REHEATING TEMPERATURE CONTRAST AND MICROSTRUCTURES OF 7075 Al ALLOY CAST BY LIQUIDUS SEMI-CONTINUOUS CASTING

In this study, reheating of liquidus semi-continuous cast billets of 7075 Al alloy was carried out in a resistance furnace, and the temperature contrast of the outer and the center of the reheated billets was investigated, then the reheating microstructures were investigated. Results show that: the difference of temperature between the outer and center is small and the difference of their microstructures are also small. During reheating at 576℃ the spheroidization of grains is significant after 5min and no rosettes are visible after 20min by optical microscopy. Similar observations were madeon materials reheated at 596℃, but the ripening process is faster. The grains growup to 30-60μm, fine enough for thixoforming.

Preparation of 2024/3003 gradient materials by semi-continuous casting using double-stream-pouring technique

The 2024/3003 aluminum gradient alloys are prepared by semi continuous casting. The influences of throttle bore diameter of embedded nozzle and temperature of internal melt on composition distribution, macrostructure, hardness are analyzed, and the stability of gradient distribution of composition, macrostructure and hardness along the axial direction of the ingot is also studied. The results show that diffe rent composition profiles can be achieved by adjusting the processing parameters; the volume fraction of inner alloy in the ingot can be increased by enlarging the throttle bore diameter and elevating the temperature of inner melt; quasi steady solidification can be realized within 20 s during cast processing, and consistent quality ingot is obtained by controlling the casting speed and liquid height of inner melt.

Effects of casting process on microstructures and flow stress behavior of Mg-9Gd-3Y-1.5Zn-0.8Zr semi-continuous casting billets

Mg-9Gd-3Y-1.5Zn-0.8Zr alloys own high strength,good heat and corrosion resistance.However,it is difficult for the fabrication of large-scale billets,due to the poor deformation ability and strong hot-crack tendency.This work investigated the casting process on the microstructures and flow stress behaviors of the semi-continuous casting billets for the fabrication of large-scale Mg-9Gd-3Y-1.5Zn-0.8Zr billets.The casting process(electromagnetic intensity and casting speed)shows outstanding effects on the microstructures and flow stress behavior of the billets.The billets with the specific casting process(I=68 A,V=65 mm/min)exhibit uniform microstructures and good deformation uniformity.

Effects of heat treatment on microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-8Gd-3Y-0.5Zr(wt.%)alloy fabricated by semi-continuous casting

The microstucture,mechanical properties and fracture behaviors of semi-continuous cast Mg-8Gd-3Y-0.5Zr(wt.%,GW83K) alloy after different heat treatments were investigated.Almost all the eutectic compounds were dissolved into the matrix and there was no evident grain growth after optimum solution treatment at 500 ℃for 4h.Further ageing at low temperatures led to significant precipitation hardening,which strengthened the alloy.Peak-aged at 200 ℃,the alloy had the highest ultimate tensile strength(UTS) and lowest elongation at 395 MPa and 2.8%,respectively.When aged at 225 ℃ for 15 h,the alloy exhibited prominent mechanical performance with UTS and elongation of 363 MPa and 5.8%,respectively.With regard to microstructure and tensile properties,the processes of 500 ℃,4h+225℃,15 h are selected as the optimal heat treatment conditions.The alloy under different conditions shows different fracture behaviors:in the as-cast alloy,a quasi-cleavage pattern is observed;after solution treatment,the alloy exhibits a trans-granular quasi-cleavage fracture;after being peak-aged at 200 ℃ and 225 ℃,the fracture mode is a mixed mode of trans-granular and intergranular fracture,in which the inter-granular mode is dominant in the alloy peak-aged at 200 ℃.

Partial Remelting of Thixotropic Magnesium-Rare Earth Alloy from Near Non-Equilibrium-Liquidus Casting

After the investigation on partial remelting of thixotropic magnesium serial alloys （ZK60） by near non-equilibrium liquidus casting （NNLC）, the primary solid grains of ZK60-2Ca alloy spheroidized notably during partial remelting processing, however, coarsening and polygonization as occurred holding time prolonged. The refining and globularity of the thixotropic alloys are promoted after further alloyed by Y, RE, Nd and/or Ag, and the results vary with those addition. The remelting structure of ZK60-2Ca-1Y alloy is finer than its base alloy. And the effect of RE, especially Ag, on the refinement of microstrueture is notable, but Nd does nothing on it. There is little impact of remelting temperature fluctuation on partial remelted microstrueture as holding time in general. On the contrary, it is more sensitive at longer holding time. The quality thixotropic silver-contained alloy can be achieved by remelted partially at 600℃ for 10 min.

MICROSTRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF ZL201 ALLOY OBTAINED BY NEAR-LIQUIDUS ELECTROMAGNETIC CASTING

The microstructures of ZL201 alloy slurry prepared by near-liquidus electromagnetic casting （NLEMC）, electromagnetic casting（EMC）, and near-liquidus casting（NLC） were investigated by means of electron microscopy and image analysis. Mechanical properties of as-cast alloys were determined. The results show that the NLEMC induces a fine, uniform, and equiaxed grain structure with a mean equal-area-circle grain diameter of 32.8μm. The as-cast aUoy has a hardness of HV122.8 and a tensite strength of 368MPa. Both of them are betterthan those of the alloys prepared by EMC and by NLC. The mechanism of grain refinement in the NLEMC alloy slurry was discussed.

Microstructures of an AlSi_7Mg alloy by near-liquidus casting

Semi-solid ingots of an A1SiTMg alloy were obtained using the method of near liquidus casting. Their microstructures exhibit the characteristics of free, equiaxed, and non-dendrite, which are required for semi-solid forming. The influences of casting temperature, heat preservation time, and cooling rate on the microstructure were also investigated. The results show that in the temperature region near liquidus the grain size becomes small with a decrease in casting temperature. Prolonging the heat preservation time makes grain crassitude at the same temperature. And increasing the cooling rate makes grain fine. The microstructure of the alloy cast with iron mould is freer than that with graphite mould.

Effect of Middle-frequency Electromagnetic Field on the Semi-continuous Casting for ZK60 Billets

The semi-continuous casting of ZK60 magnesium alloy under different middle frequency electromagnetic field conditions was examined.Effects of middle frequency electromagnetic field on microstructure,precipitations and tensile properties are investigated.The results show that the microstructures of ZK60 magnesium alloy are refined and distribution uniformity of precipitations is observed after applying the middle frequency electromagnetic field.And the tensile properties of the billets produced by middle frequency electromagnetic field are increased.

Effect of Cooling Intensity and Position on Solidification in Semi-Continuous Casting of Copper

Cooling heat flux effect in both primary and secondary cooling zone has been studied in semi-continuous casting of copper billet. Sufficient cooling is essential to reduce casting defects and to get high productivity, however low rate of solidification is aimed in order to get coarser grain size and softer metal for less losses in extrusion. A three-dimensional numerical model has been developed including solidification behavior of copper through mushy zone. At steady state and constant casting speed, solid shell thickness is monitored during the reduction of cooling rate at mould region to avoid breaking out. Heat flux intensity at mould plays important role not only in the formation of solid shell thickness. But, pool length and mushy zone thickness can be significantly increased by decreasing primary cooling intensity. Increase intensity of secondary cooling zone for two particular cases of primary cooling is tested. First case is tested at mould inlet water temperature of 38°C, and second case at water temperature of 63°C. Results showed that the combination of increasing secondary cooling intensity and reduction of primary cooling intensity can increase pool length and mushy zone thickness. Also, it is shown that, secondary cooling intensity can be magnified by up to 1.5 times for cooling water temperature of 63°C to get pool length close to that of water temperature of 38°C.

Non-dendritic structural 7075 aluminum alloy by liquidus cast and its semi-solid compression behavior

Fine, equiaxed, non dendritic structure needed by semi solid processing was obtained by liquidus cast, i.e. 7075 wrought aluminum alloy cast from liquidus temperature. The microstructures after heat treatment at different temperatures and time in the semi solid range were observed, and the compression deformation behavior at different temperatures (490～600 ℃) and strain rates (5×10 -3 ～5s -1 ) was investigated by means of Gleeble 1500 thermal mechanical simulator. The results show that the deformation resistance of the non dendritic structure attained by liquidus cast in semi solid is remarkably lower than that of conventional dendritic structure. The formability of non dendritic structure is better than that of dendritic structure.

Inhomogeneity of microstructure and mechanical properties of a 500 mm diameter heavy section semi-continuous cast AZ61 magnesium alloy ingot

For the large magnesium alloy ingot, there is a considerable difference in cooling rate of different parts in the ingot, which leads to non-uniform distribution of the secondary phases, solute segregation and tensile properties. In the present research, an heavy AZ61 alloy ingot with a diameter of 500 mm was made by semi-continuous casting. The microstructure and mechanical properties at different positions along the radial direction of the large ingot were investigated by using an optical microscope(OM), a scanning electron microscope(SEM), an energy dispersive spectroscope(EDS), and a micro-hardness tester. The results indicate that the microstructure of the AZ61 ingot is non-uniform in different locations. It changes from equiaxed to columnar grains from the center to the edge; the average grain size gradually reduces from 1,005 μm to 763 μm, the secondary dendrite arm spacing reduces from 78 μm to 50 μm, and the Mg17(Al,Zn)12 phase is also refined. The micro-hardness value increases from 55.4 HV at the center to 72.5 HV at the edge of the ingot due to the microstructure differences, and the distribution of micro-hardness at the edge of the ingot is more uniform than that in the center. The tensile properties at room temperature show little difference from the center to the edge of the ingot except that the elongation at the edge is only 3.5%, much lower than that at other areas. The fracture mechanism is ductile fracture at the center and cleavage fracture at the edge of the ingot, and at the 1/2 radius of the ingot, a mixture of ductile and cleavage fracture is present.

As-cast structure of DC casting 7075 aluminum alloy obtained under dual-frequency electromagnetic field

We have experimentally determined the as-cast structures of semi-continuous casting 7075 aluminum alloy obtained in the pres-ence of dual-frequency electromagnetic field. Results suggest that the use of dual-frequency electromagnetic field during the semi-continuous casting process of 7075 aluminum alloy ingots reduces the thickness of the surface segregation layer, increases the height of the melt menis-cus, enhances the surface quality of the ingot, and changes the surface morphology of the melt pool. Moreover, low-frequency electromag-netic field was found to show the most obvious influence on improving the as-cast structure because of its high permeability in conductors.

液相线铸造Al-18Si合金的凝固组织与力学性能研究

采用光学显微镜、Image-Pro Plus软件、X射线衍射仪和万能拉伸试验机等研究液相线铸造Al-18Si合金的凝固组织与力学性能。结果表明,随着液相线温度下保温时间的增加,Al-18Si过共晶铝硅合金中初生硅的尺寸呈现先减小后增大的趋势,力学性能则呈现先增大后减小的趋势。与普通铸造相比,液相线铸造可使Al-18Si合金中初生硅平均尺寸减小30.6%,使该合金抗拉强度和伸长率分别提高27%和108%。因此,液相线铸造是改善过共晶铝硅合金凝固组织和力学性能的有效方法。

Microstructure and mechanical properties of large-scale Mg-Gd-Y-Zn-Mn alloys prepared through semi-continuous casting

Large-scale Mg-8Gd-4Y-1Zn-Mn(wt.%)alloy ingot with a diameter of 315 mm and a length of 2410 mm was prepared through semi-continuous casting.Chemical composition,microstructure and mechanical properties at different locations of the samples with as-cast,T4 and T6 heat-treated states,respectively,were investigated.No obvious macro segregation has been detected in the high-quality alloy ingot.The main eutectic structures at all different locations are composed ofα-Mg,Mg3RE-type,Mg5RE-type and LPSO phases.At the edge of ingot,the unusual casting twins including 10-12 extension twins and 10-11 compression twins were observed due to the intensive internal stress.In T4 heat-treated alloy,the micro segregation was eliminated.The remained phases wereα-Mg and LPSO phase.Combined with the remarkable age-hardening response,T6 samples exhibits improved mechanical properties at ambient temperature,which derives from the dense prismaticβ'precipitates and profuse basalγ'precipitates.

SEGREGATION OF ALLOYING ELEMENTS IN CAST Ni-BASE SUPERALLOYS

An investigation was made on the possibility of using Ni-x phase diagrams to judge the sym- bol and degree of segregation of alloying element x in cast nickel-base superalloys.The pre- diction coincides with the experimental data.

A new composite material produced by semi-continuous casting

A new composite material consisting of lxxx aluminum alloy and 7xxx aluminum alloy was produced by semi-continuous casting. Macrostructure, microstructure, composition distribution and hardness distribution of composite interface were analyzed. Macrostructure shows that composite interface is planar and clean with little evidence of porosity; microstructure shows that composite interface is a kind of metallurgical bonding; composition and hardness distributions have a good corresponding relationship. At the same time, the mechanical property of composite interface was measured, the tensile strength is 71 MPa, the shearing strength is 62 MPa and the bending strength is 142.5 MPa, which can also show that composite interface is a kind of metallurgical bonding. Temperature distribution of composite interface was obtained by measuring temperatures near composite interface in lxxx aluminum alloy.

液相线铸造法非枝晶半固态组织形成机理探讨

对液相线铸造铝舍金形核机理和晶粒长大机制进行了理论分析，提出了液相线铸造形核机理：在小的过冷度下，大量的原子团簇瞬态发展成为晶核，形核数目多且均匀，有利于晶粒在互相抵触之前均呈球形长大．晶粒的长大分为三个阶段，球形长大、枝晶长大和枝晶抵触后枝晶的熟化． 重点推导了晶粒球形长大的稳定性判据，即下稳定因子，在凝固的初期．降低冷却强度有利于增大不稳定因子， 从而利于球形晶粒的获得：在凝固的中后期，增加冷却强度，有利于保存获得的球形晶粒．

AZ91D镁合金近液相线铸造研究

采用近液相线铸造的方法浇铸了镁合金 ＡＺ９１Ｄ，并与液相铸造的组织进行了对比。通过不同铸模浇铸考察厂冷却速率对组织的影响，研究了近液相线铸造时的静置时间对铸造组织的影响。实验结果表明，液相（６００℃）铸造组织与常规铸造组织接近，高冷却速率促进了枝晶化：近液相线铸造方法有利于组织的细化和球化，但下如铝合金旋著：增加冷却速率有利于组织的细化，也促进了球化的趋势，并对近液相线组织的演变机理进行了初步探讨。

半固态浆制备技术的新进展

制浆是半固态金属加工的关键环节 .论述了半固态金属浆制备技术的发展与现状 ,提出了制浆新工艺———液相线铸造 .通过对 2 61 8及 70 75铝合金的实验研究表明 ,采用液相线铸造法可以获得均匀、细小的非枝晶 ,其晶粒尺寸小于 50 μm ,该铸造组织经二次加热后完全转变为均匀、细小的等轴晶 ,是完全适合触变成型的理想的半固态组织 .液相线铸造制浆技术具有工艺简单、投资省、生产效率高、适合大规模工业化生产等优点 ,尤其对变形铝合晶半固态浆料的制备具有独特优势 .

AZ91D镁合金近液相线铸造半固态坯料的部分重熔

对近液相线铸造AZ91D镁合金半固态坯料进行部分重熔,通过改变部分重熔时的加热温度和保温时间来研究其微观组织的演化规律.结果表明,适当控制加热温度和时间,坯料部分重熔时可获良好的触变结构,且坯料铸造时的高冷却速率因促进了坯料组织细化和蔷薇化而在部分重熔时加快固相颗粒球化进程并使球化效果改善;坯料在近液相线温度静置30 min用水冷铁模浇注时,在 575-580℃,保温15-30min可获得较理想的重熔结构;而用石墨模浇注时,则为580℃保温15-30 min.研究还表明,重熔组织演化过程分球化预备、固相颗粒细化和球化及固相颗粒长大3个阶段.该进程是溶质和空位扩散以及相界面张力共同作用的结果.其中,前者在初期、后者在中后期起支配作用.