Directional solidification of Ti-45Al-6Nb-xW(x=0,0.4,0.8;at%) alloys was performed by Bridgeman method with the stable growth rate of 5,10,and 20 μm·s^(-1).The differential scanning calorimeter(DSC) results indicate that both the eutectic temperature and the transition temperature of α(Ti_3Al) to γ(TiAl) increase with W content increasing from 0 at%to 0.8 at%.For the stable growth rate of 10 μm·s^(-1),the orientations of α_2(Ti_3Al)/γ(TiAl)lamellae change from 45°(0 at%W) to 0° and near 0°(0.4at%and 0.8 at%W) to the crystal growth direction,and the spacing of α_2/γ lamellae decreases with W content increasing from 0 at%to 0.4 at%,while it increases when W content is 0.8 at%.With the increase in growth rate from5 to 10 and 20 μm·s^(-1),the lamellar spacing of α_2/γbecomes smaller,and the lamellar thickness becomes more uniform.
A theoretical investigation of fluid flow,heat transfer and solidification(solidification transfer phenomena,STP)was presented which coupled with direct-current(DC)magnetic fields in a high-speed strip-casting metal delivery system.The bidirectional interaction between the STP and DC magnetic fields was simplified as a unilateral one,and the fully coupled solidification transport equations were numerically solved by the finite volume method(FVM).While the magnetic field contours for a localized DC magnetic field were calculated by software ANSYS and then incorporated into a three-dimensional(3-D)steady model of the liquid cavity in the mold by means of indirect coupling.A new FVM-based direct-SIMPLE algorithm was adopted to solve the iterations of pressure-velocity(P-V).The braking effects of DC magnetic fields with various configurations were evaluated and compared with those without static magnetic field(SMF).The results show that 0.6 T magnetic field with combination configuration contributes to forming an isokinetic feeding of melt,the re-circulation zone is shifted towards the back wall of reservoir,and the velocity difference on the direction of height decreases from 0.1 m/s to 0.Furthermore,the thickness of solidified skull increases uniformly from 0.45 mm to 1.36 mm on the chilled substrate(belt)near the exit.
Cold crucible directional solidification(CCDS)is a newly developed technique,which combines the advantages of the cold crucible and continuous melting.It can be applied to directionally solidify reactive,high purity and refractory materials.This paper describes the principle of CCDS and its characteristics;development of the measurement and numerical calculation of the magnetic field,flow field and temperature field in CCDS;and the CCDS of Ti based alloys.The paper also reviews original data obtained by some scholars,including the present authors,reported in separate publications in recent years.In Ti based alloys,Ti6Al4V,TiAl alloys and high Nb-containing TiAl alloys,have been directionally solidified in different cold crucibles.The crosssections of the cold crucibles include round,near rectangular and square with different sizes.Tensile testing results show that the elongation of directionally solidified Ti6Al4V can be improved to 12.7%from as cast5.4%.The strength and the elongation of the directionally solidified Ti47Al2Cr2Nb and Ti44Al6Nb1.0Cr2.0V are 650 MPa/3%and 602.5MPa/1.20%,respectively.The ingots after CCDS can be used to prepare turbine or engine blades,and are candidates to replace Ni super-alloy at temperatures of 700 to 900°C.
In order to improve the mechanical properties of Ti Al alloys, especially the ductility at room temperature, and to study the effect of boron(B) on Ti Al alloys, different contents(0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.6, 0.9, 1.2, at.%) of B were added into Ti-44Al-6Nb alloys to prepare ingots. The surface quality, macrostructure, microstructure, compressive properties and fracture surface of the ingots were studied. The results show that B has little influence on the surface quality except that there are some dark spots on the surface when the content of B is 0.9%. B can refine the grains. The average grain size decrease from about 0.8 mm to 0.088 mm with increasing B content. Meanwhile, the grain morphology of these ingots changes from big equiaxed grains with lamellars to fine equiaxed grains. When the content of B is 1.2%, the primary Ti B2 phase forms in the liquid phase and increases the nucleation rate, leading to further refinement of the grains. The compressive testing results show that B can increase the strength and the ductility, the compressive strength and compressibility can reach 2,037.8 MPa and 26.7% from 1,156.2 MPa and 10.2% when the boron content is 0.6%, which is resulted from grain refining and grain boundary strengthening. It is found that the compressive strength and the compressibility are relatively stable when the B content is more than 0.3%.
