Phase Field Modeling of β(Ti) Solidification in Ti-45at.%Al: Columnar Dendrite Growth at Various Gravity Levels

At present, our understanding of the interaction between melt flow and solidification patterns is still incomplete. In columnar dendritic growth buoyancy driven flow may alter the dendrite tip and spacing selection and consequently the microsegregation of alloying elements. With the aim of supporting directional solidification experiments under hyper-gravity using a large diameter centrifuge (LDC), phase field simulations of β (Ti) dendrite growth have been performed under various gravity conditions for the binary alloy Ti-45at.%Al. The results show that Al segregation at the growth front causes convection rolls around the dendrite tips. The direction of the gravity vector is an essential parameter. When g is opposite to the direction of dendrite growth, increasing gravity leads to a marked decrease of the primary dendrite spacing and to a decrease of the mushy zone length. When g is aligned parallel to the direction of dendrite growth, the primary dendrite spacing and mushy zone length are almost unchanged, however the secondary dendrite arms grow more prominently as the magnitude of g increases.

Crystal Growth during the Solidification Process of Continuous Casting Slab

Under the condition that the solid-liquid interface bends periodically in continuous casting, the expression of solid-phase growth rate adapting to continuous casting was set up, and then the growth rates were calculated. On this basis, the morphologic of crystal growth and the variation of primary dendrite spacing during continuous casting slabs were studied. The results show that the growth rate is the fastest when solid-phase moves to wave crest within a deformation periodicity, whereas the growth rate is the slowest when the crystal moves to wave hollow. The bigger the bulge size is, the greater the variation amplitude of the growth rate will become. The variation of the growth rate results in the S/L interface to develop towards a planar surface. Because the value is much smaller than the critical value of the transformation from cells to dendrites, and the crystals only grow in the fashion of dendrites. The primary dendrite spacing at wave crest is bigger than the primary dendrite spacing at wave hollow in early stage of columnar crystal growth, and the dendrite spacing at wave crest is basically equal with the dendrite spacing at wave hollow in the late stage of solidification, and they quickly simultaneous increase. Good correlation is obtained between the experimental results and the calculation results of the dendrite arm spacing.

Effect of Calcium and Strontium on Microstructure of AZ31 Wrought Magnesium Alloys

AZ31 wrought alloys at as-cast state with different microcontent calcium and strontium was studied by optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The study shows that the primary dendrite spacing and the secondary dendrite arm spacing can be refined significantly by Ca or Sr element. At 0.5wt.% Sr and 1.8wt.% Ca, the best refinement effect is fulfilled, its primary dendrite spacing and secondary dendrite arm spacing decreased from 292μm to 87μm. The Al4Sr intermetallic compound is observed at grain boundaries When Sr was added. The Al4Sr disappears after Ca added, a new ternary intermetallic compound (Mg, Al)2Ca presents. The addition of Sr and Ca can cause microhardness increasing.

Effect of Melt Superheating Treatment on the Microstructure of as Cast AZ61 Magnesium Alloy

The influence of melt superheating treatment on microstructure of as cast AZ61 magnesium alloy was investigated at the melt superheating temperatures of 750°C, 800°C, 850°C, 900°C and 950°C respectively. The characteristics of dendrite spacing were analyzed and the component uniformity of the alloy was evaluated. The results showed that the melt superheating treatment could significantly refine the microstructure of the alloy. With the increase of the superheating temperature, the dendrite spacing gradually decreased. When the superheating temperature was 900°C, the primary dendrite spacing of 228.8μm and the secondary dendrite arm spacing of 11.2μm could be obtained. The concentrations of Al and Zn elements increased with the position change from the center of a dendrite to its primary dendrite spacing. With the increase of the superheating temperature, the distribution of Zn and Al in the alloy was more uniform under 850°C. The optimized superheating temperature of AZ61 alloy was 850-900°C.