Solidification of AlSi Alloys in the ARTEMIS and ARTEX Facilities Including Rotating Magnetic Fields – A Combined Experimental and Numerical Analysis

The solidification microstructure is the consequence of a wide range of process parameters, like the growth velocity, the temperature gradient and the composition. Although the influence of these parameters is nowadays considerably well understood, an overall theory of the influence of convection on microstructural features is still lacking. The application of time dependent magnetic fields during directional solidification offers the possibility to create defined solidification and flow conditions. In this work, we report about solidification experiments in the ARTEMIS and ARTEX facilities including rotating magnetic fields (RMF). The effect of the forced melt flow on microstructural parameters like the primary and secondary dendrite arm spacing is analyzed for a wide range of magnetic field parameters. The experimental analysis is supported by a rigorous application of numerical modeling. An important issue is hereby the prediction of the resulting macrosegregation, i.e., differences in the composition on the scale of the sample (macroscale) due to the RMF. For the considered configuration and parameters an axial enrichment of Si is found beyond a certain magnetic field strength. The results are compared to available theories and their applicability is discussed.