of steel. The constitutive law should be able to simulate the complex rheology of semi-solid materials, under both steady-state and transient conditions. For example, the peak of viscosity at start of a fast loading should be reproduced. The use of a finite yield stress is appropriate because a vertical billet does not collapse under its own weight unless the liquid fraction is too high. Furthermore, this choice along with a non-rigid solid formalism allows predicting the residual stresses after cooling down to room temperature. Several one-phase material modeling have been proposed and are compared. Thermo-mechanical modeling using a thermo-elasto-viscoplastic constitutive law has been developed. The basic idea is to extend the classical isotropic hardening and viscosity laws to the non solid state by considering two non-dimensional internal parameters. The first internal parameter is the liquid fraction and depends on the temperature only. The second one is a structural parameter that characterizes the degree of structural build up in the microstructure. Those internal parameters can depend on each other. The internal parameters act on the the viscosity law and on the yield surface evolution law. Different formulations of viscosity and hardening laws have been proposed and are compared to each other. In all cases, the semi-solid state is treated as a particular case, and the constitutive modeling remains valid over the whole range of temperature, starting from room temperature to above the liquidus. These models are tested and illustrated by mean of several representative numerical applications.