Modelling of micro- and macrosegregation for industrial multicomponent aluminium alloys

Abstract

Realistic predictions of macrosegregation formation during casting of aluminium alloys requires an accurate modeling of solute microsegregation accounting for multicomponent phase diagrams and secondary phase formation. In the present work, the stand alone Alstruc model, a microsegregation model for industrial multicomponent aluminium alloys, is coupled with the continuum model ALSIM which calculates the macroscopic transport of mass, enthalpy, momentum, and solutes as well as stresses and deformation during solidification of aluminium. Alstruc deals with multicomponent alloys accounting for temperature dependent partition coefficients, liquidus slopes and the precipitation of secondary phases. The challenge associated with computation of microsegregation for multicomponent alloys is solved in Alstruc by approximating the phase diagram data by simple, analytical expressions which allows for a CPU-time efficient coupling with the macroscopic transport model. In the present work, the coupled model has been applied in a study of macrosegregation including thermal and solutal convection, solidification shrinkage and surface exudation on an industrial DC-cast billet.