Dynamic solidification of Sn-38.1% Pb eutectic alloy within ultrasonic field

The dynamic solidification of Sn-38.1% Pb eutectic alloy within an ultrasonic field is investigated at a frequency of 35 kHz.As the sample height H is reduced,the effect of ultrasound on macrosegregation becomes more prominent,and the volume fraction of spherical eutectic cells increases correspondingly.When H equals the wavelength λ in liquid alloy,the introduction of ultrasound enlarges the distribution region of the primary (Sn) phase,but reduces the domains of the Sn-Pb eutectic and primary (Pb) phases.Meanwhile,a "dendritic-equiaxed" structural transition occurs in the primary (Sn) phase,and its grain size is significantly reduced within the ultrasonic field.Once H decreases to λ/2 and λ/4,the ultrasonic field promotes crystal nucleation and suppresses further undercooling of the bulk liquid alloy.Theoretical analyses indicate that the local high pressure induced by the cavitation effect and the stirring effect due to acoustic streaming are the main factors dominating the eutectic growth mechanism during dynamic solidification.     

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.     

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.     

Rapid solidification of undercooled Al-Cu-Si eutectic alloys

Under the conventional solidification condition, a liquid aluminium alloy can be hardly undercooled because of oxidation. In this work, rapid solidification of an undercooled liquid Al_80.4Cu_13.6Si₆ ternary eutectic alloy was realized by the glass fluxing method combined with recycled superheating. The relationship between superheating and undercooling was investigated at a certain cooling rate of the alloy melt. The maximum undercooling is 147 K (0.18T _E). The undercooled ternary eutectic is composed of α(Al) solid solution, (Si) semiconductor and θ(CuAl₂) intermetallic compound. In the (Al+Si+θ) ternary eutectic, (Si) faceted phase grows independently, while (Al) and θ non-faceted phases grow cooperatively in the lamellar mode. When undercooling is small, only (Al) solid solution forms as the leading phase. Once undercooling exceeds 73 K, (Si) phase nucleates firstly and grows as the primary phase. The alloy microstructure consists of primary (Al) dendrite, (Al+θ) pseudobinary eutectic and (Al+Si+θ) ternary eutectic at small undercooling, while at large undercooling primary (Si) block, (Al+θ) pseudobinary eutectic and (Al+Si+θ) ternary eutectic coexist. As undercooling increases, the volume fraction of primary (Al) dendrite decreases and that of primary (Si) block increases. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 50121101, 50395105) and the Doctorate Foundation of Northwestern Polytechnical University (Grant No. CX200419)     

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.     

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…     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Rapid dendrite growth in quaternary Ni-based alloys

Dendritic growth is one of the most common micro-structural formation mechanisms during crystal growth. Its morphology provides the kinetics information of crystal growth. Therefore, it is valuable to perform the research on rapid dendrite growth in order…     

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.     

Rapid growth of primary dendrite in highly undercooled copper-antimany alloy

The droplets of Cu-11wt.%Sb hypoeutectic alloy have been rapidly solidified during containerless processing in a 3 m drop tube. The undercooling and cooling rates are estimated, and both play a dominant role in the dendritic growth of primary Cu phase. Undercoolings up to 200 K (0.16TL, where TL is the liquidus temperature) have been obtained in the experiment. With the increase of undercooling, the microstructural evolution of primary Cu phase proceeds from remelted dendrites to the equiaxed grains. A coarse dendritic grain microstructure can form in the undercooling range of 61～102 K and at cooling rates of 1.35×102～2.66×103 K/s. The segregationless solidification of Cu-11wt.%Sb hypoeutectic alloy occurs when undercooling is more than 176 K. The growth of primary Cu phase is mainly controlled by solute diffusion.     

Effects of gravity field on glass forming ability in ZrTiCuNiBe alloy

The solidification and glass forming ability of Zr₄₁Ti₁₄Cu_12.5Ni₁₀Be_22.5 bulk glassy forming alloy is investigated by Bridgman unidirectional solidification at different growth velocities under different gravity field orientations. Large differences in glass formation, undercooling and crystallization morphology on different solidification conditions have been found and discussed from the point of view of gravity induced convection. The results are useful for understanding the nucleation and growth in the melt and glass formation mechanism in the alloy.     

Rapid dendritic growth of Al-Ge hypoeutectic alloy in a drop tube

Abstract Dendritic growth in Al-45% Ge hypoeutectic alloy has been investigated during free fall in a 3 m drop tube. Calculationsindicate that the undercooling obtained for the falling Al-45% Ge droplets ranges from 13 K to 201 K. The maximum undercooling attains0. 27 T_L. With the increase of undercooling, the primary (Al) phase undergoes a "columnar dendrite to equiaxed dendrite" structural tran-sition. According to the current rapid dendritic growth theory, the growth of primary (Al) phase is always controlled by solute diffusion.     

Solidification pattern and microstructures of AZ91D magnesium alloy through rheoforming

The optical microscope, SEM and EDS were adopted to analyze the rheoforming solidification morphologies and microstructures of deformed AZ91D magnesium alloy after isothermal treatment in semisolid state. The results show that primary α phase can be formed through attachment growth, when the liquid fraction is small; and primary α phase will grow in dendrites, when the liquid fraction is high. Eutectic solidification is carried out in the ways of both dissociated growth and symbiotic growth, depending on the morphology of primary α phase. Liquid with eutectic concentration solidifies into lamina eutectic. During solidification of the liquid pools inside grains, α phase can be formed through attachment growth. The eutectic solidification was mainly carried out in the dissociated pattern.     

Phase separation and microstructural characteristics of undercooled Cu-Pb immiscible alloy

Bulk samples of Cu-80%Pb hypermonotectic alloy were undercooled by up to 270 K (0.21 TL) with glass fluxing technique. The undercooling behavior and the final microstructure were investigated experimentally. It was found that the macrosegregation decreased with the increase of undercooling exponentially. When undercooling reached 270 K, the volume fraction of macrosegregation was reduced by one order of magnitude. Meanwhile, high undercooling brought about significant changes to the microstructural morphology of S(Cu) phase. At small undercoolings, S(Cu) phase grew in dendritic manner. As undercooling increased, S(Cu) dendrite transformed gradually to spherical shell. This morphology transition was ascribed to the concurrent action of the phase separation within miscibility gap and the subsequent solidification process of L2 (Pb) matrix. As an essential step to model the final microstructure, theoretical calculations related to the nucleation of L1 (Cu) droplets were carried out.     

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.     

旋转磁场及快速凝固对Pb-Bi合金凝固组织的影响

研究了不同转速的旋转磁场对Pb-Bi合金凝固组织的影响,对于Pb-52%Bi亚共晶,旋转磁场能碎断枝晶,细化晶粒;对于Pb-66%Bi过共晶,旋转磁场能消除比重偏析。另外,采用硅油净化法结合水淬使Pb-52%Bi亚共晶和Pb-60.9%Bi过共晶分别获得了47 K和66 K的较大过冷度,对于Pb-52%Bi亚共晶,金属间化合物ε相枝晶细化显著;对于Pb-60.9%Bi过共晶,组织中没出现初生相Bi,只有细密的共晶组织。对于Pb-52%Bi亚共晶在快速凝固的同时加旋转磁场,过冷度由47 K增大为55 K,ε相呈细小颗粒弥散分布。     

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.     

Rapid monotectic solidification during free fall in a drop tube

Droplets of Ni-31.4%Pb monotectic alloy with different sizes are rapidly solidified during free fall in a drop tube. The theoretical calculations indicate that the undercooling was achieved before solidification exponentially depends on droplet diameter. The maximum undercooling of 241 K (0.15Tin) is obtained in the experiments. With the increase of undercooling, the volume fraction of monotectic cells increases, and the L2(Pb) grains are refined. Calculations of the nucleation rates of L2(Pb) and α-Ni phases indicate that L2(Pb) phase acts as the leading nucleation phase during the monotectic transformation.