Directional Solidification Assisted by Liquid Metal Cooling

An overview of the development and current status of the directional solidification process assisted by liquid metal cooling (LMC) has been presented in this paper. The driving force of the rapid development of the LMC process has been analyzed by considering the demands of (1) newer technologies that can provide higher thermal gradients for alleviated segregation in advanced alloy systems, and (2) better production yield of the large directionally solidified superalloy components. The brief history of the industrialization of the LMC process has been reviewed, followed by the discussion on the LMC parameters including selection of the cooling media, using of the dynamic baffle, and the influence of withdrawal rates and so on. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the traditional superalloys processed by LMC, as well as the new alloys particularly developed for LMC process were then described. Finally, future aspects concerning the LMC process have been summarized.