EBSD investigation of the effect of the solidification rate on the nucleation behavior of eutectic components in a hypoeutectic Al-Si-Cu alloy

This article represents a study of the influence of the solidification rate on the crystallographic orientation of eutectic components with respect to the primary ??-Al in the tested hypoeutectic alloy. Electron backscattering diffraction (EBSD) patterns were produced from the Al-Si cast specimens that were solidified with different cooling rates and prepared via ion etch polishing as a complementary method after mechanical polishing. The results indicated a strong orientation relationship between the primary ??-Al and eutectic Al phase at all cooling rates. It was also found that the silicon eutectic flakes were heterogeneously nucleated in the interdendritic eutectic liquid. The increase of the cooling rate from 2 to 80 mm/min was found to be effective in lowering the intensity of the relationship between the primary ??-Al and eutectic Al phases, and changing the misorientation angle clustering between the primary ??-Al and eutectic Si phases in the interval from 41?C60° to lower angle intervals.     

Effect of refinement and modification on solidification structure of hypereutectic Al-Si strip using the unequal-diameter twin-roll strip casting process

This study investigates the microstructural variation in the hypereutectic Al-Si strips produced by the unequal-diameter twin-roll strip casting process. Experimental parameters include the silicon content (13wt% ~ 20wt%), roller speed (10.0 m/min ~ 30 m/min), pouring temperature (580°C ~ 660°C), contact angles (22° ~ 45°), and the addition of the refining elements (Ti, B and P).

The solidification structure of hypereutectic Al-Si strip is a multi-layer structure, and two kinds of matrix microstructure can be observed in the refined strip; namely eutectic and off-eutectic structure. The off-eutectic structure (Al-dendrites and granular eutectic silicon) is distributed near the strip's surface, and the eutectic structure (equiaxed Al-grain and acicular eutectic silicon) is located in the centre of strip. Due to the formation of the off-eutectic structure near to the top surface, the primary silicon particle is constrained in the subsurface of the refined strip. In addition, the primary silicon particles of refined strip disperse more uniform than the unrefined strip. According to the above results, the top surface of the refined strip is more smooth than the unrefined strip.     

Preparation of bulk β-FeSi2 by synthetical control of melt cyclical superheating,solidification and cooling process

A new method of melt cyclical superheating combined with the control of solidification and cooling process as well as appropriate heat treatment was proposed to prepare bulk β-FeSi₂. FeSi₂ precursor of φ18 × 17 mm in size was obtained under the conditions of melt superheating temperature 1550 °C, superheating time 10 min, recycling times 3, solidification rate 30 °C/s, cooling rate 12 °C/min from solidification temperature to 700 °C and cooling naturally from 700 °C to room temperature. The precursor had homogeneous and complete α + ε eutectic structure, with the rod-like ε phase of 1–2 μm in diameter. After the precursor with complete α + ε eutectic structure were annealed at 900 °C for 150 h, both the α and ε phases totally disappeared and were transformed into β-FeSi₂ except few residual Si-rich phase.     

Pb-Bi-Sn准包晶合金定向凝固微观组织演化

采用液态金属冷却定向凝固结合液淬法,在温度梯度为18 K/mm、凝固速度为0.5～100 μm/s的条件下系统研究了Pb-30％Bi- 18％Sn准包晶合金的微观组织演化及溶质分布规律.主要从凝固路径、相组成、溶质分布及微观组织特征等几个方面来研究Pb-Bi-Sn准包晶合金定向凝固过程的组织演化.其中,准包晶合金的凝固路径通过DSC差热分析的方法进行研究,发现其凝固路径为:L→L+α-Pb→L+α-Pb+β-Pb7Bi3→L+α-Pb+β-Pb7Bi3+Sn→ (β-Pb7Bi3+Sn)共晶.结合XRD,分析定向凝固试样的相结构,结果表明:试样由具有面心立方结构的α-Pb相、密排六方结构的β-Pb7Bi3相和体心正方结构的(Sn)相构成.在Pb-Bi-Sn合金定向凝固过程中,当凝固速度为0.5～2 μm/s时,初生α-Pb相以胞状界面生长,而当凝固速度增大至5μm/s及以上时,初生α-Pb相将由胞状转变为枝晶状界面生长.利用能谱分析仪对定向凝固试样进行溶质分布测试,发现局部出现溶质偏析,导致共晶组织(β-Pb7Bi3+Sn)出现.     

Effects of ultrasonic irradiation and cooling rate on the solidification microstructure of Sn–3.0Ag–0.5Cu alloy

A comparative study on the microstructures of Sn–Ag–Cu alloy ingots grown by ultrasound-assisted solidification was carried out with a specific focus on the limits on the ultrasonic processing depth and time imposed by the cooling rate during the melt solidification. During air-cooling, increasing the ultrasonic power reduced the undercooling temperature and increased the solidification time, leading to β-Sn phase fragmentation from a dendritic shape into a circular equiaxed shape. The grain size was decreased from approximately 300 μm to 20 μm. When the cooling rate was increased from 4 °C/s in air to 20 °C/s in water, the macro-undercooling temperature was more greatly reduced by an increase in ultrasonic power, but the solidification time seemed to change only slightly because only a limited period for ultrasonic processing was permitted in the melt. Under both cooling rates, the microstructures were inhomogeneous along the processing depth. The functional depth and period for ultrasonic cavitation and acoustic steaming contributed to the differences in the solidification microstructures.     

Effect of cooling rate and Fe/Mn weight ratio on volume fractions of α-AlFeSi and β-AlFeSi phases in Al−7.3Si−3.5Cu alloy

The crystallization behavior of iron intermetallic compounds in Al?7.3Si?3.5Cu alloy was investigated using thermal analysis, metallography, and a thermodynamic simulation performed with the Scheil module of ThermoCalc^®. We observed that β-AlFeSi disappeared when both high (>3.5°C/s) and low cooling rates (<0.1°C/s) were used. The elimination of β-AlFeSi at low cooling rates may be attributable to a decrease in the magnitude of microsegregation associated with low cooling rates. The disappearance of β-AlFeSi at high cooling rates may be related to growth difficulties when this phase precipitates during solidification of eutectic Al?Si: β-AlFeSi precipitation approaches the solidification onset of eutectic Al?Si when the cooling rate is increased. Moreover, the cooling rate at which the β-AlFeSi phase is suppressed should depend on the chemical composition of the alloy. According to thermodynamic simulations, the alloy composition determines the precipitation onset temperature of both β-AlFeSi (T _β) and eutectic Al?Si (T _eut). The cooling rate at which the β-AlFeSi phase disappears may be even higher as the difference betweenT _β andT _eut increases.     

冷却速率对砂型铸造Mg-10Gd-3Y-0.4Zr合金凝固行为的影响(英文)

采用计算机辅助冷却曲线分析技术研究砂型铸造过程中冷却速率(1.4~3.5°C/s)对Mg-10Gd-3Y-0.4Zr合金凝固行为的影响。结果表明:随着冷却速率的提高,起始形核温度(Tα,N)由634.8°C升至636.3°C,再辉前最低温度(Tα,Min)由631.9°C降至630.7°C,形核过冷度(ΔTN)由2.9°C升至5.6°C,共晶反应起始温度(Teut,N)上升,固相线温度(T S)由546.0°C降至541.4°C,凝固温度区间(ΔTS)增加6.1°C。形核速率(N)的增加引起晶核数量的增加,从而降低α-Mg的平均晶粒粒径。相对于形核时间(ΔtN),形核过冷度(ΔTN)对α-Mg平均晶粒粒径的影响更大。温度增加值(T eut,N-T eut,G)与缩短的反应时间改变共晶反应进程,并且影响第二相的含量以及形貌。     

Effect of chill cooling conditions on cooling rate,microstructure and casting/chill interfacial heat transfer coefficient for sand cast A319 alloy

A combination of experiments and numerical analyses were used to examine the cooling conditions, solidification microstructure and interfacial heat transfer in A319 cast in a chilled wedge format. Both solid copper chills and water cooled chills, with and without a delay in water cooling, were examined in the study. Various chill preheats were also included. The goal of the investigation is to explore methods of limiting heat transfer during solidification directly beside the chill and increasing cooling rates during solidification away from the chill. Within the range of conditions examined in the study, chill preheat was found to have only a small effect on cooling rates between 5 and 50 mm from the chill/casting interface, pour superheat a moderate effect and water cooling a significant effect. In comparison to the results for the solid chill, the solidification time at 5 mm with water cooling applied at the beginning of mould filling is reduced from 56 to 15 s and at 50 mm from 588 to 93·5 s. Furthermore, the average cooling rate during solidification is increased from 1·9 to 7·06°C s^?1 at 5 mm and from 0·18 to 1·13°C s^?1 at 50 mm. At 50 mm, for example, the increased cooling rate achieved with water translates into a reduction in secondary dendrite arm spacing from 40 to 25 μm or ～40%. Delaying the water cooling by 10 s facilitated slow cooling rates at 5 mm (similar to those achieved with a solid chill) and high cooling rates 50 mm from the chill. A temperature based correlation was found to be suitable for characterising the behaviour of the interfacial heat transfer coefficient in the solid shill castings, whereas a time based correlation was needed for the water cooled castings.     

冷却速度对Al-3Fe合金凝固特性和微观组织的影响

采用冷却曲线测定、光学显微镜(OM)和X射线衍射仪(XRD)研究了冷却速度对Al-3Fe合金凝固特性和凝固组织的影响。结果表明,在冷却速度为0.69~11.8℃/s的范围内,Al-3Fe合金的显微组织均由α-Al枝晶、初生富Fe相及枝晶间的共晶组织组成,其中富Fe相主要为Al₃Fe、Al₅Fe₂和Al₆Fe相。冷却速度对Al-3Fe合金的凝固特性和凝固组织有明显的影响。随着冷却速度的提高,合金初生相形核温度和共晶反应温度降低,合金的凝固组织明显细化。     

Effect of Grain Refinement and Cooling Rate on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Secondary Al-Si-Cu Alloys

The effect of AlTi5B1 grain refinement and different solidification rates on metallurgical and mechanical properties of a secondary AlSi7Cu3Mg alloy is reported. While the Ti content ranges from 0.04 up to 0.225 wt.%, the cooling rate varies between 0.1 and 5.5 °C/s. Metallographic and thermal analysis techniques have been used to quantitatively examine the macro- and microstructural changes occurring with grain refiner addition at various cooling rates. The results indicate that a small AlTi5B1 addition produces the greatest refinement, while no significant reduction of grain size is obtained with a great amount of grain refiner. On increasing the cooling rate, a lower amount of AlTi5B1 master alloy is necessary to produce a uniform grain size throughout the casting. The combined addition of AlTi5B1 and Sr does not produce any reciprocal interaction or effect on primary α-Al and eutectic solidification. The grain refinement improves the plastic behavior of the alloy and increases the reliability of castings, as evidenced by the Weibull statistics.     

Effect of cooling rate on morphology and type of vanadium-containing phases in Al-10V master alloy

Effects of cooling rates on the morphology, sizes and species of primary vanadium-containing phases in Al-10 V master alloys were investigated. The results show that the primary vanadium-containing phases with different morphologies and compositions present in Al-10 V master alloys at different cooling rates with the pouring temperature of 1,170 °C. When the Al-10 V master alloy is solidified in the refractory mold at a cooling rate of 2 °C·s~(-1), the vanadium-containing phases are mainly plate-like Al_(10)V phases, with the average size of 100.0 μm in the center and 93.2 μm at the edge of the ingot. When the master alloy is solidified in the graphite mold at a cooling rate of 24.3 °C·s~(-1), the primary vanadium-containing phases are dendritic Al_3V phases, with the average length of 297.0 μm for the first dendrite in the center and 275.0 μm at the edge of the ingot. The secondary dendrite arm spacing(SDAS) is 9.5 μm in the center and 9.3 μm at the edge of the ingot, respectively. When the solidification is carried out in the copper mould at a cooling rate of 45.7 °C·s~(-1), the primary vanadium-containing phases are also Al3 V phases but with smaller size, compared with that prepared at the cooling rate of 24.3 °C·s~(-1). As a result, the average length is 190.0 μm for the first dendrite in the center and 150.0 μm at the edge of the ingot. The SDAS is 9.8 μm in the center and 4.4 μm at the edge of the ingot, respectively.     

Microstructure and fractal characteristics of the solid-liquid interface forming during directional solidification of Inconel 718

The solidification microstructure and fractal characteristics of the solid-liquid interfaces of Inconel718, under different cooling rates during directional solidification, ware investigated by using SEM. Results showed that 5 μm/s was the cellular-dendrite transient rate. The prime dendrite arm spacing (PDAS) was measured by Image Tool and it decreased with the cooling rate increased. The fractal dimension of the interfaces was calculated and it changes from 1.204310 to 1.517265 with the withdrawal rate ranging from 10 to 100 μm/s. The physical significance of the fractal dimension was analyzed by using fractal theory. It was found that the fractal dimension of the dendrites can be used to describe the solidification microstructure and parameters at low cooling rate, but both the fractal dimension and the dendrite arm spacing are needed in order to integrally describe the evaluation of the solidification microstructure completely.     

Microstructural evolution of Al-20Si-5Fe alloy during rapid solidification and hot consolidation

Al-20Si-5Fe melt was rapidly solidified into particles and ribbons and then consolidated to near full density by hot pressing at 400°C/250 MPa/1 h. According to the eutectic-growth and dendritic-growth velocity models, the solidification front velocity and the amount of undercooling were estimated for the particles with different sizes. Values of 0.43−1.2 cm/s and 15–28 K were obtained. The secondary dendrite arm spacing revealed a cooling rate of 6 × 10⁵ K/s for the particles with an average size of 20 μm. Solidification models for the ribbons yielded a cooling rate of 5 × 10⁷ K/s. As a result of the higher cooling rate, the melt-spun ribbons exhibited considerable microstructural refinement and modification. The size of the primary silicon decreased from approximately 1 μm to 30 nm while the formation of iron-containing intermetallic compounds was suppressed. Supersaturation of the aluminum matrix in an amount of ∼7 at.% Si was noticed from the XRD patterns. During the hot consolidation process, coarsening of the primary silicon particles and precipitation of β-Al₅FeSi phase were observed. Evaluation of the compressive strength and hardness of the alloy indicated an improvement in mechanical properties due to the microstructural modification.     

冷却速率对A357合金凝固组织的影响

以不同冷却速率铸造A357合金试样,用光学显微镜和扫描电镜(SEM)分析其凝固组织.通过不同冷却速率下的DTA试验研究了A357合金的凝固行为;采用DSC试验研究了不同冷却速率所得试样中相的变化;测定了这些试样的微观硬度.结果表明,随着冷却速率的提高,A357合金的宏观晶粒尺寸和二次枝晶臂间距减小,共晶Si相的形态更加细小,且分布愈加弥散;合金液相线温度和二元共晶的反应温度降低,三元或四元共晶反应被抑制,合金凝固组织中Mg2Si相的析出受到抑制,微观硬度明显提高.     

Evolution of primary phases and high-temperature compressive behaviors of as-cast AuSn20 alloys prepared by different solidification pathways

The as-cast AuSn20 eutectic alloys prepared by four different solidification pathways have been investigated in terms of the microstructure and the high-temperature compressive behaviors. The primary phases appeared in the four alloys are very sensitive to the cooling rate, which decrease in the size and the volume fraction as the cooling rate increases. The morphologies of the primary ζ′-Au₅Sn phase are in dendritic at low cooling rate and change to rosette-like at high cooling rate. When the cooling rate is about 3.5 × 10⁴ K/min, the primary ζ′-Au₅Sn can be suppressed but small δ-AuSn particles appear instead as the primary phase. The compressive behaviors at 220°C exhibit a low yielding stress and a long stress platform for the alloy prepared by injection casting with a copper crucible, which indicates an advantageous processing route for the production of the AuSn20 strips or foils.     

Low-Convection-Cooling Slope Cast AlSi7Mg Alloy: A Rheological Perspective

In this paper we made an attempt to assess the solidification and flow behavior of the AlSi7Mg alloy melt flowing down the cooling slope, by calculating the Reynolds number of the flowing melt. It has been found that the length of the laminar regime within the flowing melt (low-convection flow) depends on the angle of slope. The microstructure of as-cast AlSi7Mg alloy processed by low-convection-casting using cooling slope method has been studied. The microstructure reveals dendritic primary α-Al phase with fine fibrous eutectic silicon in the interdendritic regions. The modification of eutectic silicon occurs predominately by the shearing of the solute-rich liquid between the primary α-Al dendrites prior to eutectic solidification as it flows down the cooling slope. Nucleation and growth of the primary silicon dendrites was also observed, which confirms earlier reports on three-layer theory. The mechanism responsible for the refinement of eutectic phase is the enhanced heterogeneous nucleation in the last liquid to solidify.     

Physical and mechanical properties of Al-Si-Ni eutectic alloy

Al-11.1wt%Si-4.2wt%Ni alloy was directionally solidified upward under different conditions, with different growth rates (V=4.60?C243.33 ??m/s) at a constant temperature gradient (G=5.82 K/mm) and with different temperature gradients (G=2.11?C5.82 K/mm) at a constant growth rate (V=11.63 ??m/s) by using a Bridgman type directional solidification furnace. The microstructure of directionally solidified Al-11.1wt%Si?C4.2wt%Ni alloy was observed to be irregular plates of Al₃Ni and Si within an ??-Al matrix from quenched samples. The microhardness, tensile strength and electrical resistivity of the alloy were measured from directionally solidified samples. The dependency of the microhardness, tensile strength and electrical resistivity for directionally solidified Al-Si-Ni eutectic alloy on the solidification parameters were investigated and the relationships between them were experimentally obtained by using regression analysis. Additionally, the variation of electrical resistivity with temperature in the range of 300?C825 K for the Al-Si-Ni eutectic cast alloy was also measured using a standard d.c. four-point probe technique. The enthalpy of fusion and specific heat for the same alloy were determined by a differential scanning calorimeter from the heating curve during the transformation from eutectic solid to eutectic liquid. The results obtained in the present work were compared with previous similar experimental results.     

Solidification of Liquid Distributed in its Primary Matrix Phase of Al-10Cu-Fe Alloy and Their Tribological Characteristics

Solidification behavior of liquid phase entrained in its primary solid has been investigated. A hypoeutectic alloy based on Al-Cu-Fe system containing Fe and Si was thermal cycled between semisolid regions to low temperatures. The freezing characteristics of the liquid were recorded in inverse rate cooling curves. The continuous network of the liquid phase progressively changed into isolated droplets with their different size and size distribution. Such droplets revealed undercooling of the melt varying from 20 to 35 °C below the eutectic temperature of the alloy. This behavior of melt undercooling is discussed in light of independent nucleation events associated with freezing of droplets. Solidification structure of droplets revealed particulate eutectic phases in contrast to lamellar eutectic microstructure in the interdendritic region of the as-cast alloy. The droplet distribution and their solidification structure resulted in an improvement in tribological characteristics of the alloy. This effect is correlated with features of wear surfaces generated on the matting surfaces.     

Effect of withdrawal rate on microstructure and mechanical properties of a directionally solidified NiAl-based hypoeutectic alloy doped with trace Hf and Ho

The hypoeutectic alloy, with nominal composition NiAl–31Cr–2.9Mo–0.1Hf–0.05Ho (at.%), was directionally solidified at three different withdrawal rates by liquid metal (Sn) cooling technique. Microstructural examination reveals that directional solidification gave rise to a shift in the coupled zone for the eutectic growth towards the Cr(Mo) phase. With the withdrawal rates increasing from 3 mm/min to 15 mm/min, the volume fraction of primary dendritic NiAl increases from 21.1% to 25.9%, while the size and the arm spacing of NiAl primary dendrite reduces simultaneously. The room temperature (RT) fracture toughness and the tensile strength at RT and elevated temperature (1373 K) present the valley value at intermediate rate (8 mm/min) among the withdrawal rate range which could be attributed to the decrease in volume fraction of eutectic NiAl/Cr(Mo) microstructure and the refinement of microstructure resulted from the increase of withdrawal rates. In terms of RT tensile elongation, the DS alloy grown at different withdrawal rates all break with no plastic flow.