Three-dimensional visualization and quantification of microporosity in aluminum castings by X-ray micro-computed tomography

Porosity is a major issue in solidification processing of metallic materials.In this work,wedge die casting experiments were designed to investigate the effect of cooling rate on microporosity in an aluminum alloy A356.Microstructure information including dendrites and porosity were measured and observed by optical microscopy and X-ray micro-computed tomography(XMCT).The effects of cooling rate on secondary dendrite arm spacing(SDAS)and porosity were discussed.The relationship between SDAS and cooling rate was established and validated using a mathematical model.Three-dimensional(3-D)porosity information,including porosity percentage,pore volume,and pore number,was determined by XMCT.With the cooling rate decreasing from a lower to a higher position of the wedge die,the observed pore number decreases,the porosity percentage increases,and the equivalent pore radius increases.Sphericity of the pores was discussed as an empirical criterion to distinguish the types of porosity.For different cooling rates,the larger the equivalent pore radius is,the lower the sphericity of the pores.This research suggests that XMCT is a useful tool to provide critical 3-D porosity information for integrated computational materials engineering(ICME)design and process optimization of solidification products.     

Effects of Re on surface eutectic formation for Ni-base single crystal superalloys during directional solidification

Effects of Re on the formation of surface eutectics have been investigated by using Ni-base single crystal superalloys with different Re additions. It was found that Re promotes the segregation of Al and Ta to the eutectic melt, leading to an increase of the surface and internal eutectics. In addition, the addition of Re also increased the freezing range, the local solidification time, and the permeability of the dendritic network within the mushy zone. These factors ultimately promoted the outflow of the interdendritic residual liquid with the action of solidification shrinkage, and led to the formation of more surface eutectics. In contrast, the addition of Re had no obvious influence on the surface eutectic microstructures.     

复杂镍基单晶铸件显微孔洞的形成机理EI北大核心CSCD

采用高分辨透射X射线三维成像技术研究高速凝固法(high rate solidification,HRS)制备的3种成分复杂单晶铸件叶身和缘板部位的铸态显微孔洞分布情况。结果表明:凝固温度范围和枝晶排列曲折程度对孔洞的影响很大。铸件叶身部位,不同成分单晶的枝晶排列方式相同。其中,一代单晶的凝固温度范围最大,其孔洞体积分数也最大。二代单晶和三代单晶的凝固范围差异不大,孔洞体积分数主要受共晶体积分数的影响。随着单晶代次的增加,合金中难熔元素的含量将会增加,继而引起叶身部位共晶体积分数的增加。因此,合金最后凝固阶段枝晶间的空隙尺寸增加,液相压降降低,导致形成孔洞的体积分数减小。相比于叶身部位,缘板部位的孔洞主要由枝晶曲折程度决定。一代单晶缘板部位的枝晶曲折程度变化不明显,其孔洞体积分数与叶身部位的孔洞体积分数差异不大。二代单晶和三代单晶缘板部位的枝晶曲折程度逐渐增加,其孔洞体积分数增加。     

The Quantitative Discrimination between Shrinkage and Gas Microporosity in Cast Aluminum Alloys Using Spatial Data Analysis

Microporosity in cast aluminum alloys may originate from hydrogen gas evolution, microshrinkage, or a combination of both. A spatial analysis method for the quantitative discrimination between shrinkage and gas porosity is presented and explained. It is shown that shrinkage pores can be selected and analyzed separately from gas pores by nearest-neighbor analysis. The principles of spatial statistics are discussed, and the types of spatial point patterns, complete spatial randomness, and nearest-neighbor cluster analysis are reviewed with respect to microporosity analysis. The pore distribution of a cast Al–7% Si (A356) foundry alloy is used as an example.     

Microstructural characteristics of gas tungsten arc synthesised Fe-Cr-Si-C coating

Abstract

The gas tungsten arc (GTA) method was used to synthesise Fe-Cr-Si-C alloy coatings, and processing effects on the coating were investigated experimentally. Coatings were developed on an AISI type 1040 steel substrate. Four different regions were obtained in the surface coating; and in these regions either a hypoeutectic or a hypereutectic microstructure was found. The hypoeutectic microstructure consisted of primary dendrites of austenite (γ) phase and eutectic M₇C₃ (M=Cr,Fe) carbides. On the other hand, the hypereutectic microstructure consisted of M₇C₃ primary carbides and eutectic. A hypoeutectic or hypereutectic microstructure was determined by the combination of particularly carbon concentration, solidification rate, and extent of substrate melting. The higher hardness of the hypereutectic microstructure is attributed especially to the formation of M₇C₃ primary carbides. The lower hardness of the hypoeutectic microstructure is related to three effective parameters: first, the presence of γ phase in the primary dendrites; second, excessive dilution from the base material; and third, relatively low concentrations of chromium and carbon.     

Fabrication of Lotus‐type Porous Metals and their Physical Properties

Lotus‐type porous metals whose long cylindrical pores are aligned in one direction were fabricated by unidirectional solidification in a pressurized gas atmosphere. The pores are formed as a result of precipitation of supersaturated gas when liquid metal is solidified. The lotus‐type porous metals with homogeneous size and porosity of the evolved pores produced by a mould casting technique are limited to the metals with high thermal conductivity. On the other hand, the pores with inhomogeneous pore size and porosity are evolved for metals and alloys with low thermal conductivity such as stainless steel. In order to obtain uniform pore size and porosity, a new “continuous zone melting technique” was developed to fabricate long rod‐ and plate‐shape porous metals and alloys even with low thermal conductivity. Mechanical properties of tensile and compressive strength of lotus‐type porous metals and alloys are described together with internal friction, elasticity, thermal conductivity and sound absorption characteristics. All the physical properties exhibit significant anisotropy. Lotus‐type porous iron fabricated using a pressurized nitrogen gas instead of hydrogen exhibits superior strength.     

Fabrication, properties and application of porous metals with directional pores

This paper reviews the recent development of fabrication methods, various properties of porous metals with directional pores and its applications. This porous metals are fabricated by unidirectional solidification in pressurized gas atmosphere such as hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen. The pores are evolved from insoluble gas when the melt metal dissolving the gas is solidified. The nucleation and growth mechanism of the directional pores in metals are discussed in comparison with a model experiment of carbon dioxide pores in ice. Three fabrication techniques, mold casting, continuous zone melting and continuous casting techniques, are introduced. The latter two techniques can control the solidification velocity and the last one possesses a merit for mass production. The porosity and pore size are able to be controlled by solidification velocity and ambient gas pressure, while the pore direction can be controlled by solidification direction. Not only metals and alloys but also intermetallic compounds, semiconductors and ceramics can be produced by this method. Anisotropy in the mechanical and physical properties is resulted from anisotropic pore morphology. The experimental results on the anisotropy in the elastic property and electrical conductivity are consistent with those calculated with an effective-mean-field theory. The anisotropic behaviors of tensile, compressive and fatigue strength are explained in terms of the dependence of stress concentration on the pore orientation. This porous metals exhibit good sound absorption and vibration-damping properties. Several possible applications are in progress for heat sink, golf putter, biomaterials and so on.     

Sn-9Zn无铅焊料合金凝固组织及其在时效中的演变

为了考察Sn-9Zn无铅焊料合金凝固组织及其在时效中的演变,制备了不同冷却条件及不同熔体过热度下Sn-9Zn/Cu焊点,并利用扫描电镜和光学显微镜观察了其组织形貌.观察发现:共晶组织随冷却速率提高而显著细化;同时,随炉缓冷凝固时合金形成完全的层片状共晶组织,而空冷和喷水冷却条件下合金除层片状共晶组织外,还形成了杆状富锌相.实验结果还表明,熔体过热度对出炉空冷合金的共晶组织有显著影响,较高的熔体过热度使共晶组织更细密.在空冷合金的时效过程中,杆状富锌相趋于逐渐溶解消失,90℃时效时还发生了共晶组织的显著粗化.     

Anisotropic compressive properties of porous copper produced by unidirectional solidification

Porous copper whose long cylindrical pores are aligned in one direction has been fabricated by unidirectional solidification of the melt in a mixture gas of hydrogen and argon. The compressive yield strength of the porous copper with the cylindrical pores orientated parallel to the compression direction decreases linearly with increasing porosity. For the porous copper whose pore axes are perpendicular to the compressive direction, the compressive yield strength slightly decreases in the porosity range up to 30% and then decreases significantly with increasing porosity. The compressive stress–strain curves depend on the compressive direction with respect to the pore direction, which are due to the stress concentration around the pores and the buckling of the copper between the pores. From two different types of stress–strain curve, the energy absorption capacity of the porous copper with the pores parallel to the compressive direction is higher than that perpendicular to the compressive direction at a given porosity.     

Porosity formation in Al-9 wt% Si-3 wt% Cu-X alloy systems: measurements of porosity

A set of 72 experiments was carried out to study the effects of solidification conditions, hydrogen content and additives on the formation of porosity in Al-9 wt% Si-3 wt% Cu-X alloy systems. It was found that not all alloying elements contribute to porosity formation in the Al-Si-Cu base system. Some of these elements, e.g. magnesium, titanium and phosphorus, tend to reduce both pore size and density. Hydrogen is the strongest element that induces porosity formation, its effect being reinforced either by the addition of strontium or by increasing the solidification time, or both. Grain refining is found to reduce pore density and pore size, and results in a fine dispersion of the pores throughout the alloy matrix. The necessary precautions to be taken in measuring the porosity in these alloys are reviewed in this paper. Accurate measurements of porosity using image analysis need careful adjustment of optical parameters, namely focus, illumination and grey level, as well as a careful selection of the number of field measurements required to represent correctly the sample surface.     

Solidification of NaCl–LiF–$$\hbox {CaF}_{2}$$ ternary composites

The purpose of this work is to refine the microstructure of eutectic halides, candidates to polaritonic metamaterials, through the directional solidification of ternary compositions. NaCl–LiF–\(\hbox {CaF}_{2}\) ternary composites have been solidified using Bridgman and micro-pulling-down techniques at pulling rates from 3 to 300 mm/h for the first time. The interparticle spacing is 12% smaller for this composition than for the binary fibrous NaCl–LiF eutectic. Conditions for solidification and growth in order to generate ternary aligned microstructures are discussed. The very small amount of melt remaining in the mixtures until \(580\,^{\circ }\hbox {C}\) is probably the consequence of solid solubility of LiCl in NaCl and the formation of the reciprocal salt pairs, as in NaCl–LiF. However, it does not prevent the solidification of homogenous ternary microstructures.     

Microstructure development in eutectic Al–Fe alloy during directional solidification under high magnetic fields at different growth velocities

In this study, the Al-1.9 wt.% Fe alloy was directionally solidified at different growth velocities under various high magnetic fields. The effect of high magnetic fields on microstructural evolution of the alloys during directional solidification and their dependence on the growth velocity were investigated. The microstructures near the transition growth regions of the alloys between two different growth velocities were observed. With increasing growth velocity, the microstructure exhibited a eutectic to cellular eutectic to hypoeutectic structure transformation. Applying high magnetic fields increased the spacing of the eutectic Al₃Fe phase and decreased the alignment degree of the eutectic Al₃Fe phase at 1 µm/s, decreased the size of the eutectic cells at 10 µm/s, and promoted development and branching of the primary Al dendrites at 100 µm/s. Near the transition growth region, applying high magnetic fields stopped the growth of existing eutectic Al₃Fe and promoted nucleation of the new eutectic Al₃Fe phase for 1–10 μm/s, and accelerated transformation of the growth behavior from cellular eutectic to hypoeutectic for 10–100 μm/s. The evolution of the eutectic growth behavior caused by the high magnetic fields can be attributed to suppression of convection and the corresponding decrease in solute migration owing to the Lorentz force.

     

定向凝固Cu-0.33Cr-0.1Ti亚共晶合金中带状组织的形成机理

考察了Cu-0.33Cr-0.1Ti亚共晶合金在凝固速率为20μm/s下的定向凝固组织,利用SEM和EDS对带状组织的形貌和成分进行了分析,并从动力学、形核条件等方面探讨了带状组织形成的原因和机理。结果表明,该带状组织是由单相胞状α-Cu相与(α-Cu)+(β-Cr)共晶组织交替生长形成,带状组织的产生与定向凝固界面前沿的溶质分布有关,即主要受溶质浓度、有效溶质系数和凝固速率等因素的影响。     

Eutectic and peritectic solidification patterns

Recent advances in the understanding of eutectic and peritectic two-phase pattern formation under purely diffusive transport are reviewed. The parallel progress of two key techniques, namely, in situ experimentation with model, low-melting transparent and metallic alloys in thin and bulk samples, and numerical phase-field simulations, is highlighted. Experiments and simulations are interpreted in the light of the theory of non-equilibrium pattern formation phenomena. Focus is put on microstructure selection and morphological transitions, multiscale patterns in ternary alloys, and the influence of crystallographic effects on pattern formation. Open problems, for example on crystallographic effects, irregular eutectics, and peritectic solidification, are outlined.     

Three-dimensional reconstruction of anomalous eutectic in laser remelted Ni-30 wt.% Sn alloy

Abstract

Laser remelting has been performed on Ni-30 wt.% Sn hypoeutectic alloy. An anomalous eutectic formed at the bottom of the molten pool when the sample was remelted thoroughly. 3D morphologies of the α-Ni and Ni₃Sn phases in the anomalous eutectic region were obtained and investigated using serial sectioning reconstruction technology. It is found that the Ni₃Sn phase has a continuous interconnected network structure and the α-Ni phase is distributed as separate particles in the anomalous eutectic, which is consistent with the electron backscatter diffraction pattern examinations. The α-Ni particles in the anomalous eutectic are supersaturated with Sn element as compared with the equilibrium phase diagram. Meanwhile, small wavy lamella eutectics coexist with anomalous eutectics. The Trivedi–Magnin–Kurz model was used to estimate undercooling with lamellar spacing. The results suggest that the critical undercooling found in undercooling solidification is not a sufficient condition for anomalous eutectic formation. Besides, α-Ni particles in the anomalous eutectic do not exhibit a completely random misorientation and some neighboring α-Ni particles have the same orientation. It is shown that both the coupled and decoupled growth of the eutectic two phases can generate the α-Ni + Ni₃Sn anomalous eutectic structure.     

Influence of oxides on porosity formation in Sr-treated Al-Si casting alloys

The strength and quality of an Al-Si alloy casting are determined by its microstructure and the amount of porosity present in the casting. Modification is one of the processes used to improve the microstructural quality, where the addition of a modifying agent alters the shape of the eutectic Si from an acicular to a fibrous form that is extremely beneficial to the mechanical properties. Among various modifiers, strontium has been used extensively, as it is easier to handle and more resistant to fading. However, its addition is also associated with porosity formation in these alloys. The porosity formed in Sr-modified castings has been variously related to an increase in the hydrogen level of the melt, feedability problems in the mushy zone during solidification, and changes in the mode of eutectic nucleation—from near the -Al dendrites in the Sr-free alloy, to within the eutectic liquid itself in the Sr-containing alloy. The present study was carried out to determine the influence of oxides on the porosity characteristics observed in Al-Si alloys containing strontium. A series of experimental and industrial alloys viz., Al-7%Si, Al-12%Si, 319 and 356 were selected, to cover a variety of alloy freezing ranges. The techniques of thermal analysis, optical microscopy, and SEM/EDX and EPMA analyses were employed to obtain the results presented here. It is seen how the presence of oxides (Sr and Al) is responsible for the porosity formation observed in Al-Si alloys, and that the difference in porosity characteristics with the addition of Sr depends on the amount of Sr oxides present in the solidified structure. The presence of aluminum oxide films leads to the formation of large pores that are often linked together. Both aluminum and strontium oxides are favorable sites for the nucleation of other microconstituents.     

Hydrogen-induced gas porosity formation in Al–4.5 wt% Cu–1.4 wt% Mg alloy

The effects of low (0.067 cm³/100 g) and relatively high (0.19 and 0.27 cm³/100 g) initial melt hydrogen concentration, solidification processing conditions, and grain refining on the formation of hydrogen-induced gas porosity in Al–4.5 wt% Cu–1.4 wt% Mg alloy have been quantitatively investigated. The study was conducted with unidirectionally cooled laboratory-size ingots solidified at 0.2–37 K/s. An optical microscope-based image analyzer and precision density measurement based on the Archimedes’ principle were used to quantify the characteristics of the hydrogen-induced porosity in the ingots. Predictably, increase in melt hydrogen concentration and decrease in solidification rate increased the amount of porosity and average pore size. However, the effect of solidification rate was greater at the very low melt hydrogen concentration (0.067 cm³/100 g). These results are consistent with reported effects of solidification rate and melt hydrogen content on porosity formation in other aluminum alloys. Addition of grain refiner slightly increased the amount of porosity and the average pore size, especially at solidification rates above 1 K/s.     

Effect of Microstructure and Hydrogen Pores on the Mechanical Behavior of an Al7%Si0.3%Mg Alloy Studied by a Combined Phase‐Field and Micromechanical Approach

A combination of the phase‐field method for the simulation of the microstructure evolution during solidification with subsequent finite element simulation of fracture appearance in the final solidification structure is proposed for the prediction of the mechanical behavior of Al? Si based casting alloys, including the effect of solidification porosity caused by hydrogen. Metallographic investigations and computer tomographic observations of the as cast microstructure of an Al7%Si0.3%Mg alloy together with the data obtained from mechanical tensile testing are used to compare and validate the simulation results to demonstrate the capabilities as well as current limitations in micromechanical modeling of void containing materials. In micromechanical simulations with the element elimination technique (EET) it is shown that porosity influences the crack path as well as crack propagation by connecting the pores. In the eutectic microstructure without porosity, failure starts to develop in silicon lamellae and proceeds in the ductile matrix. However, in the presence of pores fracture also initiates in silicon, and in the later stages of loading, porosity affects the path of the crack and results in additional crack nucleation, and thus, these pores also influence crack propagation in the matrix.     

Erzeugung und Charakterisierung porenbehafteter Prüfkörper für Schwingprüfung und Gießsimulation

A large number of specimens has been created and investigated for fatigue tests and the numerical simulation of porosity formation in castings. The specimens are made out of the alloy AlSi7Mg0.3, the porosity has been characterized by means of computer tomography. The obtained results are put into relation with production conditions, with emphasis on melt hydrogen content. Form and amount of porosity is investigated in conjunction with melt hydrogen content and the transition between solidification and gas porosity is documented. The evolution of pores of different size is scrutinized in detail.