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The final properties of ductile iron are decided by the inoculant processing while pouring the melt. The shape and size of nodules generated during solidification are of paramount importance in solidification of ductile cast iron. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of different inoculant addition on the solidification of ductile cast iron melt through thermal analysis.

Thermal analysis has recently grown as a tool for modeling the solidification behavior of ductile cast irons. Iron properties will be predicted by analyzing the cooling curve patterns of the melts and predicting the related effectiveness of inoculant processing. In this study, thermal analysis is used to evaluate the need for inoculation.

The amount and type of inoculation will affect the amount of undercooling during the solidification of ductile cast iron. It is found that the addition of 0.1 to 0.4 Wt.% inoculant lowers the austenite dendrite formation starting temperature while increasing the eutectic freezing temperature. Microstructure analysis revealed that the addition of inoculation increases the nodule count from 103 to 242 nodules. The beneficial effects of inoculation are sustained by an improved graphitization factor, which shows the formation of graphite nodules in the second phase of the eutectic reaction.

The inoculation treatment has improved metallurgical occurrences such as carbide to graphite conversion, graphite microstructure control, graphite nodule count at the start of solidification and the last stage of solidification, which determines the soundness of casting. The foundry industry can follow these steps for monitoring the solidification of ductile iron castings.

Stir casting is a promising technique used for the manufacture of Al-SiC metal matrix composites. The clustering of reinforcement particles is a serious concern in this production method. In this work, mushy-state solidification characteristics in stir casting are numerically simulated using computational fluid dynamics techniques to study the clustering of reinforcement particles.

Effects of process parameters on the distribution of particles are examined by varying stirrer speed, volume fraction of reinforcement, number of blades on stirrer and diameter ratio (ratio of crucible diameter to stirrer diameter). Further, investigation of characteristics of cooling curves during solidification process is carried out. Volume of fluid method in conjunction with a solidification model is used to simulate the multi-phase fluid flow during the mushy-state solidification. Solidification patterns thus obtained clearly indicate a strong influence of process parameters on the distribution of reinforcement particles and solidification time.

From the simulation study, it is observed that increase in stirrer speed from 50 to 150 rad/s promotes faster solidification rate. But, beyond 100 rad/s, stirrer speed limit, clustering of reinforcement particles is observed. The clustering of reinforcement particles is seen when volume fraction of reinforcement is increased beyond 10 per cent. When number of blades on stirrer are increased from three to five, an increase in solidification rate is observed, and an uneven distribution of reinforcement particles are observed for five-blade geometry. It is also seen from the simulation study that a four-blade stirrer gives a better distribution of reinforcement in the molten metal. Decrease in diameter ratio from 2.5 to 1.5 promotes faster solidification rate.

There is 90 per cent closeness in results for simulation study and the published experimental results.

As a literature review article, the purpose of this paper is to highlight the intricate interaction and correlation between the interconnection microstructure and the failure mechanism. It is therefore critical to summarize all the challenges in understanding solder solidification of interconnections.

Literature review.

Solidification of solder interconnections is therefore critical because it is the process during which the solder interconnection is formed. The as‐solidified microstructure serves as the starting point for all failure modes. Because of the miniaturization of electronics, the interconnection size decreases continuously, already to such a range that solder solidification takes place remarkably differently from the bulk ingot, on which solidification studies have been focused for decades. There are many challenges in understanding the solidification of tiny solder interconnections, including the complex metallurgical system, dynamic solder composition, supercooling and actual solidification temperature, localized temperature field, diverse interfacial IMC formation, and so on, warranting further research investment on solder solidification.

This paper provides a critical overview of the concerns in solidification study for lead‐free solder interconnection. It is probably an article initiating more attention towards solidification topics.

Reducing discrepancy between energy demand and supply has been a controversial issue among researchers. Thermal energy storage is a technique to decrease this difference to increase the thermal efficiency of systems. Latent heat thermal energy storage has interested many researchers over the past few decades because of its high thermal energy density and constant operating temperature. The purpose of this paper is to provide a numerical study of the solidification process in a triplex tube heat exchanger containing phase change material (PCM) RT82.

A two-dimensional transient model was generated using finite volume method and regarding enthalpy-porosity technique. After that, a detailed and systematic approach has been presented to modify longitudinal fins’ configuration to enhance heat transfer rate in PCMs and reducing solidification time. The numerical results of this study have been validated by reference experimental results.

The ultimate model reduced solidification time up to 21.1 per cent of the Reference model which is a substantial improvement. Moreover, after testing different arrangements of rectangular fins and studying the flow pattern of liquid PCM during solidification, two general criteria was introduced so that engineers can reach the highest rate of heat transfer for a specified value of total surface area of fins. Finally, the effect of considering natural convection during solidification was studied, and the results showed that disregarding natural convection slows down the solidification process remarkably in comparison with experimental results and in fact, this assumption generates non-real estimation of solidification process.

The arrangement of the fins to have the best possible solidification time is the novelty in this paper.

The solidification of a superheated fluid‐porous medium contained in a rectangular cavity is studied numerically. The bottom and side walls of the cavity are insulated while the top wall is maintained at a constant temperature below the freezing point of the saturating fluid. The study is focused on the effects of superheat on the development of natural convection and heat transfer during the solidification process. For a fluid initially at a temperature above the freezing point, the results obtained by neglecting convection overpredicts the solidification time by about 12 percent for a Rayleigh number of 800. When convection is taken into account, it is found that the solidification process consists of three distinct regimes: the conduction regime, convection regime and the solidification of the remaining fluid that can be described by the Neumann solution for the solidification of a fluid at its freezing point. The numerical simulations are based on the Darcy‐Boussinesq equations, using the front tracking method in a transformed coordinate system. The entire solidification process is described in terms of the evolutions of the streamlines and isotherm patterns, the maximum and average temperatures of the fluid, the interface position, and the heat transfer rate. The parametric domain covered by these simulations is 0 ≤ Ra ≤ 800, 0 ≤ St^l ≤ 0.67, St^s = 0.3 and XL = 1 where Ra is the Rayleigh number, St^l the liquid Stefan number, St^s the solid Stefan number, and XL the aspect ratio of the cavity.

The purpose of this paper is to solve solidification of liquid copper saturated in porous structure fabricated by sintered steel particles using a temperature‐transforming model (TTM).

The convection in the liquid region is modeled using Navier‐Stokes equation with Darcy's term and Forchheimer's extension. The effect of natural convection is considered using the Boussinesq approximation. For the solid region, the velocity is set to zero by the Ramped Switch‐Off Method (RSOM). The model was validated by comparing the results with existing experimental and numerical results with gallium as phase change material and packed glass beads as porous structure. Solidification of liquid copper saturated in sintered copper particles is then simulated and the effects of various parameters on solidification process were studied.

The results indicate that the stronger convection effects are shown for the cases with high Raleigh number or high Darcy's number. However, when either Raleigh number or Darcy's number is reduced to below a certain order of magnitude, the solidification becomes conduction‐controlled.

This work is the first application of the TTM to solve solidification in porous media, which can find its application in post‐processing of laser sintered parts.

Understanding and tailoring the solidification characteristics and microstructure evolution in as-built parts fabricated by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is crucial as they influence the final properties. Experimental approaches to address this issue are time and capital-intensive. This study aims to develop an efficient numerical modeling approach to develop the process–structure (P-S) linkage for LPBF-processed Inconel 718.

In this study, a numerical approach based on the finite element method and cellular automata was used to model the multilayer, multitrack LPBF build for predicting the solidification characteristics (thermal gradient G and solidification rate R) and the average grain size. Validations from published experimental studies were also carried out to ensure the reliability of the proposed numerical approach. Furthermore, microstructure simulations were used to develop P-S linkage by evaluating the effects of key LPBF process parameters on G × R, G/R and average grain size. A solidification or G-R map was also developed to comprehend the P-S linkage.

It was concluded from the developed G-R map that low laser power and high scan speed will result in a finer microstructure due to an increase in G × R, but due to a decrease in G/R, columnar characteristics are also reduced. Moreover, increasing the layer thickness and decreasing the hatch spacing lowers the G × R, raises the G/R and generates a coarse columnar microstructure.

The proposed numerical modeling approach was used to parametrically investigate the effect of LPBF parameters on the resulting microstructure. A G-R map was also developed that enables the tailoring of the as-built LPBF microstructure through solidification characteristics by tuning the process parameters.

The purpose of this study is to explore how a time-varying electromagnetic stirring (EMS) affects the fluid flow and solidification behavior in a slab caster continuous casting mold. Further, the study of inclusion movements in the mold is carried out under the effect of a time-varying electromagnetic field.

A three-dimensional coupled numerical model of solidification and magnetohydrodynamics has been developed for slab caster mold to investigate the inclusions transport by discrete phase model with the use of user-defined functions. Enthalpy porosity and the Lagrangian approach are applied to analyze the behavior of solidification and inclusion.

The study shows that the magnetic field density distribution has a radial symmetry in relation to the stirrer’s center. As the EMS current intensity increases, the strength of the lower recirculation zone gradually decreases and nearly disappears at higher intensities. Additionally, the area of localized remelting zone expands in the solidification front with rising current intensity. The morphology of inclusions and EMS current intensity have a significant impact on the behavior and movement of inclusions within the molten steel.

By using the model, one can optimize the EMS parameter to enhance the quality of steel casting through the elimination of impurities and by improving the microstructure of cast that mainly depend on solidification and flow patterns of molten steel.

Until now, the use of time-varying EMS in the slab caster mold to study solidification and inclusion behavior has not been explored.

The general aim of this work is to calculate the extent of the equiaxed zone in continuously cast steel products. Free equiaxed grains can grow only in undercooled liquid regions. Undercooling of the bulk liquid occurs because the columnar dendrite tips growing from the mould reject solutes in the liquid. The specific aim of this contribution is to calculate the thermal and physical state of continuously cast steel long products assuming a columnar solidification mode, taking into account the tip undercooling at the solidification front. A 2‐D heat transfer model has been developed where the columnar solidification mode is assumed. The calculation of the undercooling at the advancing solidification front is coupled with the heat transfer equation. The comparison between the results of the present model and the classical heat transfer model indicates the importance of modelling the undercooling phenomenon. The influence of the secondary cooling has also been studied.

The aim of the present work is to study the effect of processing conditions on solidification path and resultant microstructure and further predict the solidification behavior of gas-atomized Sn-5mass%Pb droplets.

Combined with previous models for in-flight droplet nucleation and non-equilibrium solidification, a simulation method is applied to four typical containerless solidification conditions with helium, nitrogen or argon gas at two different gas jet velocities, in the presence of 10 or 500 ppm oxygen. The simulation outputs distribution of primary dendrite composition, tip velocity and tip radius with radial distance from the nucleation point, and the fraction solid at the end of recalescence and the post-recalescence duration. Both surface and internal nucleation are considered. The possible dendritic fragmentation in the post-recalescence stage is also discussed.

Result indicates that dendritic fragmentation is not likely to occur in droplets solidifying along the paths considered in the simulation.

The simulation method applies to any droplet-based solidification process for which droplet cooling schedule is known and thus provides a scientific basis for powder quality assurance.