Effect of solidification cooling rate on microstructure and tribology characteristics of Zn-4Si alloy

The main objective of this work was to modify the microstructure and enhance the tribological properties of a new Zn-4Si al-loy through a high solidification cooling rate(SCR).According to the results,by increasing the SCR from 2.0 to 59.5℃/s the average size of primary Si particles and that of the grains reduced from 76.1 and 3780μm to less than about 14.6 and 460μm,respectively.Augment-ing the SCR also enhanced the microstructural homogeneity,decreased the porosity content(by 50%),and increased the matrix hardness(by 36%).These microstructural changes enhanced the tribological behavior.For instance,under the applied pressure of 0.5 MPa,an in-crease in the SCR from 2.0 to 59.5℃/s decreased the wear rate and the average friction coefficient of the alloy by 57%and 23%,respect-ively.The wear mechanism was also changed from the severe delamination,adhesion,and abrasion in the slowly-cooled alloy to the mild tribolayer delamination/abrasion in the high-cooling-rate-solidified sample.

Effect of cooling rate on solidification parameters and microstructure of A1-7Si-0.3Mg-0.15Fe alloy

The effects of cooling rate on the solidification parameters and microstructure of Al-7Si-0.3Mg-0.15 Fe alloy during solidification process were studied.To obtain different cooling rates,the step casting with five different thicknesses was used and the cooling rates and solidification parameters were determined by computer-aided thermal analysis method.The results show that at higher cooling rates,the primary α（Al） dendrite nucleation temperature,eutectic reaction temperature and solidus temperature shift to lower temperatures.Besides,with increasing cooling rate from 0.19 ℃/s up to 6.25 ℃/s,the secondary dendritic arm spacing decreases from 68 μm to 20 μm,and the primary dendritic volume fraction declines by approximately 5%.In addition,it reduces the length of Fe-bearing phase from 28 μm to 18 μm with a better uniform distribution.It is also found that high cooling rates make for modifying eutectic silicon into fibrous branched morphology,and decreasing block or lamella shape eutectic silicon.

Numerical simulation of solidification of liquid aluminum alloy flowing on cooling slope

Preparation of semisolid slurry using a cooling slope is increasingly becoming popular,primarily because of the simplicity in design and ease control of the process.In this process,liquid alloy is poured down an inclined surface which is cooled from underneath.The cooling enables partial solidification and the incline provides the necessary shear for producing semisolid slurry.However,the final microstructure of the ingot depends on several process parameters such as cooling rate,incline angle of the cooling slope,length of the slope and initial melt superheat.In this work,a CFD model using volume of fluid(VOF) method for simulating flow along the cooling slope was presented.Equations for conservation of mass,momentum,energy and species were solved to predict hydrodynamic and thermal behavior,in addition to predicting solid fraction distribution and macrosegregation.Solidification was modeled using an enthalpy approach and a volume averaged technique for the different phases.The mushy region was modeled as a multi-layered porous medium consisting of fixed columnar dendrites and mobile equiaxed/fragmented grains.The alloy chosen for the study was aluminum alloy A356,for which adequate experimental data were available in the literature.The effects of two key process parameters,namely the slope angle and the pouring temperature,on temperature distribution,velocity distribution and macrosegregation were also studied.

Tailoring microstructure and microhardness of Zn-1wt.%Mg-(0.5wt.%Mn, 0.5wt.%Ca) alloys by solidification cooling rate

Biodegradable Zn-based alloys, particularly Zn-Mg alloys with the addition of alloying elements, have been intensively investigated aiming to improve both mechanical properties and corrosion behavior. Since such properties are strongly dependent on the alloy microstructure, any evaluation should commence on understanding the conditions influencing its formation. In this study, the effect of the solidification cooling rate on the microstructural evolution of Zn-1 wt.%Mg-(0.5 wt.%Ca, 0.5 wt.%Mn) alloys during transient solidification was investigated. The results show that the microstructures of both alloys have three phases in common: η-Zn dendritic matrix, intermetallic compounds(IMCs) Zn11Mg2, and Zn2 Mg in the eutectic mixture. MnZn9 and two Ca-bearing phases(CaZn11 and CaZn13) are associated with Mn and Ca additions, respectively. These additions are shown to refine the dendritic matrix and the eutectic mixture as compared to the Zn-1 wt.%Mg alloy. A correlation between cooling rate, dendritic or eutectic spacings was developed, thus permitting experimental growth laws to be proposed. Additionally, hardness tests were performed to evaluate the effects of additions of Ca and Mn. Experimental correlations between Vickers microhardness and secondary dendritic spacings were proposed, showing that the microstructural refinement and characteristic Ca and Mn based IMCs induce an increase in hardness as compared to the binary alloy.

The Solidification Behavior of Mg-9Al-2Ca Alloy under Furnace Cooling

To understand the solidification pathway and microstructure evolution of Mg-9Al-2Ca alloy,the cooling curve of the alloy solidified under furnace cooling was measured and the water-quenched samples were observed.The experimental results show that the matrix phase of α-Mg dendrites is first generated at 596℃ during the solidification process,then the eutectic phases of Al_(2)Ca and Mg_(17)Al_(12) are formed at 518 and 447℃,respectively,and the solidification is terminated at 436℃.In the process of solidification,the seaweed dendrites of α-Mg get coarser and are gradually transformed into the global dendrites;besides,the secondary dendrite arms spacing(SDAS)of α-Mg as well as the solid fraction are both increased,while the increasing rate of SDAS of α-Mg and the solid fraction in the temperature region of 600-550℃ is faster than that in the temperature region of 550-436℃.And a power function relationship can be used to illustrate the change of the SDAS and the solid fraction with the temperature of solidification.

Microstructural evolution of directionally solidified DZ125 superalloy castings with different solidification methods

The properties of Ni-base superalloy castings microstructure, and different solidification methods have are closely related to the uniformity of their as-cast serious effect on microstructural uniformity. In this paper, the influences of high rate solidification （HRS） process （with or without superheating） and liquid metal cooling （LMC） process on the microstructure of DZ125 superalloy were investigated. Blade-shape castings were solidified at rates of 40 pm.s-1 to 110 tJm.s1 using HRS process and a comparative experiment was carried out at a rate of 70 IJm.s1 by LMC process. The optical microscope （OM）, scanning electron microscope （SEM） were used to observe the microstructure and the grain size was analyzed using electron back scattered diffraction （EBSD） technique. Results show that for the castings by either HRS or LMC process, the primary dendrite arm spacing and size of 7＇ precipitates decrease with increasing the withdrawal rate; the dendrites and 7＇ precipitates at the upper section of the blade are coarser than those in the middle, especially for the HRS castings without high superheating technique. When the withdrawal rate is 70 iJm.s1, the castings by HRS with high superheating technique have the smallest PDAS with fine 7＇ precipitates; while the size distribution of 7＇ precipitates is more homogenous in LMC castings, and the number of larger grains in LMC castings is smaller than that in the HRS castings. Moreover, high superheating technique yields smaller grains in the castings. Both the LMC method and HRS with high superheating technique can be used to prepare castings with reduced maximum grain size.

Microstructural evolution of Al-20Si-5Fe alloy during rapid solidification and hot consolidation

Al-20Si-5Fe melt was rapidly solidified into particles and ribbons and then consolidated to near full density by hot pressing at 400℃/250 MPa/1 h. According to the eutectic-growth and dendritic-growth velocity models, the solidification front velocity and the amount of undercooling were estimated for the particles with different sizes. Values of 0.43-1.2 cm/s and 15-28 K were obtained. The secondary dendrite arm spacing revealed a cooling rate of 6 × 10^5 K/s for the particles with an average size of 20 μm. Solidification models for the ribbons yielded a cooling rate of 5 × 10^7 K/s. As a result of the higher cooling rate, the melt-spun ribbons exhibited considerable microstructural refinement and modification. The size of the primary silicon decreased from approximately 1μm to 30 nm while the formation of iron-containing intermetallic compounds was suppressed. Supersaturation of the aluminum matrix in an amount of-7 at.% Si was noticed from the XRD patterns During the hot consolidation process, coarsening of the primary silicon particles and precipitation of β-Al5FeSi phase were observed. Evaluation of the compressive strength and hardness of the alloy indicated an improvement in mechanical properties due to the microstructural modification.

Hot tearing behavior of NZ30K Mg alloy under progressive solidification

Progressive solidification is usually considered an effective strategy to reduce the hot tearing susceptibility of a cast component.In this study,special constrained plate castings with progressive changes in cross-section were designed,which enabled progressive solidification.The hot tearing behavior of a newly developed NZ30 K Mg alloy(Mg-3.0 Nd-0.2 Zn-Zr,wt.%)was studied under progressive solidification using various mold temperature distributions and constraint lengths.Of these,a homogeneous mold temperature distribution is found to be the best option to avoid hot tearing,followed by a local low mold temperature distribution(with a chiller),then a gradient mold temperature distribution.Unexpectedly,compared with the homogeneous mold temperature distribution,adding a chiller does not provide any further reduction in the hot tearing susceptibility of the NZ30 K Mg alloy.A high mold temperature and a short constraint length increase the hot tearing resistance of cast Mg alloys.Progressive solidification is not a sufficient and necessary condition to avoid the formation of hot tearing.The two key factors that determine the occurrence of hot tearing under progressive solidification are the maximum cooling rate and the constraint length.Decreasing these values can reduce the incidence of hot tearing.

The Solidification and Corrosion Behavior Determination of the Ti/B Added Zn-Al-Mg Alloys

The solidification and corrosion behavior of the Ti/B added Zn-Al-Mg alloys were experimentally investigated by means of microstructure characterization and electrochemical test.The basic calculations were carried out to predict the characteristics of the Ti-added Zn-Al-Mg alloys.The Zn-Al-Mg ingots with minor doping of Ti/B were prepared and solidified under different cooling rate,including air cooling,water quenching and furnace cooling.The scanning electron microscopy(SEM)and the X-ray diffraction method(XRD)were used to determine the microstructures and phase types of the alloy samples.It could be discovered that trace TiAl3 particles were dispersed in the Ti/B added alloy samples which provide the heterogeneous nucleation sites to refine the size of the dendrites and the eutectic microstructures.More fined microstructures with the addition of both Ti and B were obtained compared with those with the merely addition of Ti,and the water cooled alloys presented the finest microstructures due to the fastest cooling rate.It could also be noticed that with the increasing solidification rate,the percentage of the MgZn_(2) phase turned out to be higher because of the Mg_(2)Zn_(11)↔MgZn_(2) transition,which is in consistent with the results in the actual hot-dip galvanizing process.Electrochemical experiments in the previous work included methods the of the Tafel polarization test and the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy test(EIS).Results show that the quenched Zn-Al-Mg alloy with the addition of both Ti and B takes on best corrosion resistance.Consequently,the addition of certain amount of Ti/B elements and the appropriate elevation of the cooling rate will be the practicable approaches to optimize the microstructure and the corrosion resistance of the Zn-Al-Mg coatings in the actual galvanizing process.

Assessment of solidification characteristics of carbon-inoculated Mg-3%Al melt by thermal analysis

The Mg-3%Al melt was inoculated by carbon with different holding time.The effect of holding time on grain refining efficiency was evaluated.The solidification characteristics of the carbon-inoculated Mg-3%Al melt with different holding time were assessed by computer-aided cooling curve analysis.The results showed that Mg-3%Al alloy could be effectively refined by carbon inoculation.Slight fading phenomenon occurred with increasing the holding time to 60 min.Carbon inoculation could significantly influence the shape of cooling curves of Mg-3%Al melt.The nucleation starting and minimum temperatures increased.The recalescence undercooling and duration decreased to almost zero after carbon inoculation.The grain refining efficiency of carbon inoculation could be assessed by the shape of the cooling curve and solidification characteristic parameters including nucleation starting and minimum temperatures,recalescence undercooling and duration.

Effect of cooling rates on clustering towards icosahedra in rapidly solidified Cu_(56)Zr_(44) alloy

The rapid solidification processes of liquid Cu56Zr44 alloys at different cooling rates （γ） were simulated by a molecular dynamics （MD） method. In order to assess the influence of cooling rate on the clustering tendency and degree towards icosahedrons, a ten-indices＇ cluster-type index method was suggested to characterize the local atomic structures in the super-cooled liquid and the rapidly solidified solid. And their clustering and ordering degrees as well as the packing density of ieosahedral clusters were also evaluated by an icosahedral clustering degree （fI）, the chemical order parameter （ηαβ） and densification coefficients （D0, DI and DIS）, respectively. Results show that the main local atomic configurations in Cu56Zr44 alloy system are Z12 clusters centered by Cu, and most of which are （12 0 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0） standard icosahedra and （12 0 8 0 0 0 2 2 0 0） as well as （12 2 8 2 0 0 0 0 0 0） defective icosahedra. Below glass transition temperature （Tg）, these icosahedral clusters will be coalesced to various icosahedral medium-range orders （IMROs） by IS linkages, namely, icosahedral bond, and their number N, size n, order parameter ηαβ as well as spatial distributions vary with y. As the cooling rate exceeds the critical value （γc） at which a glassy transition can take place, a lower cooling rate, e.g., γ1=10^1K/ns, is demonstrated to be favorable to uplift the number of icosahedra and enlarge the size of IMROs compared with the higher cooling rates, e.g., γ5=10^5 K/ns, and their packing density and clustering degree towards icosahedra in the rapidly solidified solid can also benefit from the slow cooling process.

Effect of cooling rate on morphology and type of vanadium-containing phases in Al-10V master alloy

Effects of cooling rates on the morphology, sizes and species of primary vanadium-containing phases in Al-10V master alloys were investigated. The results show that the primary vanadium-containing phases with different morphologies and compositions present in Al-10V master alloys at different cooling rates with the pouring temperature of 1,170 °C. When the Al-10V master alloy is solidified in the refractory mold at a cooling rate of 2 °C·s-1, the vanadium-containing phases are mainly plate-like Al10V phases, with the average size of 100.0 μm in the center and 93.2 μm at the edge of the ingot. When the master alloy is solidified in the graphite mold at a cooling rate of 24.3 °C·s-1, the primary vanadium-containing phases are dendritic Al3V phases, with the average length of 297.0 μm for the first dendrite in the center and 275.0 μm at the edge of the ingot. The secondary dendrite arm spacing (SDAS) is 9.5 μm in the center and 9.3 μm at the edge of the ingot, respectively. When the solidification is carried out in the copper mould at a cooling rate of 45.7 °C·s-1, the primary vanadium-containing phases are also Al3V phases but with smaller size, compared with that prepared at the cooling rate of 24.3 °C·s-1. As a result, the average length is 190.0 μm for the first dendrite in the center and 150.0 μm at the edge of the ingot. The SDAS is 9.8 μm in the center and 4.4 μm at the edge of the ingot, respectively.

Influence of Cooling Conditions in Casting Cu-Ni Alloy Based on Numerical Simulation

The most common and serious defect in Cu-Ni alloy casting is porosity. To solve the problem, accurate casting design and proper design of gating system are necessary. It can be predicted and designed by means of computer simulation of casting solidification. Based on the casting process of the Cu-Ni alloy, the simulation software of diathermanous—flowing—stress coupling ProCAST was used to simulate the Cu-Ni alloy solidification process about the defects and temperature field. By combining experimental results with the simulation results, the quality of casting on some cooling conditions were analyzed. Furthermore, a better cooling condition for solidification process of the Cu-Ni alloy was chosen to improve the quality of the casting. The simulation results indicate that the quality of Cu-Ni alloy casting is the best when it is on the cooling condition of the permanent mold with the insulated riser system.

Experimental study and cellular automaton simulation on solidification microstructure of Mg-Gd-Y-Zr alloy

The solidification microstructure of Mg-Gd-YZr alloy was investigated via an experimental study and cellular automaton(CA)simulation.In this study,stepshaped castings were produced,and the temperature variation inside the casting was recorded using thermocouples during the solidification process.The effects of the cooling rate and Zr content on the grain size of the Mg-Gd-Y-Zr alloy were studied.The results showed that the grain size decreased with an increase in the cooling rate and Zr content.Based on the experimental data,a quantitative model for calculating the heterogeneous nucleation rate was developed,and the model parameters were determined.The evolution of the solidification microstructure was simulated using the CA method,where the quantitative nucleation model was used and a solute partition ceoefficient was introduced to deal with the solute trapping in front of the solid-liquid(S/L)interface.The simulation results of the grain size were in good agreement with the experimental data.The simulation also showed that the fraction of the eutectics decreased with an increasing cooling rate in the range of 2.6-11.0℃·s^(-1),which was verified indirectly by the experimental data.

Solidification behaviour of Al-7%Si-Mg casting alloys

The effects of Mg content and cooling rate on the solidification behaviour of Al-7%Si-Mg（mass fraction） casting alloys have been investigated using differential scanning calorimetry, differential thermal analysis and microscopy. The Mg contents were selected as respectively 0.00%, 0.35% and 0.70%（mass fraction）. DTA curves of Al-7%Si-0.55%Mg（mass fraction） alloy at various cooling rates were accomplished and the alloy melt was cast in different cooling rates. The results indicate that increasing Mg content can lower the liquidus and binary Al-Si eutectic transformation temperatures. Large Fe-rich π-phases （Al8FeMg3Si6） are found in the 0.70% Mg alloys together with some small β-phases （Al5FeSi）; in contrast, only β-phases are observed in the 0.35% Mg alloys. The test results of the Al-7%Si-0.55%Mg alloys identify that the liquidus and binary Al-Si eutectic transformation temperatures decrease, and the quantity of ternary Al-Si-Mg2Si eutectic phase decreases as the cooling rate increases.

Prediction of mechanical properties of Al alloys with change of cooling rate

The solidification process significantly affects the mechanical properties and there are lots of factors that affect the solidification process.Much progress has been made in the research on the effect of solidification on mechanical properties.Among them,the PF(Phase Field) model and CA(Cellular Automata) model are widely used as simulation methods which can predict nucleation and its growth,and the size and morphology of the grains during solidification.Although they can give accurate calculation results,it needs too much computational memory and calculation time.So it is difficult to apply the simulation to the real production process.In this study,a more practical simulation approach which can predict the mechanical properties of real aluminum alloys is proposed,by identifying through experiment the relationship between cooling rate and SDAS(Secondary Dendrite Arm Spacing) and mechanical properties.The experimentally measured values and the values predicted by simulation have relatively small differences and the mechanical properties of a variety of Al alloys are expected to be predicted before casting through use of the simulation.

Solidification behavior of Re-and Ru-containing Ni-based single-crystal superalloys with thermal and metallographic analysis

To clarify the solidification behavior of Re- and Ru-containing Ni-based single-crystal superalloys, four experimental alloys with varied contents of Re and Ru were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry （DSC） and metallographic techniques. To obtain the - solvus temperatures, the stepwise solution and aging heat treatments were used. DSC analysis shows that Re leads to the increase in freezing range and γ-solvus temperature. On the contrast, Ru only has negligible influence on the freezing range, but leads to the lower γ-solvus temperature. In comparison with Ru, Re leads to more severe segregation and higher eutectic fractions in as-cast microstructures. Furthermore, the castability and phase stability of Ni-based superalloys were analyzed by the results of DSC and metallographic analysis, such as freezing range, critical nucleation temperature, γ-solvus temperature and eutectic fractions. It shows that Re leads to the wider freezing range and lower critical nucleation temperature, indicating the worse castability of Re-con- taining Ni-based single-crystal superalloys.

Solidification microstructure characteristics of Ti–44Al–4Nb–2Cr–0.1B alloy under various cooling rates during mushy zone

Beta-solidifying TiAl alloy has great potential in the field of aero-industry as a cast alloy.In the present work,the influence of cooling rate during mushy zone on solidification behavior of Ti-44Al-4Nb-2Cr-0.1B alloy was investigated.A vacuum induction heating device combining with temperature control system was used.The Ti-44Al-4Nb-2Cr-0.1B alloy solidified from superheated was melted to β phase with the cooling rates of 10,50,100,200,400 and 700 K·min^（-1）,respectively.Results show that with the increase in cooling rate from 10 to 700 K·min^（-1）,the colony size of α_2/γ lamella decreases from 1513 to48 urn and the solidification segregation significantly decreases.Also the content of residual B2 phase within α_2/γlamellar colony decreases with the increase in cooling rate.In addition,the alloy in local interdendritic regions would solidify in a hypo-peritectic way,which can be attributed to the solute redistribution and enrichment of Al element in solidification.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of high strength as-cast Ti-15-3 alloy

The effects of heat treatment and solidification cooling rate on the microstructure and mechanical properties of as cast Ti 15 3 alloy prepared by induction skull melting method were investigated. Results show that the microstructure of as cast Ti 15 3 alloy changes from the features of simplified and larger size of beta grains to finer grain size with increasing solidification cooling rate. After solution treatment and different ageing treatment, alpha phase precipitates in grains interior as well as in grain boundaries. Due to the modification of the precipitate phase, the tensile strength and elongation of the alloy are improved simultaneously. A good combination of the values of 1.406?GPa of σ b and 4.5% of δ was obtained, which will be satisfied the use of this kind of alloy in critical areas.

冷却速率对Al-50%Si合金微观组织的影响

采用熔体水淬法(水冷法)、气雾化法和单辊熔融纺丝技术(甩带法)制备不同冷却速率的快速凝固过共晶Al-50%Si合金,并通过扫描电子显微镜(scanning electron microscope,SEM)和X射线衍射仪(X-ray diffractometer,XRD)分析了快速凝固与常规凝固的差异,以及快速凝固Al-50%Si合金微观组织的演变。结果表明:在水冷的Al-50%Si合金组织中观察到了树枝状的Al相,较大的过冷度导致这种亚共晶组织的形成,此组织属于非稳定状态,且共晶Si完全细化至纤维状;随着冷却速率的增加,在甩带试样中Al相的树枝状组织消失;通过甩带以及气雾化制备的Al-50%Si合金中,初晶Si颗粒被明显细化,由常规凝固的200μm细化至20μm左右,使Si在Al基体中的固溶度增大,造成Al基体晶格发生畸变。