基于一种改进CA模型模拟双辊连续铸轧纯铝微观组织

基于枝晶生长的基本传输过程和元胞自动机(Cellular Automaton,简称CA)-有限元(Finite Element,简称FE)模型基本原理,建立了适应双辊连续铸轧纯铝薄带工艺特点的凝固过程形核和晶体生长的数学模型.模型耦合了宏观温度场和微观组织模拟计算,考虑了溶质扩散、曲率过冷和各向异性等重要因素的影响,定义了界面单元捕获规则,能够模拟凝固过程中枝晶生长的形态.应用本模型对双辊连续铸轧纯铝薄带凝固过程中等轴晶生长、等轴晶多晶粒生长及柱状晶生长、柱状晶向等轴晶演化进行模拟并与实验结果进行对比,模拟结果与实验结果吻合较好,验证了模型的正确性.     

Modelling mixed columnar-equiaxed solidification with melt convection and grain sedimentation – Part II: Illustrative modelling results and parameter studies

A volume-averaging multiphase solidification model was introduced in Part I. In Part II, illustrative simulations are made for two benchmarks, a unidirectional solidification benchmark and a cylindrical ingot casting, using a binary Al–Cu alloy. For the case of unidirectional solidification the competing growth of columnar and equiaxed structures, evolution of different phase regions, solute redistribution, and the influence of grain sedimentation and melt convection are analyzed in detail. The columnar-to-equiaxed transition (CET) is investigated, with important insights derived from the CET prediction. The new features of the model and its applicability to industrial-type castings are demonstrated with simulations of a cylindrical ingot casting. This is done in both a 2D axisymmetric and a full 3D geometric domain to demonstrate the ability of the model to produce consistent results. The main features of the model that are verified include tracking of the columnar primary dendrite tip, nucleation of equiaxed grains ahead of the columnar tip front, hydrodynamic and solutal interactions between the equiaxed and columnar structures, the columnar-to-equiaxed transition (CET), melt convection and grain sedimentation, and macrosegregation and the final macrostructure. With appropriate modelling parameters the typical columnar-equiaxed macrostructure observed in experiments can be reproduced. Uncertainties due to model parameters and assumptions are addressed and discussed.     

Effects of Melt Thermal Treatment on A356 Alloy

To increase the casting quality of hypoeutectic Al-Si alloys, the effects of melt thermal treatment on the solidification structure of the A356 alloy were analyzed by a factorial experiment, in which the overheated melt was mixed with the low temperature melt. Experimental results show that the elongation ratio and strength of the treated samples increase remarkably compared with the control sample. The primary dendrite size reduces dramatically and the dendrite changes from columnar to equiaxed, with a little change of the secondary dendrite arm spacing (SDAS). Combined with the measurement of the nucleation undercooling, it is concluded that the solidification structure and refining effect are dependent primarily on the low temperature melt. The refining mechanism is believed as a result of the multiplication of the nuclei in the melt thermal treatment procedure.     

Modelling mixed columnar-equiaxed solidification with melt convection and grain sedimentation – Part I: Model description

Part I of this two-part investigation presents a volume-averaging multiphase solidification model that accounts for mixed columnar-equiaxed solidification, non-dendritic and dendritic crystal growth, nucleation of equiaxed grains, columnar primary dendrite tip tracking, melt flow, sedimentation of equiaxed crystals, and their influence on macrostructure and macrosegregation. Five distinct thermodynamic phases (phase regions) are defined: solid dendrites in equiaxed grains, the interdendritic melt between equiaxed dendrites, solid dendrites in columnar trunks, the interdendritic melt between trunk dendrites, and the extradendritic melt. These five phase regions are quantified by their volume fractions and characterized by their solute concentrations. The five phase regions are grouped into three hydrodynamic phases: equiaxed grains consisting of solid dendrites and interdendritic melt, columnar trunks consisting of solid dendrites and interdendritic melt, and extradendritic melt. The extradendritic melt is separated from the interdendritic melt with a grain envelope, whose profile connects the primary, secondary or tertiary dendrite tips to form a ‘natural’ enclosure of the equiaxed grains or columnar trunks. The envelope is further simplified as a volume-equivalent sphere for equiaxed grains, or as volume-equivalent cylinder for columnar trunks by use of morphological shape factors. Expansion of the envelopes during solidification is determined by dendrite growth kinetics, using the Kurz–Giovanola–Trivedi model for growth of columnar primary dendrite tips and the Lipton–Glicksman–Kurz model for growth of columnar secondary dendrite tips (radial growth of the columnar trunk) and equiaxed primary dendrite tips. The solidification of the interdendritic melt is driven by the supersaturation of the interdendritic melt and governed by the diffusion in the interdendritic melt region. Illustrative process simulations and model verifications are presented in Part II.     

The Role of Macrostructural and Microstructural Morphologies on the Corrosion Resistance of Zn and a Zn-4% Al Alloy

Different structural morphologies may develop due to a wide range of the operational conditions that may exist during casting. It is well known that corrosion resistance and mechanical properties depend on solidification structures. The aim of this study is to investigate both the influence of columnar and equiaxed structures of zinc as-cast samples and of dendritic microstructural array of a Zn-Al alloy on the corrosion resistance. In order to obtain columnar and equiaxed structures, both a vertical upward solidification apparatus and a permanent steel mold casting assembly were used. The corrosion resistance was analyzed using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and Tafel extrapolation. Corrosion tests were conducted in a 3% (vol.) NaCl solution at room temperature. It was found that coarser macrostructures tend to provide higher corrosion resistance for both columnar and equiaxed morphologies. On the other hand, finer secondary dendrite arm spacing is conducive to a better corrosion behavior of a Zn-4% Al alloy.     

Numerical Modeling of Grain Structure in Continuous Casting of Steel

A numerical model is developed for the simulation of solidification grain structure formation (equiaxed to columnar and columnar to equiaxed transitions) during the continuous casting process of steel billets. The cellular automata microstructure model is combined with the macroscopic heat transfer model. The cellular automata method is based on the Nastac's definition of neighborhood, Gaussian nucleation rule, and KGT growth model. The heat transfer model is solved by the meshless technique by using local collocation with radial basis functions. The microscopic model parameters have been adjusted with respect to the experimental data for steel 51CrMoV4. Simulations have been carried out for nominal casting conditions, reduced casting temperature, and reduced casting speed. Proper response of the multiscale model with respect to the observed grain structures has been proved.     

An innovative method for the microstructural modification of TiAl alloy solidified via direct electric current application

Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb alloy solidified with the application of direct electric current has a refined and homogeneous microstructure without segregation. We observed an initial decrease followed by a subsequent increase in grain size and lamellar spacing, with the increase in current density. Similar trend can also be obtained by varying the amount of α2-phase(Ti_3Al). Using a directional solidification processing method,the columnar crystal microstructure transforms into an equiaxed crystal microstructure at a current density of 32–64 m A/mm~2. High dislocation density is also introduced with a minimum cross-sectional grain size of 460 μm at a current density of 64 mA/mm~2. The application of electric current alters the free energy of the critical nucleus and temperature via joule heating, causing a transformation from a columnar grain microstructure into an equiaxed grain microstructure. The increase in current density leads to a rise of the nucleation rate, and a resulting undercooling combined with temperature gradient contribute to growth of the primary phase, which finally results in grain coarsening at a critical current density of 96 mA/mm~2.The climb and cross-slip of dislocation and the migration of grain boundary ultimately create variable lamellae spacing of TiAl alloy.     

Computational Modeling of Columnar to Equiaxed Transition in Alloy Solidification

The columnar to equiaxed transition (CET) provides a challenging simulation goal for computational models of alloy solidification, in addition to being an important technological feature of many casting processes. CET thus provides an industrially relevant test‐case for those developing numerical models across a range of scales. Whether or not CET occurs depends on numerous experimental parameters such as cooling rate, speed of columnar growth, thermal gradient in the liquid, and level of grain refiner in the alloy. Information on columnar and equiaxed grain structure, and the transition between the two, is very useful for foundry engineers, at the macroscopic scale of the casting. The detailed microstructure within each grain is determined by typically dendritic growth and local transport of solute and heat. This paper presents a review of recent progress on modeling CET at multiple length scales. It is evident that, whilst micro‐models can provide simulations of physical phenomena, such as the evolution of dendrite morphology, at scales 10^?3 to 10^?5 m, finite computational resources preclude this resolution over the length scale of castings which is in the 10^?2–10⁰ m range. Instead, reasonably accurate models of CET formation in castings can be achieved by meso‐scale modeling featuring 10^?3–10^?2 m phenomena. Such meso‐scale models make use of analytical expressions to simulate dendrite growth in undercooled melts. Recent progress in modeling of CET, at both macro/meso‐ and micro‐scales is reviewed, and computational challenges yet to be met are summarized.     

电磁搅拌作用下CoCrMo合金熔模铸件凝固细晶研究

目的 研究电磁搅拌对CoCrMo合金熔模铸件晶粒尺寸的影响,解决熔模铸造CoCrMo合金铸件晶粒粗大的问题。方法 将CoCrMo合金熔化后,在其凝固过程中分别施加不同工艺参数的电磁搅拌,并对其凝固后的组织进行表征分析。同时,采用有限元法对电磁搅拌在金属熔体中的电磁场和流场进行数值模拟。结果 在不同的电磁搅拌参数下,CoCrMo合金铸件凝固组织出现了不同程度的细晶效果,浇道处的细晶效果优于铸件试棒处的。铸件试棒处的晶粒尺寸最小能控制在1 mm以下,等轴晶率最高能提升至31%。数值模拟结果表明,在电磁搅拌过程中,铸件试棒的磁场、电流和洛伦兹力都呈周期性变化,铸件试棒内部的流速随搅拌时间的延长而增大,最后趋于稳定。结论 电磁搅拌对CoCrMo合金的凝固组织产生了明显的细化效果,促进了柱状晶向等轴晶转变。电磁搅拌的时间越长,铸件凝固组织的细化效果越好,铸件厚大部位的细晶效果越显著。结合实验结果和数值模拟结果发现,在电磁搅拌过程中,熔体流动引发枝晶断裂是晶粒细化的主要原因,而电磁场促进异质形核为次要原因。     

A Modified Cellular Automaton Model for the Quantitative Prediction of Equiaxed and Columnar Dendritic Growth

Since the characteristic of dendrite is an important factor determining the performance of castings, a twodimensional cellular automaton model with decentered square algorithm is developed for quantitatively predicting the dendritic growth during solidification process. The growth kinetics of solid/liquid interface are determined by the local equilibrium composition and local actual liquid composition, and the calculation of the solid fraction increment is based on these two compositions to avoid the solution of growth velocity. In order to validate the developed model, quantitative simulations of steady-state dendritic features over a range of undercooling was performed and the results exhibited good agreement with the predictions of LGK（Liptone Glicksman-Kurz） model. Meanwhile, it is demonstrated that the proposed model can be applied to simulate multiple equiaxed dendritic growth, as well as columnar dendritic growth with or without equiaxed grain formation in directional solidification of AleC u alloys. It has been shown that the model is able to simulate the growth process of multi-dendrites with various preferential orientations and can reproduce a wide range of complex dendritic growth phenomena such as nucleation, coarsening of dendrite arms, side branching in dendritic morphologies, competitive growth as well as the interaction among surrounding dendrites.     

Parameter determination of critical nucleation frequency in solidification of undercooled metallic melts

Abstract

A simple method was proposed to calculate the essential parameters correlated with the critical nucleation frequency of undercooled metals and alloy melt. Numerical results show that the calculation accuracy from this method can be improved using the experimental data either with high undercooling or with low undercooling range (the difference of undercoolings between two solidification events). The calculations of the interfacial energy for high undercooling of silver and of the catalytic factor f(θ) for high undercooling of Al, Cu and Al–30 wt-%Cu alloy indicate that the results are consistent with the experimental measurements and with the results of Jian’s model [Metall. Trans. A, 2001, 32A, 391–395]. In addition, by analysing the differential scanning calorimetry data of pure Sn subjected to different cooling rates, similar values of catalytic factor f(θ) are obtained. This further indicates the validity of the current method.     

Influence of phosphorous on nucleation and growth of grains during solidification in a NiCrFe alloy

The influence of phosphorus on the solidification of a NiCrFe model alloy has been investigated through a series of analytical techniques. It was found that increasing phosphorous additions greatly influenced the as-cast microstructure, changing from equiaxed grains to columnar grains in the center of ingots. It is indicated that the increase of phosphorous reduced the nucleation of grains and promoted dendrite growth during solidification. Furthermore, the addition of phosphorus in alloys also caused the segregation and phase transformation at grain boundaries and in interdendritic regions. The mechanism by which phosphorus influence the solidification of alloys was discussed based on experimental results as well.     

Numerical Simulation of Morphology and Microsegregation Evolution during Solidification of Al-Si Alloy

A stochastic model coupled with transient calculations for the distributions of temperature, solute and velocity during the solidification of binary alloy is presented. The model can directly describe the evolution of both morphology and segregation during dendritic crystal growth. The model takes into account the curvature and growth anisotropy of dendritic crystals. Finite difference method is used to explicitly track the sharp solid liquid (S/L) interface on a fixed Cartesian grid. Two-dimensional mesoscopic calculations are performed to simulate the evolution of columnar and equiaxed dendritic morphologies of an AI-7 wt pct Si alloy. The effects of heat transfer coefficient on the evolution of both the dendrite morphology and segregation patterns during the solidification of binary alloys are analyzed. This model is applied to the solidification of small casting. Columnar-to-equiaxed transition is analyzed in detail. The effects of heat transfer coefficient on final casting structures are also studi     

Columnar to equiaxed transition in solidification processing

The columnar to equiaxed transition (CET) is a microstructural transition that has to be controlled during certain solidification processes. CET models and microstructure selection maps, based on nucleation and dendritic growth models, are briefly described. Processing maps can be established by combining a CET model with numerical calculations of local solidification conditions. Such processing maps are helpful for the control of the solidification microstructure. As examples, two processes are discussed: the epitaxial laser metal forming (E-LMF) process where a single crystalline superalloy part is repaired in single crystal form and equiaxed grains have to be avoided; and the arc welding of aluminium alloys where equiaxed grains are the preferred solidification structure.     

Columnar to equiaxed transition in solidification processing

The columnar to equiaxed transition (CET) is a microstructural transition that has to be controlled during certain solidification processes. CET models and microstructure selection maps, based on nucleation and dendritic growth models, are briefly described. Processing maps can be established by combining a CET model with numerical calculations of local solidification conditions. Such processing maps are helpful for the control of the solidification microstructure. As examples, two processes are discussed: the epitaxial laser metal forming (E-LMF) process where a single crystalline superalloy part is repaired in single crystal form and equiaxed grains have to be avoided; and the arc welding of aluminium alloys where equiaxed grains are the preferred solidification structure.     

Growth direction and Si alloying affecting directionally solidified structures of Al–Cu–Si alloys

The roles of growth direction and Si content on the columnar/equiaxed transition and on dendritic spacings of Al–Cu–Si alloys still remain as an open field to be studied. In the present investigation, Al–6 wt-%Cu–4 wt-%Si and Al–6 wt-%Cu alloys were directionally solidified upwards and horizontally under transient heat flow conditions. The experimental results include tip growth rate and cooling rates, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy energy dispersive spectrometry and dendrite arm spacings. It was found that silicon alloying contributes to significant refinement of primary/secondary dendritic spacings for the upward configuration as compared with corresponding results of the horizontal growth. Experimental growth laws are proposed, and the effects of the presence/absence of solutal convection in both growth directions are discussed.     

Effects of Solidification Conditions on the Crystal Selection Behavior of an Al Base Alloy During Directional Solidification

Al base alloy can be used as model alloy of Ni base single crystal superalloy due to their similarity on microstructure, while its lower melt temperature can match the restricted temperature of furnace working in space. The crystal selection behavior Al base alloy during directional solidification is studied by Bridgman process. With rise of heating temperature and decrease of withdraw rate, the number of grains passed spiral selector reduces. At heating temperature 900 ^°C and withdraw rate 2mm/min, an Al base single crystal alloy can be produced. At higher heating temperature more Mg segregates to dendrite stem, which cause smaller liquid volume fraction. At lower withdraw rate less Cu segregate to interdendrite region, which cause reduced constitutional undercooling. These two factors lead to the shrinkage of secondary dendrite arm, thus the efficiency of spiral selector is improved.     

Aluminium and Al–4·5Cu alloy end chill: structural observation and heat flow analysis

Abstract

End chill experiments were performed on aluminium and Al–4·5Cu (wt-%) in order to study the effect of melt superheat (20–150 K), chill material (copper, iron, or sand), and specimen length (890–230 mm) on the type and size of macrostructure. Increasing melt superheat increases the length of columnar zone, which is shorter for the alloy than for the commercial purity metal. The columnar fraction increases with the thermal conductivity of the chill material and the heat transfer coefficient. The results are correlated with the temperature gradient, solidification rate, and growth rate obtained from a heat flow model. The columnar to equiaxed transition is found to occur at a critical temperature gradient and growth rate. These critical values differ with alloy composition. The grain size of columnar and equiaxed grains is found to follow a power relationship with solidification rate.

MST/1709     

Current understanding of the origin of equiaxed grains in pure metals during ultrasonic solidification and a comparison of grain formation processes with low frequency vibration,pulsed magnetic and electric-current pulse techniques

The formation of fine,non-dendritic equiaxed grains throughout a casting without the addition of refiners(i.e.independent of alloy chemistry),is made possible by using ultrasonic,magnetic or pulsed magnetic and electric current pulse techniques.The dominant mechanisms proposed for the grain refinement produced during the application of an external field are cavitation phenomena assisted nucleation or fragmentation of dendrites(ultrasonic field),wall crystals arising from the cold surface of the mould(electric current pulse,magnetic and pulsed magnetic fields).In all these cases fluid flow provides an additional contribution(e.g.reduced temperature gradients,growth rate and remelting of dendrites)to maintaining an equiaxed grain structure.The origin of equiaxed grains under an external field also depends on the casting conditions(volume and shape of casting)and the type of alloy other than the mechanisms specific to a particular technique.The current work aims to provide a detailed understanding of the various factors and mechanisms that influence the grain refinement achieved during the solidification of pure metals(magnesium and zinc)subjected to Ultra Sonic Treatment(UST).The role of the temperature range of UST application,time duration and an unpreheated sonotrode are examined with respect to the origin,evolution of equiaxed grain structure,morphology and the columnar to equiaxed transition.The origin of grains was analysed from three fundamental aspects that contribute to refinement(i)heterogeneous nucleation(ii)fragmentation of existing dendrites and(iii)grains produced from the colder surfaces(arising from mould walls or vibrating surfaces as wall crystals).A comparison of UST refinement with mechanical,low-frequency vibration,electric current pulse and magnetic field solidification of pure metals has also been provided to highlight the importance of the cold surfaces(sonotrode and mould wall)in influencing grain refinement.     

深过冷DD3高温合金的两次细化机制

用复合熔盐净化与循环过热相结合的方法,获得了最大210K过冷度,研究了DD3高温合金过冷熔体凝固组织的演化规律,在所获得的过冷度范围内,凝固组织的形态发生两次晶粒细化,发生第一次细化的过冷度为30－70K,因枝晶熟化,重熔,高度发达的树枝晶转变为第一类粒状晶;发生第二次细化的过冷度超过153K,凝固组织因枝晶碎断和再结晶而志变为第二类粒状晶。