Influence of the precrystallization flow of copper and aluminum melts on the mechanical properties of ingots

The influence of the precrystallization flow of copper and aluminum melts on the hardness and abradability of ingots is investigated. The flow was organized via passing the melts through the round-section tubes. The hardness of metals was determined by the Brinell method, and abradability was evaluated on a setup for investigating the friction properties of materials. The stability of the chemical composition of metals was monitored by spectral chemical analysis. It is established that there is an 8–17 and 7–10% increase in hardness and a 11–15 and 10–11% decrease in abradability, respectively, in the samples of copper and aluminum subjected to the flow in the molten state. It is noted that, taking into account the results of a spectral chemical analysis, the variation in the properties of metals is most likely caused primarily by the directed precrystallization flow of corresponding melts rather than by variations in the chemical composition.