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Real-Time Observation on Evolution of Droplets Morphology Affected by Electric Current Pulse in Al-Bi Immiscible Alloy

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Abstract

The evolution of Bi-rich droplets morphology in a solidifying Al-Bi immiscible alloy was directly observed using a synchrotron microradiography technique. The electric current pulse (ECP) was applied to control the solidification process of Al-Bi immiscible alloy. It was found that the electromagnetic pinch force and Marangoni force induced by ECP and temperature gradient, respectively, can significantly affect the distribution of Bi-rich droplets. The electromagnetic pinch force drove the droplets from the center to side; meanwhile, the Marangoni force lifted the droplets from the bottom to the top. As a result, the droplets finally distributed with a manner of “inverted triangle.”

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 50971032, 51071035 and 51274054), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, Liaoning BaiQianWan Talents Program and the Keygrant Project of Chinese Ministry of Education. The authors wish to thank all the staff members of the BL13W1 beam line of SSRF and 4W1A beam line of BSRF.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, People’s Republic of China

    Jing Zhu, Tongmin Wang, Fei Cao & Hongwang Fu

  2. Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai, 215600, People’s Republic of China

    Yanan Fu, Honglan Xie & Tiqiao Xiao

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  1. Jing Zhu
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  2. Tongmin Wang
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  3. Fei Cao
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  4. Hongwang Fu
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  5. Yanan Fu
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  6. Honglan Xie
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  7. Tiqiao Xiao
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Correspondence to Tongmin Wang.

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Zhu, J., Wang, T., Cao, F. et al. Real-Time Observation on Evolution of Droplets Morphology Affected by Electric Current Pulse in Al-Bi Immiscible Alloy. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 22, 1319–1323 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-012-0421-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-012-0421-y

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