Macrosegregation Mechanism of Primary Silicon Phase in Cast Hypereutectic Al-Si Alloys Under Alternating Electropulsing
ZHANG Limin1(), LI Ning2, ZHU Longfei1, YIN Pengfei3, WANG Jianyuan1, WU Hongjing1
1MOE Key Laboratory of Material Physics and Chemistry Under Extraordinary, School of Physical Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, China 2School of Materials Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Science and Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China 3College of Science, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an 625014, China
Cite this article:
ZHANG Limin, LI Ning, ZHU Longfei, YIN Pengfei, WANG Jianyuan, WU Hongjing. Macrosegregation Mechanism of Primary Silicon Phase in Cast Hypereutectic Al-Si Alloys Under Alternating Electropulsing. Acta Metall Sin, 2023, 59(12): 1624-1632.
Controlling the macrosegregation induced by electropulsing is of high commercial importance. This study investigates the macrosegregation of the primary Si phase in casting Al-Si hypereutectic alloys via the different solidification stages and components of alloys treated with electropulsing. Experimental results show that a serious gradient macrosegregation of the primary Si phase occurs, and four types of primary Si regions are formed: coarse plate-like, refined plate-like, and fine polygon primary Si, as well as a eutectic structure. The wider the solidification temperature range, the more serious the macrosegregation. A near-eutectic structure occurs at the center of ingots when the solidification temperature range exceeds a certain threshold. With an increasing current density of electropulsing, the segregation degree of primary Si increases initially and then decreases for different Al-Si hypereutectic alloys, but the current density with regard to the most serious segregation is closely related to the Si content. Furthermore, it is proved that the migration behavior of primary Si particles plays an important role in macrosegregation. A special casting experiment under the condition of limited heat flux along the radial direction was performed to clarify the macrosegregation mechanism of primary Si under electropulsing. After nucleation during the solidification process, the primary Si particles move to the front of the solid-liquid interface due to secondary flow in bulk liquid and then are easily captured due to the electromagnetic repulsive force or its component. The force flow in the bulk liquid and mush zone and the secondary flow in front of the solid-liquid interface make obvious solute redistribution and promote the growth of the primary Si phase, which is maintained until the solute concentration in the bulk liquid approaches the eutectic composition.
Fund: National Natural Science Foundation of China(52074227);National Natural Science Foundation of China(51801186);National Natural Science Foundation of China(52130405);Key Re-search and Development Program of Shaanxi Province(2020ZDLGY13-03)
Table 1 The applied parameters during solidification of hypereutectic Al-Si alloys under alternating electropulsing
Fig.1 Solidification macrostructures of as cast Al-30%Si alloy without electropulsing (a) or with electropulsing of 230 A/cm2 (d) and high magnified OM images of region b (b), region c (c), region e (e), and region f (f) (Areas 1, 2, and 3 in Fig.1f show the coarse plate-like, refined plate-like, and fine polygon morphologies, respectively)
Fig.2 Number ratios of primary Si phase in the center of specimen (Nc) to that in the edge of specimen (Ne) and duration time of electropulsing as a function of solidification temperature range under electropulsing of 230 A/cm2
Fig.3 Radial thicknesses of rich region of primary Si as a function of current density in hypereutectic Al-Si alloys
Fig.4 OM images of solidification macrostructures of Al-30%Si alloy with the application of electropulsing at different solidification stages (The region of macrosegregation of primary Si phase is indicated outside the closed dotted curve) (a) 1173-1096 K (b) 1096-823 K (c) 1086-823 K (d) 1076-823 K (e) 1066-823 K (f) 1056-823 K
Fig.5 Relationship between area percentage of rich region of primary Si and temperature range for electropulsing treatment in Al-30%Si alloys
Fig.6 Solidification macrostructures of Al-30%Si alloy under the condition of insulated side wall without electropulsing (a) or with electropulsing of 230 A/cm2 (c) and high magnified OM images of region b (b), region d (d), region e (e), and region f (f)
Fig.7 Sketches of current density distribution of electropulsing (a), forced flow field in bulk liquid (b), secondary flow (c), and crystal nucleus migration (d) (r, z—radial direction and axial direction in cylindrical coordinates, respectively)
Fig.8 Formation model of gradient macro segregation of primary Si phase under electropulsing (F, Fy —electromagnetic repulsive force and its component in y-direction; v —velocity; vx, vy —velocity in x- or y-direction, respectively) (a) the first segregation layer (b) the second segregation layer (c) the third segregation layer (d) near eutectic structure
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