Abstract
This work focuses on the effects of ultrasonic melt treatment (UST) during direct-chill (DC) casting on the temperature distribution across the billet, sump profile, and the resulting microstructure. Two AA6008 billets were cast; one was treated with UST in the hot top while the other was not. To determine the temperature distribution along the billet, multi-point temperature measurements were made across the radii of both billets. The sump profile was also analyzed through macrostructure analysis, after Zn was poured into the sump, while structure refinement was quantified through grain-size measurements. A numerical model of ultrasound-assisted DC casting is validated using the temperature measurements. As an outcome, this study provides information on the extent to which UST affects the sump profile and the corresponding changes in the microstructure. The knowledge gained from this study paves the way towards optimization of UST parameters in DC casting.
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Acknowledgements
Financial support from EPSRC (UK) under projects UltraMelt2 (EP/R011001/1, EP/R011044/1 and EP/R011095/1) and Future LiME Hub (EP/N007638/1) is gratefully acknowledged. The authors are thankful for the support of Constellium in running DC casting experiments in the AMCC/BCAST and Dr. N. Barekar for his help on macrostructure sample preparation.
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Subroto, T. et al. (2021). Effect of Ultrasonic Melt Treatment on the Sump Profile and Microstructure of a Direct-Chill Cast AA6008 Aluminum Alloy. In: Perander, L. (eds) Light Metals 2021. The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65396-5_118
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65396-5_118
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