Rapid solidification of acoustically levitated Al-Cu-Si eutectic alloy under laser irradiation

Al-27%Cu-5.3%Si ternary eutectic alloy was melted using a YAG laser and then solidified while being acoustically levitated. A maximum undercooling to 195 K (0.24 TL) was achieved with a cooling rate of 76 K/s. The solidification microstructure was composed of (Al+θ+Si) ternary eutectics and (Al+θ) pseudobinary eutectics. During acoustic levitation, the (Al+θ+Si) ternary eutectics are refined and the (Al+θ) pseudobinary eutectics have morphological diversity. On the surface of the alloys, surface oscillations and acoustic streaming promote the nucleation of the three eutectic phases and expedite the cooling process. This results in the refinement of the ternary eutectic microstructure. During experiments, the reflector decreases with increasing alloy temperature, and the levitation distance always exceeds the resonant distance. Because of the acoustic radiation pressure, the melted alloy was flattened, and deformation increases with increasing sound pressure. The maximum aspect ratio achieved was 6.64, corresponding to a sound pressure of 1.8×104 Pa.     

Dendrite growth and micromechanical properties of rapidly solidified ternary Ni-Fe-Ti alloy

The rapid solidification of undercooled liquid Ni_(45)Fe_(40)Ti_(15)alloy was realized by glass fluxing technique.The microstructure of this alloy consists of primaryγ-(Fe,Ni)phase and a small amount of interdendritic pseudobinary eutectic.The primaryγ-(Fe,Ni)phase transferred from coarse dendrite to fragmented dendrite and the lamellar eutectic became fractured with the increase of undercooling.The growth velocity ofγ-(Fe,Ni)dendrite increased following a power relation with the rise of undercooling.The addition of solute Ti suppressed the rapid growth ofγ-(Fe,Ni)dendrite,as compared with the calculation results of Fe-Ni alloy based on LKT model.The microhardness values of the alloy and the primaryγ-(Fe,Ni)phase increased by 1.5 times owing to the microstructural refinement caused by the rapid dendrite growth.The difference was enlarged as undercooling increases,resulting from the enhanced hardening effects on the alloy from the increased grain boundaries and the second phase.     

Microstructural evolution of ternary Ag33Cu42Ge25 eutectic alloy inside ultrasonic field

Ultrasonic field with a frequency of 20 k Hz is introduced into the solidification process of ternary Ag33Cu42Ge25 eutectic alloy from the sample bottom to its top. The ultrasound stimulates the nucleation of alloy melt and prevents its bulk undercooling. At low ultrasound power of 250 W,the primary ε2phase in the whole alloy sample grows into non-faceted equiaxed grains, which differs to its faceted morphology of long strip under static condition. The pseudobinary(Ag t ε2) eutectic transits from dendrite shape grain composed of rod type eutectic to equiaxed chrysanthemus shape formed by lamellar structure. By contrast, the ultrasound produces no obvious variation in the morphology of ternary(Ag t Ge t ε2) eutectic except a coarsening effect. When ultrasound power rises to 500 W, divorced ternary(Ag t Ge t ε2) eutectic forms at the sample bottom. However, in the upper part, the ultrasonic energy weakens, and it only brings about prominent refining effect to primary ε2phase.The microstructural evolution mechanism is investigated on the cavitation, acoustic streaming and acoustic attenuation.     

Phase-selection and metastable phase formation in highly undercooled eutectic Ni_(78.6)Si_(21.4)alloys

A large undercooling (250 K) was achieved in eutectic Ni78.6 Si21.4 melt by the combination of molten-glass denucleation and cyclic superheating. The metastable phase formation process in the bulk undercooled eutectic Ni78.6 Si21.4 melts was investigated. With the increase of undercooling, different metastable phases form in eutectic Ni78.6 Si21.4 melts and part of these metastable phases can be kept at room temperature through slow post-solidification. Under large undercooling, the metastable phases β2-Ni3Si, Ni31Si12 and Ni3Si2 were identified. Especially, the Ni3Si2 phase was obtained in eutectic Ni78.6 Si21.4 alloy for the first time. Based on the principle of free energy minimum and transient nucleation theory, the solidification behavior of melts was analyzed with regard to the metastable phase formation when the melts were in highly undercooled state.     

Peritectic solidification under high undercooling conditions

The solidification characteristics of highly undercooled Cu-7.77%Co peritectic alloy has been examined by glass fluxing technique. The obtained undercoolings vary from 93 to 203 K(0.14 TL). It is found that the α(Co) phase always nucleates and grows preferentially, which is followed by peritectic transformation. This means that the peritectic phase cannot form directly, even though the alloy melt is undercooled to a temperature far below its peritectic point. The maximum recalescence temperature measured experimentally decreases as undercooling increases , which is lower than the thermodynamic calculation result owing to the actual non-adia-batic nature of recalescence process. The dendritic fragmentation of primary α(Co) phase induced by high undercooling is found to enhance the completion of peritectic transformation. In addition, the LKT/BCT dendrite growth model is modified in order to make it applicable to those binary alloy systems with seriously curved liquidus and solidus lines. The dendrite growth velocities of primary α(Co) phase are subsequently calculated as a function of undercooling on the basis of this model.     

Solidification microstructure and phase constitution of Fe-7.5%Mo-16.5%Si ternary quasiperitectic alloy

Solidification of Fe-7.5%Mo-16.5%Si ternary quasiperitectic alloy is investigated by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and drop tube containerless processing techniques.The primary phase is identified as R (Fe5Mo3Si2) and the quasiperitectic phases are τ1 (Fe5MoSi4) and Fe3Si.With the decrease of droplet diameter, the cooling rate and undercooling of the droplets in-crease rapidly.The experiment result indicates that the solidification microstructure is composed of remnant primary phase, qua-sip...     

Phase selection during solidification of undercooled Ni70.2Si29.8 eutectic alloy

High undercooling (about 392 K) was achieved in the bulk eutectic Ni_70.2Si_29.8 alloy melt through glass fluxing combined with cyclic superheating. It is found that the metastable phases Ni₃Si₂ and NiSi are obtained through slow post-solidification when undercooling exceeds 240 K. The metastable phases are confirmed by using the method of X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Based on the principle of the free energy minimum and the transient nucleation theory, the phase selection of melt is investigated with regard to the metastable phases formation in the bulk undercooled eutectic Ni_70.2Si_29.8 melts. The formation of metastable phases from undercooled Ni_70.2Si_29.8 melts is ascribed to competitive nucleation with the undercooling, i.e. high undercooling facilitates the preferential nucleation of metastable phases.     

Rapid eutectic growth during free fall

Rapid eutectic growth of Sb-24%Cu alloy is realized in the drop tube during the free fall under the containerless condition. Based on the analysis of crystal nucleation and eutectic growth in the free fall condition, it is indicated that, with the increase of undercooling, microstructural transition of Sb-24%Cu eutectic alloy proceeds from lamellar to anomalous eutectic structure. Undercoolings of 0 –154 K have been obtained in experiment. The maximum undercooling exceeds to 0.19T_e. Calculated results exhibit that Cu₂Sb compound is the primary nucleation phase, and that the primary Sb dendrite will grow more rapidly than the eutectic structure when undercooling is larger than 40 K. The eutectic coupled zone around Sb-24%Cu eutectic alloy leads strongly to the Cu-rich side and covers a composition range from 23.0% to 32.7%Sb.     

Formation of ζ phase in Cu-Ge peritectic alloys

Rapid growth behavior of ζ phase has been investigated in the undercooling experiments of Cu-14%Ge, Cu-15%Ge, Cu-18.5%Ge and Cu-22%Ge alloys. Alloys of the four compositions obtain the maximum undercoolings of 202 K（0.17TL）, 245 K（0.20TL）, 223 K（0.20TL） and 176 K（0.17TL）, respectively. As the content of Ge increases, the microstructural transition of ＂a（Cu） dendrite ＋ ζ＂ peritectic phase → ζ＂ peritectic phase →, ζ dendrite ＋ （ε＋ζ） eutectic＂ takes place in the alloy at small undercooling, while the microstructural transition of ＂fragmented α （Cu）dendrite ＋ ζ peritectic phase →, ζ peritectic phase →ζ dendrite ＋ ε phase＂ happens in the alloy at large undercooling. EDS analysis of the Ge content in peritectic phase indicates that undercooling enlarges the solid solubility of ζ rdendrite, which leads to a decrease in the Ge content in ζ phase as undercooling increases. In the Cu-18.5%Ge alloy composed of ζ peritectic phase, the Ge content in ζ phase increases when undercooling increases, which is due to the restraint of the Ge enrichment on the grain boundaries by high undercooling effect.     

Rapid solidification mechanism of Ag60Sb34Cu6 ternary alloy in drop tube

Ternary eutectic growth involves competitive nu-cleation and growth of three solids from one liquid. Thesolidification behavior of ternary eutectic alloy is morecomplex than that of binary eutectic alloy due to the addi-tion of the third component[1—4]. Up to now, most scientificinvestigations on ternary eutectic alloy focus on the influ-ence of changing the component or adding a fourth even afifth element on the performance of the alloy[5—8]. How-ever, the information on crystal growth char…     

Entropy as a selection rule for crystal growth in undercooled binary eutectic melts

A solution entropy model was developed for the undercooled binary eutectic alloy systems. As an extension of Taylor and Fidler et al.’s model, the present model considered the change of phase composition with the increase of undercooling. Furthermore, the sub-regular solution model and the interaction parameter (I _AB ) were also introduced. In this paper, the extended model is used to calculate the solution entropy for binary eutectic phases under the undercooled condition, and the application scope of the model is also extended. Not only the growth manner of eutectic phases, but also the transition of morphologies may be predicted and explained by calculating the solution entropy of eutectic phases under the non-equilibrium condition with the developed model. Experimental results show that the developed model is valid for the undercooled Ni-Si and Ni-Sn eutectic alloy systems. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50395103) and Doctorate Foundation of Northwestern Polytechnical University (Grant No. CX200506)     

High undercooling and rapid dendritic growth of Cu-Sb alloy in drop tube

Droplets of Cu-20%Sb hypoeutectic alloy has been rapidly solidified in drop tube within the containerless condition. With the decrease of droplet diameter, undercooling increases and the microstructures of primary copper dendrite refines. Undercooling up to 207 K (0.17 T _L) is obtained in experiment. Theoretic analysis indicated that because of the broad temperature range of solidification, the rapid growth of primary copper dendrite is controlled by the solutal diffusion. Judging from the calculation of T₀ curve in the phase diagram, it is shown that the critical undercooling of segregationless solidification is δT ₀ = 474 K. At the maximum undercooling of 207 K, the growth velocity of primary copper phase exceeds to 37 mm/s, and the distinct solute trapping occurs.     

Recalescence behavior and solidification structure of the undercooled Fe82B17Si1 eutectic alloy

By cyclic superheating incorporated with glass fluxing denucleation method the Fes2Bl7Si1 eutectic al-loy was undercooled up to △ T = 342 K. The relations between recalescence behavior and solidification structures weresystematically studied in the undercooling range of 6-342 K. Two critical undercoolings were observed: mixed eutecticwas the unique growth morphology when the undercooling was less than △T1 = 63 K; but the microstructure transformedto complete undercooled anomalous eutectic when the undercooling was greater than △T2 = 164 K. The two eutecticphases α(Fe,Si) and Fe2B conformed to the non-reciprocal nucleation effect. The boundary of the coupled zone of α(Fe, Si)-Fe2 B system shifted toward the Fe2 B side, and intersected the eutectic composition line at △ T = 154 K and△x T= 264 K, whose valley was at about △ T = 207 K.     

A novel investigation on the influence of Cu–P modifier on the microstructure,mechanical performance,and melting process of Al–50Si alloys treated by overheating

As an efficient modifier, phosphorus (P) can significantly reduce the size of primary silicon (Si) crystals. However, modifier can aggregate when the P content exceeds a certain proportion, which decreases refining efficiency. In this study, the evolution of microstructures and mechanical properties of Al–50Si alloy have been studied by combining superheating and modification treatments. After modification, the mean size of the primary Si phase increased with superheating temperature, while the hardness decreased with increased superheating. Although the alloy was in an over-modified state when the modified content was 7 ?wt%, the overall alloy hardness was the highest. Nanoindentation tests were used to examine the mechanical properties of each alloy phase and the results showed that the nano-hardness of Al₂Cu phase was 5.52 ?GPa, three times that of an Al matrix, and was considered to be the reason for increased alloy hardness after over-modification. This phenomenon indicated that, except for size and distribution of the primary Si phase, intermetallic compounds, such as Al₂Cu, also played important roles in modifying alloy mechanical properties. The alloy melting process was observed in-situ using a laser confocal high-temperature scanning microscope and results indicated that the melting temperature of α-Al decreased with increased matrix Cu content. A model for calculating distortion energy was proposed and its rationality verified. Calculation results showed that, with increased matrix Cu content, the distortion energy gradually increased, which was the main reason for decreased matrix melting temperature. Moreover, the existence of distortion energy was verified using the EBSD method.     

深过冷Cu-Ni-Fe三元合金自定向快速凝固

利用熔融玻璃净化结合循环过热,在２５～３０４Ｋ过冷度范围,分析了Ｃｕ－３９％Ｎｉ－６％Ｆｅ（ｗｔ％）三元合金凝固过程过冷组织的演化规律。确定了负温度梯度下实现自定向凝固的过冷度条件：下限为能够抑制快速凝固过程中形成的枝晶熟化的最低过冷度,上限为快速凝固过程中枝晶不发生准球状化转变的最高过冷度;就研究的合金而言,过冷度范围为１１０～１８０Ｋ。在定向凝固的过冷度范围内,无需人为控制固液界面前沿的温度梯度,而且,以点触发试样端部,可以获得单晶     

Rapid growth of FeAl intermetallic compound under high undercooling conditions

Fe-58at%Al alloy is undercooled up to 222K (0.15TL) with the drop tube technique.It is found that there exists a critical undercooling about 185 K,beyond which a “dendrite-equiaxed” growth morphology transition occurs in FeAl intermetallic compound. This transition is characterized by sharp decrease of its grain size.Once the undercooling exceeds 215 K, the peritectic transformation is suppressed completely and a fibrous structure is formed,which results from the cooperative growth of FeAl and FeAl2 compounds.     

The evolution of microstructure and mechanical properties during high-speed direct-chill casting in different Al-Mg2Si in situ composites

The effect of high-speed direct-chill (DC) casting on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-Mg₂Si in situ composites and AA6061 alloy was investigated. The microstructural evolution of the Al-Mg₂Si composites and AA6061 alloy was examined by optical microscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results revealed that an increase of the casting speed substantially refined the primary Mg₂Si particles (from 28 to 12 μm), the spacing of eutectic Mg₂Si (from 3 to 0.5 μm), and the grains of AA6061 alloy (from 102 to 22 μm). The morphology of the eutectic Mg₂Si transformed from lamellar to rod-like and fibrous with increasing casting speed. The tensile tests showed that the yield strength, tensile strength, and elongation improved at higher casting speeds because of refinement of the Mg₂Si phase and the grains in the Al-Mg₂Si composites and the AA6061 alloy. High-speed DC casting is demonstrated to be an effective method to improve the mechanical properties of Al-Mg₂Si composites and AA6061 alloy billets.     

Pre-peak on the structure factor of liquid hypoeutectic Al-Fe alloy

Using a θ-θ X ray diffractometer the structure of liquid hypoeutectic Al Fe alloy at 675℃ and its change with different thermal histories are investigated . Liquid Al is used as a reference system. It is found that a pre peak appears on the small angle part of the structure factor of the nonsuperheated hypoeutectic Al Fe alloy, but disappears after superheating whereas the structure factors of liquid Al hardly change with the different thermal histories, and no pre peak can be observed on them. The appearance of a pre peak is a mark of the intermediate range order (IRO). The pre peak is taken as the correlation between Fe atoms on the IRO length scale. Assume that the crystalline structure is the first order approximation of the liquid structure. A model structure is constructed. The basic unit is a cube formed by 8 Al atoms on its corner and one Fe atom occupying its center. The translation of such a unit along its fourbody diagonals by the length of a diagonal can meet the requirement of the Fe_Fe distance and gives a DO 3 like structure. If the vacancy among the units is filled with fcc like Al cells, the composition of the entity is about Al 7Fe, close to that of the metastable phase Al 6Fe from rapid solidification. It is speculated that there are Al 6Fe like clusters in the liquid hypoeutectic Al Fe alloy.     

Primary dendrite growth of Ni<Subscript>3</Subscript>Sn intermetallic compound during rapid solidification of undercooled Ni-Sn-Ge alloy

Liquid Ni-31.7%Sn-2.5%Ge alloy was highly undercooled by up to 238 K(0.17TL) with glass fluxing and drop tube techniques.The dendritic growth velocity of primary Ni3Sn compound shows a power-law relation to undercooling and achieves a maximum velocity of 380 mm/s.The addition of Ge reduces its growth velocity as compared with the binary Ni75Sn25 alloy.A structural transition from coarse dendrites into equiaxed grains occurs once undercooling exceeds a critical value of about 125 K,which is accompanied by both grain refinement and solute trapping.The Ni3Sn intermetallic compound behaves like a normal solid solution phase showing nonfaceted growth during rapid solidification.     

Directional solidification and physical properties measurements of the zinc-aluminum eutectic alloy

Zn-5wt% Al eutectic alloy was directionally solidified with different growth rates (5.32–250.0 μm/s) at a constant temperature gradient of 8.50 K/mm using a Bridgman-type growth apparatus. The values of eutectic spacing were measured from transverse sections of the samples. The dependences of the eutectic spacing and undercooling on growth rate are determined as λ=9.21V-0.53 and ΔT=0.0245V0.53, respectively. The results obtained in this work were compared with the Jackson-Hunt eutectic theory and the similar experimental results in the literature. Microhardness of directionally solidified samples was also measured by using a microhardness test device. The dependency of the microhardness on growth rate is found as Hv=115.64V0.13. Afterwards, the electrical resistivity (r) of the casting alloy changes from 40×10-9 to 108×10-9 Ω·m with the temperature rising in the range of 300–630 K. The enthalpy of fusion (ΔH) and specific heat (C_p) for the Zn-Al eutectic alloy are calculated to be 113.37 J/g and 0.309 J/(g·K), respectively by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) from heating trace during the transformation from liquid to solid.