A high-Nb TiAl alloy with highly refined microstructure and excellent mechanical properties fabricated by electromagnetic continuous casting

In the present research, microstructure refinement of a high-Nb TiAl alloy （Ti-48Al-8Nb-0.15B） was realized by means of the electromagnetic continuous casting （EMCC） technique. The microstructure of an ingot obtained by EMCC was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. As compared with the raw as-cast alloy, the obtained EMCC alloy presented a much finer microstructure with lamellar colonies with a mean size of about 50-70 μm because the electromagnetic stirring broke initial dendrites and enhanced the heterogeneous nucleation. As the grains were refined, the properties of the TiAl alloy were improved significantly. This implies that the EMCC technique could offer the possibility of application for high-Nb TiAl alloys with a refined microstructure and excellent properties to be used as a structural material.

THE COMPUTATION AND EXPERIMENT ANALYSIS OF ELECTROMAGNETIC CONTINUOUS CASTING WITH SOFT-CONTACTED MOULD

In this paper, coupling the quasi-3D numerical simulation of electromagnetic field and the experiments of continuous casting with soft-contacted mould with some metals such as tin, aluminum, copper and steel, the electromagnetic characteristics of continuous casting with soft-contacted mould is analyzed. It is shown that the electromagnetic pressure on the surface of billet is increasing with the rising of power frequency as a logarithmically parabolic function, with that of electric conductivity of billet as a power junction, and with that of the current in inductor as a parabolic junction.

REVISED k-ε TURBULENCE MODEL IN ELECTROMAGNETIC CONTINUOUS CASTING OF MELT

The research is motivated by the ongoing the electromagnetic continuous casting of molten metal. The revised k-ε model considering the effect of magnetic field application was derived. The specific model equations for the electromagnetic braking were used to calculate the velocity distribution in the continuous casting mold of steel. The results show that the revised k-ε model considering the effect of magnetic field application tends to suppress the production of turbulence and difference between the conventional and revised k-e model is small.

Numerical Simulation of Heat Transfer and Deformation of Initial Shell in Soft Contact Continuous Casting Mold Under High Frequency Electromagnetic Field

Heat transfer and deformation of initial solidification shell in soft contact continuous casting mold under high frequency electromagnetic field were analyzed using numerical simulation method; the relative electromagnetic parameters were obtained from the previous studies. Owing to the induction heating of a high frequency electromagnetic field （20 kHz）, the thickness of initial solidification shell decreases, and the temperature of strand surface and slit copper mold increases when compared with the case without the electromagnetic filed. The viscosity of flux de- creases because of the induction heating of the high frequency electromagnetic field, and the dimension of the flux channel increases with electromagnetic pressure; thus, the deformation behavior of initial solidification shell was different before and after the action of high frequency electromagnetic field. Furthermore, the abatement mechanism of oscillation marks under high frequency electromagnetic field was explained.

Numerical Simulation of the Electromagnetic Continuous Casting for Clad Slab

In this paper,a new electromagnetic continuous casting process to prepare clad slab is presented.The influence of level direct current electromagnetic field on temperature and flow fields of the melt during the fabrication of clad slab were numerically studied by the engineering software ANSYS and FLUENT.The results indicated that when the magnetic flux density(B)was 0.15 T,the impact velocity and distance of the flow to the narrow face and underside of the dividing plate decreased remarkably.So the flow impact to the liquid pool was reduced.At the same time,the high temperature zone of the melt moved away from the narrow face and the dividing plate,and distributed more uniformly. The wider semi-solid area next to the dividing plate was useful for 3003 and 4004 aluminum alloys to bond.

Preparation of 3003/4045 Cladding Hollow Billets by Horizontal Electromagnetic Continuous Casting

The 3003/4045 aluminum alloys cladding hollow billets with the diameter of 60 mm and external thickness of 3 mm are fabricated by horizontal electromagnetic continuous casting.The surface features of ingots and microstructures of the bonding interface are observed.The results show that cladding hollow billets combine the external and internal layers by metallurgical bonding without mixing when the pouring temperature of the external liquid metal is 903 K.The diffusion region with the thickness of 25 μm can be seen clearly,where mutual diffusion of Si and Mn atoms takes place. In addition,the intermetallic compound Al_(12)(FeMn)_3Si_2 is formed in the interface.

Optimization of strand and final electromagnetic stirrers of round bloom casters with multiple sections

Strand electromagnetic stirring（S-EMS） and final electromagnetic stirring（F-EMS） are the main methods used to improve the center porosity and segregation for round blooms. To optimize the stirring conditions, nail shooting tests were conducted for three sections of large round blooms with diameters of ф380 mm, ф450 mm, and ф600 mm. Acid leaching and sulfur print tests were used to investigate the shell thickness. Based on the results of nail shooting tests, a mathematical model of solidification was established, and the variation of shell thickness and the central solid fraction were exactly calculated by the model. By taking all sections into account, the locations of S-EMS and F-EMS were optimized for each section. In the results, the macro-segregation of various sections is improved after the locations of S-EMS and F-EMS systems are changed.