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Three-dimensional microstructure simulation of Ni-based superalloy investment castings

  • Research Paper
  • Multiscale Modeling & Simulation of Materials
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Abstract

An integrated macro and micro multi-scale model for the three-dimensional microstructure simulation of Ni-based superalloy investment castings was developed, and applied to industrial castings to investigate grain evolution during solidification. A ray tracing method was used to deal with the complex heat radiation transfer. The microstructure evolution was simulated based on the Modified Cellular Automaton method, which was coupled with three-dimensional nested macro and micro grids. Experiments for Ni-based superalloy turbine wheel investment casting were carried out, which showed a good correspondence with the simulated results. It is indicated that the proposed model is able to predict the microstructure of the casting precisely, which provides a tool for the optimizing process.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials Processing Technology, Ministry of Education, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Dong Pan, QingYan Xu & BaiCheng Liu

Authors
  1. Dong Pan
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  2. QingYan Xu
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  3. BaiCheng Liu
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Correspondence to QingYan Xu.

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Pan, D., Xu, Q. & Liu, B. Three-dimensional microstructure simulation of Ni-based superalloy investment castings. Sci. China Phys. Mech. Astron. 54, 851–855 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11433-011-4317-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11433-011-4317-x

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