Numerical simulation of solidification of liquid aluminum alloy flowing on cooling slope

Preparation of semisolid slurry using a cooling slope is increasingly becoming popular, primarily because of the simplicity in design and ease control of the process. In this process, liquid alloy is poured down an inclined surface which is cooled from underneath. The cooling enables partial solidification and the incline provides the necessary shear for producing semisolid slurry. However, the final microstructure of the ingot depends on several process parameters such as cooling rate, incline angle of the cooling slope, length of the slope and initial melt superheat. In this work, a CFD model using volume of fluid (VOF) method for simulating flow along the cooling slope was presented. Equations for conservation of mass, momentum, energy and species were solved to predict hydrodynamic and thermal behavior, in addition to predicting solid fraction distribution and macrosegregation. Solidification was modeled using an enthalpy approach and a volume averaged technique for the different phases. The mushy region was modeled as a multi-layered porous medium consisting of fixed columnar dendrites and mobile equiaxed/fragmented grains. The alloy chosen for the study was aluminum alloy A356, for which adequate experimental data were available in the literature. The effects of two key process parameters, namely the slope angle and the pouring temperature, on temperature distribution, velocity distribution and macrosegregation were also studied.

Induction reheating of A356.2 aluminum alloy and thixocasting as automobile component

The development work for producing an automobile component by thixocasting using A356.2 alloy was introduced. As the first step, the alloy was electromagnetically stirred and solidified to produce a billet with non-dendritic microstructure. The microstructure depended on several process parameters such as stirring intensity, stirring frequency, cooling rate, and melt initial superheat. Through a series of computational studies and controlled experiments, a set of process parameters were identified to produce the best microstructures. Reheating of a billet with non-dendritic microstructure to a semisolid temperature was the next step for thixo-casting of the components. The reheating process was characterized for various reheating cycles using a vertical-type reheating machine. The induction heating cycle was optimized to obtain a near-uniform temperature distribution in radial as well as axial direction of the billet, and the heating was continued until the liquid fraction reached about 50%. These parameters were determined with the help of a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of die filling and solidification of the semisolid alloy. The heated billets were subsequently thixo-cast into automobile components using a real-time controlled die casting machine. The results show that the castings are near net shape, free from porosity, good surface finish and have superior mechanical properties compared to those produced by conventional die casting processes using the same alloy.

Correlations between frequency of infra-red active vibrational modes and copper-oxygen distance in copper oxides. Application to superconductors

The infra-red spectra of a large number of ternary Cu(II) oxides with at least a quasi square-planar coordination of oxygen around the copper ions have been studied. The frequency of the bands with the highest frequency,v max, is found to correlate extremely well with the shortest Cu–O distance.v max increases at an impressive rate of sim20 cm–1 per 0.01 Å when the Cu–O distance becomes less than 1.97 Å, which is the Cu2+–O2– distance in square-planar CuO4 complexes as obtained from empirical ionic radii considerations. The marked sensitivity may be used as a ldquotitrationrdquo procedure not only to assign bands but also to obtain diagnostic information about local coordination in compounds derived, for example, from the YBa2Cu3O7–d structure such as LaCaBaCu3O7–d . The only example where this correlation fails is in the two-layer non-superconducting oxides derived from La2(Ca, Sr)Cu2O6. The significance of this result is discussed. The marked dependence of frequency on the bond-distance is qualitatively examined in terms of an increased electron-phonon coupling to account for the observed tendency of the superconducting transition temperature to go through a maximum as the average basal plane Cu–O distance is decreased.

Direct current electrical resistivity of zinc borate glasses containing transition metal oxides

The resistivities of zinc borate glasses containing Fe2O3, V2O5, and Fe2O3 + V2O5 have been measured as a function of composition and temperature. The values of resistivity and activation energy decrease as the transition metal oxide content is increased. The conductivities of the glasses containing Fe2O3 + V2O5 are more than the sum of those of the glasses containing only Fe2O3 or V2O5 (i.e. the activation energies are less than the sum of those in the glasses containing only Fe2O3 or V2O5). The results are discussed in terms of existing theories.

Wire-cylinder corona discharge with the wire at positive potential studies of iron oxides

A wire-cylinder corona discharge was studied in nitrogen and dry air in crossed electric and magnetic fields for values of magnetic field ranging from 0 to 3000 G with the wire at positive potential. In the absence of a magnetic field pre-onset streamers and pulses were observed in nitrogen. In both nitrogen and dry air breakdown streamers were observed just before spark breakdown of the gap. Furthermore, experiments in dry air at atmospheric pressure in an electric field indicate regular pre-onset streamers appearing at time intervals of 19.5 µs. The appearance of regular pre-onset streamers suggests that it is not possible for negative ions to form a sheath close to the anode as postulated by Hermstein (1960) for the formation of steady or glow corona in a point-plane gap.

Laser-fused refractory oxides for optical coatings

Laser sintering was carried out using a high power continuous-wave CO2 laser to prepare pellets of zirconia (ZrO2), hafnia (HfO2) and yttria (Y2O3) mixed oxides as starting materials in the deposition of optical coatings. Hardened recrystallized pellets appeared to have been formed during laser treatment. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed a monoclinic-to-tetragonal phase transformation in the binary system while the ternary system was found to have a mixture of two crystalline phases. Cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy showed two isothermal crystalline regions in the ternary system. The optical inhomogeneity was low in the films deposited from the laser-fused pellets, but the absorption at a wavelength of 351 nm increased with increasing HfO2 content. The films deposited from laser-fused pellets were analysed by electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis and found to be stoichiometric and homogeneous.

Reactivity with hydrogen of pure iron oxide and of iron oxides doped with oxides of Mn, Co, Ni and Cu

Using dynamic TG in H2, X-ray powder diffraction and Mössbauer Spectroscopy the reactivities fot hydrogen reduction of Fe2O3 prepared at different temperatures, Fe2O3 doped with oxides of Mn, Co, Ni and Cu prepared at 300DaggerC from nitrate precursors and intermediate spinels derived from above samples during reduction have been explored. The reactivity is higher for finely divided Fe2O3 prepared at 250DaggerC. The reduction is retarded by Mn, marginally affected by Co and accelerated by Ni and Cu, especially at higher (5 at.%) dopant concentration. These reactivities confirmed also by isothermal experiments, are ascribed to the nature of disorder in the metastable intermediate spinels and to hydrogen rsquospill overrsquo effects.

Polymer flame inhibition in presence of transition metal oxides

Transition metal oxides like Fe2O3, Ni2O3, Co2O3 and MnO2 suppress the combustion of polystyrene. The effect has been explained on the basis of condensed-phase and gas-phase reactions.

Pes study of spin-state transitions in d6 transition metal complexes and oxides

Transitions from the low-to the high-spin state in Fe2+ and Co3+ compounds have been examined by X-ray and UV photoelectron spectroscopy. It has been shown that the core-level bands in XPES, in particular the metal 3s band, as well as the valence bands, are diagnosis in the study of spin-state transitions.

Thermodynamics Of Aluminum Strontium Alloys

The activity of strontium in liquid Al-Sr alloys (X(Sr) less-than-or-equal-to 0.17) at 1323 K has been determined using the Knudsen effusion-mass loss technique. At higher concentrations (X(Sr) greater-than-or-equal-to 0.28), the activity of strontium has been determined by the pseudoisopiestic technique. Activity of aluminium has been derived by Gibbs-Duhem integration. The concentration - concentration structure factor of Bhatia and Thornton at zero wave vector has been computed from the thermodynamic data. The behaviour of the mean square thermal fluctuation in composition and the thermodynamic mixing functions suggest association tendencies in the liquid state. The associated solution model with Al2Sr as the predominant complex can account for the properties of the liquid alloy. Thermodynamic data for the intermetallic compunds in the Al-Sr system have been derived using the phase diagram and the Gibbs' energy and enthalpy of mixing of liquid alloys. The data indicate the need for redetermination of the phase diagram near the strontium-rich corner.

Mechanism of gel-to-crystallite conversion process in the synthesis of nanocrystalline multinary oxides

Description of gel-to-crystallite conversion process is made towards the synthesis of nanocrystalline titanates and aluminates. Thermodynamic and kinetic factors governing the conversion of a gel to meta-stable and stable nanocrystalline products(s) are discussed. Correlations between these factors and the preparative conditions employed for the syntheses of titanates and aluminates are arrived at.