Effects of Electromagnetic Vibration Frequencies on Microstructure and Tensile Properties of Al-15 Wt Pct Sn Alloy in Semi-continuous Casting Process

The electromagnetic vibration (EMV) generated by the action of the AC current and the magnetic field was applied in the crystallizer during the semi-continuous casting of the Al-15 wt pct Sn alloy. The influences of the electromagnetic vibration frequency (EMVF) on the metallographic structure, inverse segregation, and tensile properties were studied. The results indicated that the equiaxed grain ratios of the slabs were increased by decreasing the EMVFs from 500 to 5 Hz. The inverse segregation around the sides of the slab was improved at a low EMVF. The results of the 3D numerical simulation showed that the forced flows led to the refinement of grains and the improvement of the inverse segregation. The slabs with equiaxed grains which were produced with the low EMVFs showed the poor tensile properties comparing to the slabs with columnar grains obtained with the EMVFs of 50, 200, and 500 Hz and without the EMV. This phenomenon was mainly due to the distribution of the brittle Sn-rich phases: the reticular Sn-rich phases appeared around the boundary of the equiaxed grains, while the worm-like Sn-rich phases appeared between the column dendrites intermittently in the slabs with columnar grains.