Multi-physics multi-scale simulation of unique equiaxed-to-columnar-to-equiaxed transition during the whole solidification process of Al-Li alloy laser welding

In this study,a novel multi-physics multi-scale model with the dilute multicomponent phase-field method in three-dimensional(3D)space was developed to investigate the complex microstructure evolu-tion in the molten pool during laser welding of Al-Li alloy.To accurately compute mass data within both two and three-dimensional computational domains,three efficient computing methods,including central processing unit parallel computing,adaptive mesh refinement,and moving-frame algorithm,were uti-lized.Emphasis was placed on the distinctive equiaxed-to-columnar-to-equiaxed transition phenomenon that occurs during the entire solidification process of Al-Li alloy laser welding.Simulation results indi-cated that the growth distance of columnar grains that epitaxially grew from the base metal(BM)de-creased as the nucleation rate increased.As the nucleation rate increased,the morphology of the newly formed grains near the fusion boundary(FB)changed from columnar to equiaxed,and newly formed equiaxed grains changed from having high-order dendrites to no obvious dendrite structure.When the nucleation rate was sufficiently high,non-dendritic equiaxed grains could directly form near the FB,and there was nearly no epitaxial growth from the BM.Additionally,simulation results illustrated the com-petition among multiple grains with varying orientations that grow in 3D space near the FB.Finally,how equiaxed grain bands develop was elucidated.The equiaxed band not only hindered the growth of early columnar grains but also some of its grains could grow epitaxially to form new columnar grains.These predicted results were in good agreement with experimental measurements and observations.

A Diffuse-Interface Lattice Boltzmann Method for the Dendritic Growth with Thermosolutal Convection

In this work,we proposed a diffuse-interface model for the dendritic growth with thermosolutal convection.In this model,the sharp boundary between the fluid and solid dendrite is firstly replaced by a thin but nonzero thickness diffuse interface,which is described by the order parameter,and the diffuse-interface based governing equations for the dendritic growth are presented.To solve the model for the dendritic growth with thermosolutal convection,we also developed a diffuse-interface multirelaxation-time lattice Boltzmann(LB)method.In this method,the order parameter in the phase-field equation is combined into the force caused by the fluid-solid interaction,and the treatment on the complex fluid-solid interface can be avoided.In addition,four LB models are designed for the phase-field equation,concentration equation,temperature equation and the Navier-Stokes equations in a unified framework.Finally,we performed some simulations of the dendritic growth to test the present diffuse-interface LB method,and found that the numerical results are in good agreements with some previous works.

Heat transfer and fluid flow and their effects on the solidification microstructure in full-penetration laser welding of aluminum sheet

Understanding the behaviors of heat transfer and fluid flow in weld pool and their effects on the solidification microstructure are significant for performance improvement of laser welds.This paper develops a three-dimensional numerical model to understand the multi-physical processes such as heat transfer,melt convection and solidification behavior in full-penetration laser welding of thin 5083 aluminum sheet.Solidification parameters including temperature gradient G and solidification rate R,and their combined forms are evaluated to interpret solidification microstructure.The predicted weld dimensions and the microstructure morphology and scale agree well with experiments.Results indicate that heat conduction is the dominant mechanism of heat transfer in weld pool,and melt convection plays a critical role in microstructure scale.The mushy zone shape/size and solidification parameters can be modulated by changing process parameters.Dendritic structures form because of the low G/R value.The scale of dendritic structures can be reduced by increasing GR via decreasing heat input.The columnar to equiaxed transition is predicted quantitatively via the process related G^3/R.These findings illustrate how heat transfer and fluid flow affect the solidification parameters and hence the microstructure,and show how to improve microstructure by optimizing the process.