Effect of the fluid convection driven by a rotating magnetic field on the solidification of a PbSn alloy

It is already known that the microstructure of a metallic alloy can be affected in a significant way due to the convection in the liquid phase during solidification. A time varying magnetic field can be applied to produce a flow field in the melt which influences the nucleation and growth processes. The aim of our research program is to find a strategy to refine the microstructure of castings by an optimal combination of magnetic field intensity, field frequency and cooling rate. Furthermore, the basic mechanisms controlling the solidification by magnetic fields are investigated.
A cylindrical crucible with a diameter of 50 mm was used to contain the Pb85wt%Sn alloy. A melt height of 60 mm was chosen. The container bottom is positioned on a water cooled copper chill allowing a directed solidification by a vertical heat flux. A rotating magnetic field was generated by an inductor system with 6 coils.
Local temperatures were determined during the solidification process using a set of thermocouples. Cooling curves measured at different locations inside the sample reveal the significant influence of the electromagnetic convection on the local heat transfer. Profiles of the melt velocity were obtained applying the ultrasonic Doppler method..
The Pb-85wt%Sn alloy shows a microstructure with primary tin-crystallites and eutectic. Specimens solidified without a rotating magnetic field showed a columnar dendritic microstructure which is orientated in heat flux direction. The tin crystallites and the eutectic are homogeneously distributed over the whole sample. If the alloy solidifies in a rotating magnetic field the microstructure changes. The shape of the dendrites changes from columnar to equiaxed in direction from the bottom to the top of the specimen and in the same direction the volume content of the eutectic increases.