Electro­magnetic stirring is an elegant way to influence the flow in metallic melts contactless. This allows a target-oriented influence on the microstructure without changing in alloy composition or the production process.
An percentage increase of equiaxed grains, a homogeneous chemical composition and a reduction in surface defects are possible.

Our visualisation experiments unco­ver a complex interaction between dendritic growth and melt convection. Melt flow induces various effects on grain morphology primarily caused by convective transport of solute, such as a facilitation of the growth of primary trunks or lateral branches, dendrite remelting or fragmentation depending on the dendrite orientation, the flow direction and intensity.

Melt flow is critical to microstructural evolution during various solidification processes. Applying an external ­magnetic field interacts with the intrinsic thermoelectric currents during solidification, generating a new flow field, due to thermoelectric ­magnetohydrodynamics (TEMHD). The introduction of TEMHD flow can disrupt the existing buoyancy-dominated flow and potentially tailor the microstructure.