Tuning the Planar-Flow Melt-Spinning Process Subject to Operability Conditions

Abstract

An amorphous structure improves the physical properties of metal and enhances material performance. Planar-flow melt-spinning (PFMS) is a rapid solidification process for producing microcrystalline and amorphous metal ribbons. In PFMS, molten metal is fed through a nozzle onto a rotating wheel where the melt freezes and a continuous ribbon is spun. This study proposes a rapid method for process tuning. Examples were used to determine the applied pressure and wheel speed for designing the ribbon thickness and a wheel-nozzle gap with a preset nozzle size. The determined operating variables are suited to operation conditions, enabling the successful production of continuous ribbon. The proposed method was tested using computational fluid dynamics by treating the liquid metal and ambient air as a two-phase flow using the volume of fluid method. This study used the model to predict the puddle shape and ribbon thickness by fixing the dimensions of the wheel-nozzle gap and nozzle slot and varying the pressure and wheel speed. The results from the simulation confirmed the viability of the method and showed a concerted trend for the ribbon thickness compared with previous studies. In addition, the simulation revealed a fluctuation in the ribbon thickness, which was attributed to the first vibration mode of the puddle that was related to the natural frequency of the liquid inertia balanced by surface tension.