Papers by Keyword: Dendrite

Abstract: This paper presents an experimental study on the influence of solidification cooling rate on the evolutions of microstructural morphologies of a high strength low alloy steel. To this end, solidification samples (cylindrical form with 10 mm diameter and 120 mm length) were prepared from 30 cm below the ingot/hot-top interface, at the center, of a 40 MT (Metric Ton) ingot. Solidification experiments were carried out by using Gleeble^® 3800 thermo-mechanical simulator. Two solidification cooling rates of 1 and 50°C/s were chosen. For microstructural characterization, samples were prepared by mounting, polishing and etching with 3% Nital solution. Also, an optical microscope was employed for microstructural observations. The obtained results showed that for 1°C/s, the microstructure is composed with dendrites and grains. Here, the grain morphology is the dominant one. In the case of 50°C/s, the dendrites were localized at the sample surface and the grains were present more into the depth of the sample. Moreover, the increase of solidification cooling rate results in finer dendrites. The results are discussed in the framework of solidification mechanisms.

Abstract: Effects of Cerium (Ce) addition on solidification structure of a low-carbon 42CrMo4 steel was investigated. The addition of up to 0.067 wt.% of Ce in the steel produced greatly improved solidification structure with a suppressed columnar grain zone, finer grain size in an equiaxed grain zone and zero area fraction of casting shrinkage cavity. The added Ce occurred in the steel both in the form of Ce oxy-sulfide inclusions and as dissolved atomic Ce segregated together with other elements at prior austenite grain boundaries and at interdendritic spacing. The Ce oxy-sulfide inclusions were found to play a major role in the observed improved grain structure meanwhile dissolved Ce had pronounced effects on morphology of dendritic networks. The fraction of Ce dissolved in the melt appeared to bring about increase in fluidity of the molten steel, leading to total elimination of interdendritic shrinkage porosity in solidification structure of the steel with added Ce. Ce addition can be considered as a potential solution for grain structure refinement in heavy-weight castings of 42CrMo4 steel grade.

Abstract: An internal cooling agent is used in rapid slurry forming (RSF) process to produce a high solid fraction slurry for a short period of time. In the process used in this research, the swarf which is known to be a low enthalpy material was added to the melt as the internal cooling agent. During the process, the swarf started to melt and a semi-solid slurry with a relatively high solid fraction was formed. This slurry was formed by exchanging the enthalpies between the low and high enthalpy materials. A commercial Al-Si-Cu alloy, i.e. AS9U3 Aluminum alloy, was used in this investigation. The microscopic examination showed that the Al-Si eutectic colonies start to melt during the melting process of swarf material resulting in the formation of globular Alpha-Al grains due to the multiplication of secondary dendrites arms. The fracture of dendrites arms and the subsequent spheroidization were suggested to be the origin of non-dendritic globular grains in the final microstructure. The amount of primary globular Alpha-phase was measured by the image analysis software. The results showed that during high pressure die-casting of AS9U3 Aluminum alloy using 4 mm thick samples, around 35 percent solid has been formed at the temperature of 580 oC.

Abstract: Stress-strain responses and microstructure of multi-phase CoCrCuMnNi and CoCrMnFeCu alloys in which Fe or Ni was replaced by Cu from Cantor alloy were studied. The deformation mechanisms of CoCrCuMnNi and CoCrMnFeCu were observed to be influenced by the presence of brittle sigma phase and the separated Cu-rich and the matrix phase. CoCrCuMnNi exhibited the relatively lower strength and excellent deformability, while CrMnFeCoCu alloy exhibited higher strength and lower ductility. The higher strength and the lower ductility of CoCrCuMnNi is associated with the presence more frequent and coarser sigma phase than those in CoCrCuMnNi.

Abstract: Bronze especially tin bronze is mostly used as material of traditional music instrument such as gamelan, cymbals, or bells. Casting process becomes an important process in making gamelan. Solidification is the most important process in the casting. This study is designed to evaluate variant of solidification rate on casting process of conventional bronze (tin bronze) as gamelan material. This study aimed at finding variant of Dendrite Arm Spacing (DAS) on acoustical characteristic of bronze alloy. The alloy of Cu–20Sn is chosen as the composition of tin-bronze because this composition is widely used as the gamelan material. Variant of solidification rate is designed by varying mold temperature and casting temperature. The bronze is melted in crucible furnace until 1050, 1100, 1100oC. Then, the melted material was poured into the mold in 400°C temperature. This study showed that increase of casting temperature influence the decrease of solidification rate which affecting the longer time of solidification. The difference of solidification rate affected on the construction of micro structure and the dendrite (DAS) formed. The size of the dendrite forms affected the mechanical and acustical tin bronze.

Abstract: As-solidified structure of an ingot is composed of the chill, columnar and equiaxed zones. The whole solidified structure is strongly affected by the chill crystals. Some initial solidification grains have been observed on the ingot surface and thought to be traces of the nucleation point. The aim of this study is, therefore, to develop the experiment technique to make one ‘grain’ and to crystallographically investigate the initial solidification grain using EBSD analysis. In order to start solidification at a very specified position, a small metallic protrusion was installed on an insulating plate. Al-6 wt%Si alloy was melted at 800 °C and was poured on the metallic protrusion. In this study, the amount of protrusion was varied to investigate the growth mechanism of the initial solidification grain. The longitudinal cross section of the specimen was observed by an optical microscope, a scanning electron microscope. The starting position of solidification was the area that was on the metallic protrusion. In this initial solidification grain, it was difficult to observe the dendritic structure. The shape of this grain was about hemispherical. The grain area seemed to increase with increasing the amount of protrusion. The results of EBSD analysis showed that almost all initial solidification grains were composed by several crystals. The reason of this is that the nucleation frequency may increase with the amount of protrusion. The dendrite grew radially from the initial solidification grain continuously. The crystallographic structure was also continuous on the boundary of the initial solidification grain.

Abstract: Many crystals nucleate on the mold surface when the molten alloy is poured in a mold cavity. Because the crystallographic orientations of these crystals are random, the solidified structure near the mold surface is very complex. The ghost lines, which are sometimes thick and the angle between them is not 90 degrees, are often observed in this region. However, if the crystallographic structure of this alloy is cubic, such as bcc or fcc, the ghost lines are very regular. In order to understand the geometry of ghost lines, Al-20 mass%Cu alloys were unidirectionally solidified with constant growth velocity. The solidified structures on the obliquely crossed section were observed. The ghost lines were quite regular and parallel to each other in a solidification grain. The angles and the ratio of the width of ghost lines were measured and crystallographic orientations were estimated using these parameters, based on the solid analytical geometry. EBSD analysis were also performed on the area, where the ghost lines were characterized, and the precise crystallographic orientations were decided. The comparison between both analytical values indicated that the differences between them are within 10 degrees and it can be safely concluded that the estimation for crystallographic orientation using ghost lines agreed well with the EBSD analysis.

Abstract: The causes and the influence factors of the defects of center porosity and secondary pipe of the casting superalloy ingot are briefly introduced, and the study on the principle and technical characters of grain refinement technology with dynamic methods carried out. The mechanism, working parameter and the test result of the typical application methods including the technologies of vibration of ultrasonic, the vibration of mould, the stir of mould and oscillation in the riser were investigated in detail. By comparing the advantages and disadvantages of different methods and also according to the practical production situation of our company, the most appropriate one for improving the defects of center porosity and secondary pipe is proposed.

Abstract: Electrochemical migration (ECM) of solder joining can result in the growth of a metal deposit with dendrite structure from cathode to anode. In electronic device, this phenomenon potentially leads to the incompetence or failure of whole devices. In this paper, the ECM behaviour of printed circuit boards (PCBs) with SAC 0307, one of the low-cost lead-free solder alloys with less silver content, has been studied. The corrosion behaviour of SAC 0307 has been investigated by using sodium chloride solution in different concentrations which is between 0.01 M to 1.0 M as a medium. A Water Drop Test (WDT) was carried out and the time-to-failure of each sample has been recorded. After WDT test, the dendrite phase was identified using Variable Pressure Scanning Electron Microscope (VPSEM) with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) to investigate its surface morphology and corrosion products. As results, it has been found that the corrosion susceptibility of SAC 0307 is greatly influenced by the concentration of the medium solution used. The voltage drop occurred was due to the dendrite grew at the cathode electrode on the PCBs and expanded to the anode electrode, indicating a significant effect of aggressive behaviour of the medium used. The rate of the dendrite growth was affected by the concentration of the medium used. The main element found in the dendrites on the SAC 0307 on PCBs was Tin as it is more mobile than Cu.

Abstract: Selective laser melting is a layer-by-layer technique to form a solid part from powder. The thermal cycle of this process can be as short as one millisecond and less. This is why it is favorable to obtain nanostructured materials with advanced properties. Metal matrix composite WC-Co is studied. Micron-sized Co powder was mixed with WC nanopowder in a planetary ball mill to prepare uniform composite powder. Single remelted beads and monolayers were obtained from the composite powder on the substrates of sintered WC-Co. No cracks and good adhesion to the substrate are observed. The high cooling rate up to 10⁶ K/s explains the fine microstructures. Increasing the scanning velocity is favourable because of refining the microstructure and decreasing the balling-effect. The attained values of surface roughness are as low as 1-2 μm.