Settling velocity of equiaxed dendrites in a tube

The settling velocity of equiaxed dendrites can cause macrosegregation and influence the structure of the equiaxed zone during the casting solidification process. So an understanding of the settling characteristics is needed to predict the structure and segregation in castings. The settling velocity of NH4Cl equiaxed dendrites of non-spherical geometry was studied experimentally in an NH4Cl-70wt.%H2O solution. A calculation formula was proposed to calculate the settling velocity of sediment equiaxed dendrites in a tube filled with saturated solution at a moderate Reynolds number region. The retardation effects of the wall and morphology of the equiaxed dendrite on the settling velocity were taken into account in the development of the calculation formula, and the correction function B of the drag coefficient with consideration of the retardation effects of the wall and morphology of the equiaxed dendrite on the settling velocity of the equiaxed dendrite was calibrated according to the experimental results. A comparison showed that the formula has a good accordance with the experimental results.

Phase-field model of isothermal solidification with multiple grain growth

This paper develops a new phase-field model for equiaxed dendrite growth of multiple grains in multicomponent alloys based on the Ginzberg-Landau theory and phase-field model of a single grain. Taking Al-Cu and Al-Cu-Mg alloys for example, it couples the concentration field and simulates the dendrite growth process of multiple grains during isothermal solidification. The result of the simulation shows dendrite competitive growth of multiple grains, and is reapplied to the process of dendrite growth in practical solidification.

Effect of High Pressure on the Melting and Solidifying Behavior of a Railway Frog Steel

Microstructural evolutions of the railway frog steel solidified under different pressure were studied using OM, FEGSEM, and TEM. The influences of pressure on the solidification, grain sizes, and morphology of carbides of the steel were analyzed. It is found that the melting point of the steel increases with the pressure and the solidified microstructure under high pressure does not vary significantly with the melting temperature. The experimental results show that the solidified microstructure consisting of complete equiaxed dendrites is remarkably refined through the increase of pressure, with the mean dendrite arm spacing of about 24, 18, and 8 μm under 3, 6, and 10 GPa, respectively. It is also revealed by TEM observation that the precipitates change from needle-like and rhombic carbide（M3C） forms during normal（atmospheric） pressure solidification into nodulized hexagonal precipitate M7C3 at 3 GPa, and M（23）C6 at 6 GPa and 10 GPa, which is associated with the undercooling and distribution of the trace elements. The diameter of the precipitates is between 80 nm and 200 nm.

Effect of cooling rates on the dendritic morphology transition of Mg–6Gd alloy by in situ X-ray radiography

The effect of cooling rate on the transition of dendrite morphology of a Mg-6Gd （wt%） alloy was semiquantitatively analyzed under a constant temperature gradient by using synchrotron X-ray radiographic technique. Results show that equiaxed dendrites, including exotic ＇butterfly-shaped＇ dendrite morphology, dominate at high cooling rate （〉1 K/s）. When the cooling rate decreases in the range of 0.5-1 K/s, the equiaxed-to-columnar transition takes place, and solute segregates at the center of two long dendrite arms （LDA） of the ＇butterfly-shaped＇ dendrite. When the cooling rate is lower than 0.3 K/s, directional solidification occurs and the columnar dendritic growth direction gradually rotates from the crystalline axis to the thermal gradient direction with an increase in cooling rate. Meanwhile, interface moves faster but the dendrite arm spacing decreases. Floating, collision and rotation of dendrites under convection were also studied in this work.2018 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science ＆ Technology.

Influence of pulsed magneto-oscillation on microstructure and mechanical property of rectangular 65Mn steel ingot

The pulsed magneto-oscillation （PMO） technique has the potential to be applied in the production of heavy steel ingot. In order to confirm it and achieve more insights, the solidification of rectangular 65Mn steel ingot with the size of 220 mm×220 mm × 1000 mm was investigated under the impact of PMO. Experimental results present that PMO treatment can remarkably refine the solidified microstructure of 65Mn steel ingot in comparison with the reference ingot without PMO. The application of PMO not only significantly reduces the grain size, but also promotes the morphology transition of equiaxed grains from well-developed dendritic structures to globular structures. And the resulted globular morphology is mainly due to the fact that the PMO-induced forced flow enhances the stability of crystal growth. As a consequence, the average tensile strength of as-cast samples is enhanced from 643.4 to 762.9 MPa under the application of PMO.