Multi-physical fields distribution in billet during helical electromagnetic stirring:A numerical simulation research

Electromagnetic stirring is one of the widely applied techniques to modify the quality of casting billets.Different from conventional rotate stirring,the helical stirring is more professional in assisting multi-dimensional flow of molten metal and eliminating solidification defects.In this study,the single-winding helical stirring(SWHS)was introduced,offering advantages such as smaller volume and lower electromagnetic shielding compared to traditional helical stirring methods.Following a comprehensive numerical simulation,the stirring parameters of SWHS were adjusted to yoke inclination angle of 43°and frequency of 12 Hz.The higher electromagnetic force and flow velocity in drawing direction,as well as the lower temperature gradient induced by the SWHS,are positive factors for homogeneous solidification of billet.The experimental results on Al-8%Si alloy and 0.4%C-1.1%Mn steel demonstrate that compared to rotate stirring,the SWHS process can induce better billet quality and is more effective in accelerating the equiaxed expansion and reducing element segregation.The SWHS process can enhance the equiaxed ratio of the billet by 58.3%and reduce segregation degree of carbon element by 10.97%.Consequently,SWHS holds great promise as a potential approach for improving the quality of continuous casting billets.

Mechanical properties and microstructural evolution of rheocast A356 semi-solid slurry prepared by annular electromagnetic stirring

Nowadays,having an effective technique in preparing semi-solid slurries for rheocasting process seems to be an essential requirement.In this study,semi-solid slurry of A356 aluminum alloy was prepared by three-phase annular electromagnetic stirring(A-EMS)technique under different conditions.The effects of stirring current,pouring temperature and stirring time on microstructural evolution,mean particle size,shape factor and solid fraction were investigated.The rheocasting process was carried out by using a drop weight setup and to inject the prepared semi-solid slurry in optimal conditions into the step-die cavity.The filling behavior and mechanical properties of parts were studied.Microstructural evolution showed that the best semi-solid slurry which had fine spherical particles with the average size of~27μm and a shape factor of~0.8 was achieved at the stirring current of 70 A,melt pouring temperature of 670℃,and stirring time of 30 s.Under these conditions,the step-die cavity was completely filled at die preheating temperature of 470℃.The hardness increases by decreasing step thickness as well as die preheating temperature.Moreover,the tensile properties are improved at lower die preheating temperatures.The fracture surface,which consists of a complex topography,indicates a typical ductile fracture.

Research on semi-solid slurry of a hypoeutectic Al-Si alloy prepared by low superheat pouring and weak electromagnetic stirring

The semi-solid slurry of a hypoeutectic Al-Si alloy was manufactured by low superheat pouring and weak electromagnetic stirring. The effects of pouting temperature and stirring power on the semi-solid slurry were investigated. The results indicated that the semi-solid slurry to satisfy rheocasting can be manufactured by low superheat pouring and weak electromagnetic stirring. The pouring temperature （or superheat） and the stirring power remarkably affected the morphology of primary α-Al and the size of primary α-Al, and there is no obvious effect of stirring time on primary α-Al. Compared with the samples made by low superheat pouring with no stirring, the nucleation rate, particle morphology and grain size of primary α-Al in A356 were markedly improved by low superheat pouring and weak electromagnetic stirring. On the condition of weak electromagnetic stirring, the pouring temperature with low superheat can be suitably raised to reach the effectiveness obtained from the lower pouring temperature without stirring.

Preparation for Semi-Solid Aluminum Alloy Slurry under Weak Electromagnetic Stirring Conditions

The effects of pouring temperature, short electromagnetic stirring with low strength and then soaking treatment on the microstructure of AISi7Mg alloy were investigated. The results show that if AlSi7Mg alloy is poured at 630 or 650℃ and meanwhile stirred by an electromagnetic field at a low power for a short time, the pouring process can be easily controlled and most solidified primary α-Al grains become spherical and only a few of them are rosette-like. Weak electromagnetic stirring makes the temperature field more homogeneous and makes the primary α-Al grains disperse in a larger region, which leads to the spherical microstructures of primary α-Al grains. When the AISi7Mg alloy is soaked or reheated at the semisolid state, the primary α-Al grains ripen further and they become more spherical, which is favorable to the semi-solid forming of AlSi7Mg alloy.

Grain Size Control of Semisolid A356 Alloy Manufactured by Electromagnetic Stirring

To investigate the possibility of substituting the mechanical stirring system with electromagnetic stirring (EMS) system for aluminum rheo die-casting, the EMS under the different stirring cooling conditions was carried out. It was found that in the early period of solidification, the dendrite breakages led to a fine primary phase. When dendrites grew coarsely, the effect of ripening on grain size overwhelmed that of dendrite breakage. It was also found that the high cooling rate favored large nucleation rate, and led to a fine primary phase. But high cooling rate also made the growth rate of the dendrite arm, which prevented the dendrite arm from being sheared off. Therefore there were a suitable stirring time and suitable cooling rate to obtain the best rheo die-casting structure. Qualified semisolid A356 aluminum alloy was successfully manufactured with short time EMS.

EFFECT OF GRAIN REFINING ON PRIMARYαPHASE IN SEMI-SOLID A356 ALLOY PREPARED BY LOW SUPERHEAT POURING AND SLIGHT ELECTROMAGNETIC STIRRING

The semi-solid slurry of A356 alloy, which is grain-refined by Al-Ti-B master alloy, is prepared by low superheat pouring and slight electromagnetic stirring. The effects of grain refining on the morphology and the grain size of the primary α phase in the slurry manufactured are researched. The results indicate that the slurry with particle-like and rosette-like primary α phases can be prepared by low superheat pouring and slight electromagnetic stirring from liquid A356 alloy grain-refined, in which the pouring temperature can be suitably raised. Compared with the A356 samples without grain refining, the grain size and particle morphology of primary α phase as well as the distribution of the grain with particle-like or rosette-like along radial in the ingot in A356 are markedly improved by grain refining.

Annular electromagnetic stirring——a new method for the production of semi-solid A357 aluminum alloy slurry

A new method for producing semisolid slurry, annular electromagnetic stirring （AEMS）, to refine and spheroidize grains was exploited. Experimental work was undertaken to investigate the effects of cooling rate, stirring power and stirring time on the solidification behavior of A357 alloy using A-EMS. It was found that increasing the cooling rate and stirring power gave rise to substantial grain refinement, which could be attributed to the increase of effective nucleation rate caused by the extremely uniform temperature and composition fields in the bulk liquid during the initial stage of solidification. Results showed that a fully grain refined spherical structure could be obtained using proper processing conditions within 10 s.

Effect of electromagnetic stirring in mold on the macroscopic quality of high carbon steel billet

An industrial plant trial for optimizing the process parameters in a round billet continuous casting mold with electromagnetic stirring （M-EMS） was performed, in which the influences of stirring parameters with M-EMS on the solidification macrostructure of high carbon steel were investigated. The results show that the billet quality is not well controlled under the condition of working current and frequency with EMS, in which the subsurface crack of grade 1.0-2.0 ups to 38.09%, the central pipe of grade 1.0-1.5 reaches to 14.28%, and the central porosity of grade 1.5 is 14.29%. The parameters of current 260 A and frequency 8 Hz as the final optimum scheme has a remarkable effect for improving the macroscopic quality of billet, in which the subsurface crack, central pipe and skin blowhole are all disappeared, and the central porosity and carbon segregation are also well improved.

Analysis of cracking phenomena in continuous casting of 1Cr13 stainless steel billets with final electromagnetic stirring

Solidification cracking that occurs during continuous casting of 1Cr13 stainless steel was investigated with and without final elec- tromagnetic stirring （F-EMS）. The results show that cracks initiates and propagates along the grain boundaries where the elements of carbon and sulfur are enriched. The final stirrer should be appropriately placed at a location that is 7.5 m away from the meniscus, and the appropri- ate thickness of the liquid core in the stirring zone is 50 ram. As a stirring current of 250 A is imposed, it can promote colurnnar-equiaxed transition, decrease the secondary dendrite arm spacing, and reduce the segregation of both carbon and sulfur. F-EMS can effectively de- crease the amount of cracks in 1Cr13 stainless steel.

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.

Microstructure of in situ Al_3Ti/6351Al composites fabricated with electromagnetic stirring and fluxes

The 6351 wrought aluminum alloy and K2TiF6-CaF2-LiCl components were selected as raw materials to fabricate in situ Al3Ti particulate reinforced aluminum alloy at 720℃via direct melt reaction method with electromagnetic stirring(EMS).CaF2 and LiCl acted as fluxes to lower the reaction temperature of the system.It is shown that the electromagnetic stirring and fluxes accelerate the emulsion process of K2TiF6.Optical microscopy,scanning electron microscopy,transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrum were utilized to analyze the microstructure and components of composites.Compared to composites fabricated without EMS and fluxes,the sizes of endogenetic Al3Ti are refined from 10-15μm to 2-4μm,which are often accompanied with silicon element.The morphology of Al3Ti or Al3TiSi0.22 exhibits triangle,quadrilateral and other clumpy patterns. Because of the Ca elements from CaF2,the sizes of Mg2Si decrease from 8-10μm to 1-2μm due to the formation of Ca2Si.

Semi-solid slurry of AZ91 magnesium alloy prepared by electromagnetic stirring near liquidus temperature

An electromagnetic stirring process near liquidus temperature was designed and demonstrated experimentally to produce semi-solid slurry of AZ91 magnesium alloy,in order to avoid not only contamination from mechanical stirring but also the inflammation of Mg alloy melt at elevated temperature. AZ91 alloy feedstock was isothermally heat treated at 600-610 for 20 min,and then stirred by electromagnetic field. Globular primary particle characteristic was observed optically in the castings. Mechanical properties were also studied.

New method of direct chill casting of Al-6Si-3Cu-Mg semisolid billet by annulus electromagnetic stirring

The electromagnetic direct chill （EMDC） casting process is a welt-established production route for aluminum alloy ingot, however, the skin effect restricts the casting diameter. In order to avoid this problem, annulus electromagnetic direct chill （A-EMDC） casting process has been developed. A three-dimension finite element computational model of A-EMDC casting process was established by using ANSYS Magnetic-Nodal programs and FLOTRAN CFD programs. Microstruetures of A-EMDC casting semi-solid Al-6Si-3Cu-Mg alloy billets were investigated. Two pairs of vortexes occur within the crystallizer with opposite direction in A-EMDC. The annulus gap is advantageous to increasing circulate flow, reducing the temperature gradient as well as shallowing liquid sump depth. The microstructure obtained by A-EMDC is globular or rosette-like, and the microstructure is homogeneous in the billet.

Preparation of semisolid AlSi7Mg alloy slurry through weak traveling-wave electromagnetic stirring

The semisolid AlSi7Mg alloy slurry with large capacity was prepared by low superheat pouring and week traveling-wave electromagnetic stirring. The effects of electromagnetic stirring power and frequency on the shape and distribution of primary α-A1 grains in the AlSi7Mg alloy slurry were discussed. The experimental results show that the AlSi7Mg alloy slurry with fine and spherical primary α-A1 grains distributed homogeneously can be obtained. Under the condition of low superheat pouring and week traveling-wave electromagnetic stirring, when the pouring temperature is 630℃, raising the stirring power or frequency appropriately can gain a better shape of primary α-Al grains; but if the stirring power or frequency is increased to a certain value （1.72 kW or10 Hz）, the shape of primary α-A1 grains cannot be obviously improved and spherical primary α-Al grains distributed homogeneously can be still obtained.

Influence of electromagnetic stirring on microstructure of AZ91-0.8%Ce magnesium alloy

Effect of electromagnetic stirring on microstructure of AZ91-0.8%Ce magnesium alloy was investigated. The results show that electromagnetic stirring causes a change of morphology of α-Mg phase from coarse dendrites to fine rosette-like or spherical shape. Grain size is significantly refined within the range of input voltage 75?125 V, moreover, the optimum input voltage corresponded to the minimum value (64 μm) of grain size is 125 V. Compared to the non-stirred condition, the amount of β-Mg17Al12 precipitate under the stirred condition obviously increases. The grain refinement of AZ91-0.8%Ce alloy is mainly attributed to multiplication of existing grains in the melt caused by forced fluid flow under electromagnetic stirring condition. Addition of 0.8% Ce results in the formation of ‘necking’ at secondary dendrite arm roots of α-Mg crystals, and consequently, it is helpful to increase the number of heterogeneous nucleation.

Effect of electromagnetic stirring on metallurgical quality of GCr15 electroslag ingot

To further improve the metallurgical quality of electroslag remelting,remove the large inclusions in electroslag ingot and refine the solidification structure of electroslag ingot,an electroslag remelting furnace with electromagnetic stirring was designed,and the influence of different magnetic induction intensities on metallurgical quality of GCr15 electroslag ingot was studied.Inclusions with different sizes and types were analyzed by an ASPEX scanning electron microscope,and the morphology and composition of inclusions were further observed by a JSM-6510LV scanning electron microscope.The distribution of alloying elements on the cross section of electroslag ingot was analyzed by original position analysis(OPA).The results show that whether or not electromagnetic stirring is used,the inclusions in electroslag ingot are mainly composed of Al_(2)O_(3),MnS,MnS-oxide and other oxides,among which Al_(2)O_(3) is the most.Compared with an electroslag ingot without electromagnetic stirring,the number of inclusions decreases considerably,and the proportion of small inclusions increases while the proportion of large inclusions decreases when the electromagnetic stirring with remelting current of 1.1 kA and magnetic induction intensity of 62 Gs is applied.However,excessive electromagnetic force will cause the number and diameter of inclusions to increase again.Electromagnetic stirring has different effects on the segregation of different elements.Under the experimental conditions,the weak electromagnetic force with 1.1 kA and magnetic induction intensity of 108 Gs has little effect on the segregation of C,but decreases the segregation of P,and the excessive electromagnetic force aggravates the segregation of alloy elements.

Preparation of CuCr alloys by thermit-reduction electromagnetic stirring

The influences of the additive CaF2, different molds, mold pre-heating temperature, electromagnetic stirring, and alloying elements on CuCr have been investigated respectively during the preparation of CuCr alloys by thermit-reduction electromagnetic stirring. The results indicate that the reasonable reactant mass ratio of CuO： Cr2O3：Al is 100：140：160; CaF2 can reduce the solidification point of slags to improve the metal separating efficiency from slags; the crystal particles become thinner because of the high cooling velocity in the metal mold; while casting in the graphite mold, the casting properties of CuCr improve with the increase of pre-heating temperature; the compact alloys are prepared at 500℃; electromagnetic stirring can prevent the growth of dendrite crystal into refine crystal particles, as well as homogenize Cu and Cr to improve the CuCr properties; the optimal stirring time is 7 min; when the alloying elements Ni and Co are added to the reactants, elements Cu and Cr can distribute evenly but the crystal particles become thick.

Effect of pouring temperature on semi-solid slurry of ZL101 alloy prepared by slightly electromagnetic stirring

The semi-solid slurry of ZL101 alloy is prepared by a combination technology of low superheat pouring and slightly electromagnetic stirring. The effects of pouring temperature on the slurry prepared by the technology are investigated. The results indicate that it is feasible to prepare the slurry with globular primary phases by low superheat pouring and slightly electromagnetic stirring, and that the pouring temperature has an important effect on the morphology and the size of primary α-AI in ZL101 alloy. By applying suitable slightly electromagnetic stirring combining with relatively increased pouring temperature, i.e., in a practical way to apply low superheat pouring technology, is capable of obtaining appropriate semi-solid slurry of ZL101 alloy with globular shape of primary phase. Compared with the samples made by low superheat pouring only without stirring, the samples prepared by applying both slightly electromagnetic stirring and low superheat pouring can enable to achieve the same grain size and morphology of the primary phase with that of pouring at 15-35℃ higher.

STUDY ON STRUCTURES OF Al-CuAl_2 EUTECTIC SOLIDIFIED UNDER ELECTROMAGNETIC STIRRING

An investigation on electromagnetically-stirred solidification of Al-CuAl2 eutectic system is presented in this paper. With electromagnetic stirring in solidification, structural transition from lamellar to rod-like eutectic has been found in the as-cast structures, and provided strong stirring is applied, proeutectic growth of α-Al phase is enhanced. Moreover, the interphase spacing of eutectic is clearly increased with melt flow intensified. Numerical computation of flow field is also presented, and the effect of stirring on structural formation is discussed.

STUDY OF ELECTROMAGNETIC STIRRING REFINING MICRO-STRUCTURES OF PIPE-LINE STEEL SAW DEPOSITS

The effects of electromagnetic stirring on the microstructures of pipe-linesteel SAW deposited metal were investigated. The results showed that electromagnetic stirringincreased the number density of inclusions with 0.2-0.6 mum in diameter and promoted the formationand refining of acicular ferrite within austenite grains. The low temperature toughness of depositedmetal was improved.