Surface quality, microstructure and mechanical properties of Cu-Sn alloy plate prepared by two-phase zone continuous casting

Cu-4.7%Sn （mass fraction） alloy plate was prepared by the self-developed two-phase zone continuous casting （TZCC） process. The relationship between process parameters of TZCC and surface quality of the alloy plate was investigated. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the TZCC alloy plate were analyzed. The results show that Cu-4.7%Sn alloy plate with smooth surface can be obtained by means of reasonable matching the entrance temperature of two-phase zone mold and the continuous casting speed. The microstructure of the TZCC alloy is composed of grains-covered grains, small grains with self-closed grain boundaries, columnar grains and equiaxed grains. Compared with cold mold continuous casting Cu-4.7%Sn alloy plate, the room temperature tensile strength and ductility of the TZCC alloy plate are greatly improved.

Dust-Holding Capacity and Bio-Chemical Changes of Plant Species Growing in an Around Opencast Mining Area of Bundelkhand Region of Uttar Pradesh, India

The present study has been carried out on a total of 50 available plant species to assess their dust-capturing capacity and biochemical performances in and around open cast granite mine areas of Jhansi district and Bundelkhand University campus treated as control site. Plant species existing under a polluted environment for a long time may be considered as potentially resistant species and recommended for green belt design in mining areas, especially to cope with dust pollution. Results showed the pollution level, especially of mining-originated dust particles holding capacity of leaves and effects of different biochemical parameters (Total Chlorophyll, Protein and Carotenoid) of existing plant species both from mining areas as well as from Bundelkhand University campus. Based on their performances, Tectona grandis L., Ficus hispida L., Calotropis procera Aiton., Butea monosperma Lam. and Ficus benghalensis L., etc. are highly tolerant species while Ficus infectoria L., Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam., Ipomoea purpurea L., Allianthus excelsa Roxb. and Bauhinia variegata L. are intermediate tolerant species. T. grandis had shown the highest dust-holding capacity (2.566 ± 0.0004 mg/cm2) whereas Albizia procera (0.018 ± 0.0002 mg/cm2) was found to be the lowest dust-holding capacity. Our findings also showed that the T. grandis and F. hispida have significant dust deposition with minimal effect of dust on their leaf chlorophyll (17.447 ± 0.019 mg/g and 14.703 ± 0.201 mg/g), protein (0.699 ± 0.001 mg/g and 0.604 ± 0.002 mg/g) and carotenoid (0.372 ± 0.003 mg/g and 0.354 ± 0.003 mg/g) content respectively among all selected plant species. Therefore, in the present investigation, plant species with high tolerance to high dust-holding capacity on their leaf surfaces are preferable for green corridors as open cast granite mines and their adjacent areas.

High-strength aluminum alloys hollow billet prepared by two-phase zone continuous casting

The two-phase zone continuous casting(TZCC)technique was used to continuously cast high-strength aluminum alloy hollow billets,and a verified 3D model of TZCC was used to simulate the flow and temperature fields at casting speeds of 2-6 mm·min^(-1).Hollow billets under the same conditions were prepared,and their macro/microstructures were analyzed by an optical microscope and a scanning electron microscope.During the TZCC process,a circular fluid flow appears in front of the mushy zone,and the induction heated stepped mold and convective heat transfer result in a curved solidification front with depressed region near the inner wall and a vertical temperature gradient.The deflection of the solidification front decreases and the average cooling rate in the mushy zone increases with increasing casting speed.Experimental results for a 2D12 alloy show that hot tearing periodically appears in the hollow billet accompanied by macrosegregation near the inner wall at casting speeds of 2 and 4 mm·min^(-1),while macroscopic defects of hot tearing and macrosegregation weaken and the average size of columnar crystals in the hollow billets decreases with further increasing casting speed.2D12 aluminum alloy hollow billets with no macroscopic defects,the finest columnar crystals,and excellent mechanical properties were prepared by TZCC at a casting speed of 6 mm·min^(-1),which is beneficial for the further plastic forming process.

Numerical Simulation of Linear Electromagnetic Stirring in Secondary Cooling Region of Slab Caster

According to the theory of alternating magnetohydrodynamics and magnetic boundary renewal method,mathematical models were proposed for electromagnetic stirring in secondary cooling region( SEMS) of slab caster. The magnetic fields and flow fields of melt were simulated with SEMS. It's shown that the electromagnetic forces with inward and sidelong components produced by travel magnetic field at the wide faces of slab make the melt whirling in horizontal section,and the convection of the melt is strengthened obviously there. In addition,magnetic flux density attenuates from the edge to the center of slab,and the profile of the melt velocity along slab thickness in the center of the horizontal section takes a two-opposite-peak configuration. Ultimately,the stirring intensity and features are determined by the electromagnetic parameters,coil arrangement and stirring types.

Effects of correlative factors on the interdendritic melt flow brought by the bulge in continuous casting slabs

The effects of various factors on the flow speed of interdendritic melt were analyzed in detail in the process of continuous casting slabs. When the solid-liquid interface bends periodically, the expression of solute distribution in the columnar crystal zone was deduced, and the quantitative calculation was also made. The results show that the bulge and the interdendritic spacing are responsible for the flow speed of interdendritic melt. At the initial stage of solidification the bulge operates, and at the final stage the interdendritic spacing operates. The experimental results of macrosegregation in the slabs validated the calculated results of the flow speed of interdendritic melt, which shows that the calculated results are basically consistent with the experimental ones.

Numerical simulation and analysis of mould filling process in lost foam casting

In lost foam casting(LFC)the foam pattern is the key criterion,and the filling process is crucialto ensure the high quality of the foam pattern.Filling which lacks uniformity and denseness will cause variousdefects and affect the surface quality of the casting.The influential factors of the filling process are realized in thisresearch.Optimization of the filling process,enhancement of efficiency,decrease of waste,etc.,are obtained bythe numerical simulation of the filling process using a computer.The equations governing the dense gas-solid two-phase flow are established,and the physical significanceof each equation is discussed.The Euler/Lagrange numerical model is used to simulate the fluid dynamiccharacteristics of the dense two-phase flow during the mould filling process in lost foam casting.The experimentsand numerical results showed that this method can be a very promising tool in the mould filling simulation of beads’movement.

Semi-continuous casting of magnesium alloy AZ91 using a filtered melt delivery system

A 3-D numerical simulation of an industrial-sized slab caster for magnesium alloy AZ91 has been carried out for the steady state operational phase of the caster.The simulated model consists of an open-top melt delivery system fitted with a porous filter near the hot-top.The melt flow through the porous filter was modeled on the basis of Brinkmann-Forchimier-Extended non-Darcy model for turbulent flow.An in-house 3-D CFD code was modified to account for the melt flow through the porous filter.Results are obtained for four casting speeds namely,40,60,80,and 100 mm/min.The metal-mold contact region as well as the convective heat transfer coefficient at the mold wall were also varied.In addition to the above,the Darcy number for the porous media was also changed.All parametric studies were performed for a fixed inlet melt superheat of 64℃.The results are presented pictorially in the form of temperature and velocity fields.The sump depth,mushy region thickness,solid shell thickness at the exit of the mold and axial temperature profiles are also presented and correlated with the casting speed through regression analysis.©2015 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.on behalf of Chongqing University.

Wear analysis of a side dam in twin-roll strip casting

Reducing wear on a side dam can prolong the casting operation life of a twin-roll strip casting process,thus reducing production cost and improving casting stability.To lengthen the service life of the side dam,it is necessary to understand the wear performance of the side dam material.To investigate the wear behavior mechanism of the side dam,in this study,the UMT-2 friction and wear tester was used to determine the relationship between the wear rate of the side-dam material and various parameters.Based on the roughness of the contact area between the side dam and the end of the casting rolls as well as on the amount of deformation of the side dam,which was derived using a thermal-deformation simulation model,the reasons for the uneven wear of the side dam were obtained.

Modeling and control of dynamic soft reduction in continuous slab casting

The centerline segregation in continuous casting steel is known to be formed by the interdendritic enriched liquid flow at the solidification end in strand.At present,several methods,such as thermal soft reduction, electromagnetic stirring and dynamic soft reduction,are available to reduce the center segregation and to improve the internal quality.Although some methods could alleviate center segregation to some extent,they can also give rise to new problems.For instance,thermal soft reduction can lead to surface cracking during casting of some steels and electromagnetic stirring can result in white band.Dynamic soft reduction is an effective technology for the improvement of strand quality in continuous slab casting.In this paper,the key parameters of dynamic soft reduction technology,such as soft reduction region,the total reduction amount,for low carbon steel have been studied based on experimental and theoretical analysis.The soft reduction region was related to the segregation of chemical composition,slab bulging of narrow side and avoiding internal crack of slab.The total reduction amount was composed of natural thermal shrinkage and actual reduction amount depending on critical strain.For low carbon steel with slab dimension of(950 - 1 950) mm×170 mm,the solid fraction range in soft reduction region was recommended from 0.4 to 0.8,the total reduction amount was 2.0 -2.8 mm,and the optimized reduction rate was 0.4 - 1.2 mm/min,respectively.Furthermore,a dynamic soft reduction system in continuous slab casting, Visual Cast-Dynamic,has been developed by multithreading method.It demonstrated that the dynamic soft reduction model in this study was correct with the ability of online control.

2-D boundary-fitted coordinate grid generation for casting with complex shape

In order to overcome the zigzag grids generated by conventional finite difference method on complicated casting boundaries in the simulation of casting process, the generation program for 2-D boundary-fitted coordinate grid has been developed by solving a set of partial differential equations (PDE) numerically. The STL format files were treated as input data for 2-D physical regions. The equipartition method for boundary points was used to improve the self-adaptability of grid according to the characteristic of the STL format files. The program was demonstrated through some examples. The comparison between the conventional finite difference method and the proposed method shows that this program is effective and flexible for generation of boundary-fitted grid in any arbitrary 2-D complex domain, and the grid is in accordance with the variety of boundary curvature finely. The program also provides two types of boundary-fitted grids for double-connected region, O-type and C-type. The limitation of the step-like boundary with the rectangle grid could be avoided effectively. Therefore, the computational accuracy and efficiency would be improved and the computational time would be saved significantly by the application of boundary-fitted grids.

基于ProCAST的支座件熔模铸造浇注系统设计

熔模铸造工艺开发需要开展大量的试制实验,其工艺研发成本高、周期久。论文基于支座件的试制结果提出了3套工艺优化方案,利用数值模拟软件ProCAST对优化方案的温度场与缺陷分布进行模拟分析并最终确定了可行工艺方案。试制结果表明,优化后的工艺方案可以使支座件实现自底向上的顺序凝固,可以得到无缺陷的铸件。

Liquid-Gas Two-Phase Flow Simulation in Mold Filling Process with Level Set Method

Air entrapped in liquid metal during the mold filling process seriously affects the casting quality, thus it is important to track its behavior in the mold cavity. A liquid-gas two-phase flow model is developed to describe the mold filling process and predict the air entrapment defect. The model is based on the combination of SOLA and Level Set Method. The pressure and velocity fields are calculated by SOLA,and the interface movement is simulated by Level Set method as the most common interface tracking method in recent years.In order to validate the feasibility of the model,the liquid-gas two-phase simulation results were tested by the broken dam problem and the S-shaped experiment. Comparison between the experiments and simulation results show that Level Set method might be a very promising tool in two-phase flow simulation during the mold filling process.

低温地区木质素纤维沥青混合料的低温性能研究

使用木质素纤维作为稳定剂,制备不同掺量的试件,研究了浇注式沥青混合料在不同低温情形下的稳定性能。通过不同温度下的小梁弯曲试验、低温劈裂试验和低温弯曲蠕变试验,得到不同掺量情况下各性能指标的曲线变化规律;确定了质量分数4%的木质素纤维掺加量,对低温寒冷气候下的浇注式沥青混合料的稳定性起到积极作用。

南亚研究的区域视野

文章回顾了南亚研究的区域视野。前独立时代的印度思想家有意识地将南亚的命运与整个亚洲紧密地联系在一起。法国人类学家杜蒙的种姓研究及其遭遇的批评,反映了欧美学者的区域比较视野和南亚本土学者“就南亚论南亚”的倾向。尽管南亚“庶民研究”价值巨大,但基本丧失了区域视野。南亚研究的突出特色在于其“区域”想象,以及这种想象的区域转换。失去区域视野的本土研究将不得不认可“西方谈普遍,非西方谈特殊”的学术分工。中国的区域国别学特别需要从南亚研究中吸取教训,坚持广阔的区域视野。