On the Formulation of a Freckling Criterion for Ni-Based Superalloy Vacuum Arc Remelting Ingots

A criterion for freckling prediction that includes the effect of a tilted solidification front was proposed and evaluated with experimental data available in the literature. The criterion is based on the maximum local Rayleigh number in the mush layer and was developed using Flemings’ criterion and assuming that the interdendritic liquid flow is governed by the Darcy law. The proposed form preserves the anisotropic nature of the permeability tensor throughout the derivation and provides improved resolution on freckle prediction. A clear separation between the freckled and nonfreckled experiments was obtained for all compositions. The effect of the tilted solidification front over the freckling potential was corroborated, and the results suggested that the directionality of permeability affects the location within the mush layer of the potential nucleation sites for the channels leading to freckles. A threshold zone was determined from the enclosing experiments data, and the range contained one of the proposed critical values for superalloys, which previously was developed by a completely different method.