STRUCTURAL CHARACTERIZATION AND DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS DURING DIRECTIONAL SOLIDIFICATION OF Al-Cu ALLOYS

ALICIA ESTHER ARES; CARLOS MARIA RODRIGUEZ; CARLOS ENRIQUE SCHVEZOV; MARIO ROBERTO ROSENBERGER

PROCEDIA MATERIALS SCIENCE

ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2012 vol. 1 p. 72 - 79

2211-8128

The columnar - to - equiaxed transition (CET) was investigated in Al-Cu alloys solidified directionally upward from a chill face. The CET occurs when the temperature gradient in the melt ahead of the columnar front reaches minimum and critical values. Two dimensionless numbers that can relate the system parameters (cooling rate, local solidification time and liquidus temperature of the alloy) were defined. The omega which shows a linear relationship with the local solidification time and the pi number, that for the Al-rich region in the Al-Cu system, strongly depend on the macrostructure. These results are important to correlate the experimental values of physical quantities, which are relevant to describe the solidification process.