New Equipment and Method for Refining the Solidified Grain Structure

The mechanical properties of solidified alloys strongly depend on the grain size. In many practical cases at the given solidification parameters (temperature gradient and solid/liquid interface velocity), the solidified microstructure is columnar, meaning that the mechanical properties differ depending on the direction, which results in the material being unsuitable for application. The microstructure can be changed from columnar to equiaxed through the inclusion of grain refinement material. This strategy is well known in the literature as the columnar/equiaxed transition (CET). In some cases, it is beneficial if the CET can be produced without using grain refinement material; for example, it may detrimentally affect the mechanical properties (such as when the Al alloy ingot is used in pressing). The stirring of the melt as an alternative for the use of grain refinement material could solve this problem as intensive melt flow can break some particles from growing dendrites. This paper demonstrates a new type of traveling magnetic field inductor that is used to produce strong shearing stress in the flow perpendicular to the solidification front by causing part of the metallic melt layers touching each other to flow in an opposite direction. Through some examples, we demonstrate the effect of stirring by the new inductor on the solidified grain structure.