Multiple ultrasounds assisted phase separation and monotectic solidification of liquid ternary Al81.5Cu14.7Bi3.8 immiscible alloy

Multiple power ultrasounds were employed to investigate the phase transition process of ternary Al81.5Cu14.7Bi3.8 immiscible alloy by various exerting modes. As the ultrasonic sources increased, the liquid phase separation pattern transformed from (Bi)-rich layered macrosegregation into the uniform distribution of secondary (Bi) droplets. Meanwhile, the primary (Al) phase evolved from coarse dendrites into plenty of small spherical grains and also tended to be uniformly dispersed. The subsequently formed ternary (Al) + (Al2Cu) + (Bi) monotectic structure, featured by the alternative (Al) and (Al2Cu) lamellar structure with fine (Bi) grains distributed, was coarsened first and then refined. Numerical simulations showed that the transient cavitation and the acoustic streaming strength were significantly enhanced by increasing ultrasonic beams, with the fourfold ultrasounds producing the most prominent effects on the phase separation process. The intensive and enlarged cavitation areas greatly accelerated the nucleation of both the secondary liquid phase and primary solid phase, which refined the growing (Bi) droplets and (Al) dendrites. The strength and morphology of acoustic streaming were the key factors in offsetting Stokes motion and carrying the growing grains to various regions, resulting in a uniform microstructure. Furthermore, increasing ultrasonic sources improved the friction and wear properties of the solidified alloy, which indicated that the Al81.5Cu14.7Bi3.8 immiscible alloy may become an excellent wear-resistant material owing to the uniform monotectic structure fabricated by the fourfold ultrasounds.