Effect of electromagnetic stirring method on flow characteristics of A356 aluminum alloy melt

Abstract

The effects of different stirring methods on the melt flow field and solidification structure of the alloy were studied by numerical simulation under the same stirring parameters. The results of numerical simulation and experimental study show that two-way continuous electromagnetic stirring (forward turning 6s, reverse turning 6s) is better than one-way continuous electromagnetic stirring (forward turning 12s) and two-way intermittent electromagnetic stirring (forward turning 6s, stop 1s, reverse turning 6s). A new process and process parameters for preparing semi-solid aluminum alloy slurry were formed and improved. When aluminum alloy melt was poured into the cast at 650 °C, the maximum melt flow rate was obtained under 4 A, 30 Hz, and bidirectional continuous electromagnetic stirring for 12s (forward rotation 6s, reverse 6s). At this time, the maximum X-axis flow rate of aluminum alloy melt was 82 mm/s. The maximum flow rate on the Y-axis is 72.5 mm/s, and the maximum flow rate on the Z-axis is 45.6 mm/s. At this time, the microstructure of the primary phase is the best, the average equal area circle diameter of the primary phase is 59.3 μm, and the average shape factor is 0.84.