The development of macrostructure in ingots of increasing size

Abstract

A series of Al-Cu ingots ranging in volume from approximately 50 to 500 and to 5000 cc has been conventionally prepared in two ways, by normal chill casting or by using a magnetic field to control the convective currents. Comparisons allow us to differentiate among the various mechanisms proposed for the origin of equiaxed grains and for the columnar-to-equiaxed transition in castings: i) In normal casting, with the natural convection associated with standard superheats, the majority of grains is provided by the mechanism suggested by Chalmers (and also known as the Big Bang), or by crystal settling from a free surface as suggested by Southin. ii) If new grains, no matter how they may form, are inhibited from mixing with the rest of the liquid, no significant equiaxed structure appears. iii) Unless some special or preselected conditions prevail, other mechanisms such as those involving constitutional supercooling or dendrite remelting, do not seem operative in the formation of a central equiaxed zone.