No abstract

This paper deals with the presence of High Density Inclusions (HDI) in VAR melted titanium ingots. For performance and economical reasons, the elimination of these inclusions is of utmost importance for the titanium industry. However, very few studies have considered dissolution aspects of HDIs and accurate data on their dissolution rates still lack in the literature. In the present study, we investigate the mass transport driven dissolution of some HDIs (tungsten and molybdenum) in CPTi, Ti64 and Ti17 baths. This has been done by allowing the partial dissolution of cylindrical rods in molten titanium for various controlled periods of time. Dissolution rates have been determined by measuring the dimensions of these samples before and after the experiments. In some cases, the chemical composition of the solidified bath near the sample has also been measured by Scanning Electron Microscope. It has been evidenced that the dissolution kinetics depends highly on the liquid metal agitation and temperature. The results also revealed that the dissolution of both tungsten and molybdenum is higher in pure titanium than in the investigated alloys. A numerical model describing the mass transport driven dissolution was used to determine dissolution rates numerically and to compare them to experimental results.

No abstract

Vacuum metallurgical processes such as the electron beam melting are highly conducive to volatilization. In titanium processing, it concerns the alloying elements which show a high vapor pressure with respect to titanium matrix, such as Al. Two different experimental approaches using a laboratory electron beam furnace have been developed for the estimation of volatilization rate and activity coefficient of Al in Ti64. The first innovative method is based on the deposition rate of Al on Si wafers located at different angles θ above the liquid bath. We found that a deposition according to a cos2(π/2−θ) law describes well the experimental distribution of the weight of the deposition layer. The second approach relies on the depletion of aluminum in the liquid pool at two separate times of the volatilization process. Both approaches provide values of the Al activity coefficient at T=1, 860 °C in a fairly narrow range [0.044–0.0495], in good agreement with the range reported in the literature. Furthermore numerical simulation of the Al behavior in the liquid pool reveals (in the specific case of electron beam button melting) a weak transport resistance in the surface boundary layer.

For the production of nickel‐based superalloys for the aerospace industry, strict control of the macrostructure of the product is necessary to avoid the appearance of potentially fatal defects. Our study focuses on the prevention of “white spots” in the alloy IN 718. These defects, which are small volumes of a few millimeters of characteristic length, are depleted in niobium. They are known to result from the fall of metal fragments in the liquid pool during VAR processing. According to their history in the liquid metal, these fragments could not being remelted before being trapped in the mushy zone and then give rise to defects. A model calculates the heat transfer in such a precursor to simulate its melting during his stay in the bath. The validation of the predicted melting kinetics requires a series of immersive experiences of synthetic defects in a metal bath. The model and experiments have demonstrated the initial solidification of a layer of metal around the precursor.

Due to their adequate properties, zirconium alloys are the reference materials for the nuclear fuel cladding tubes of Light Water Reactors (LWR). During some hypothetical accidental High Temperature (HT) transients, the materials should experience heavy steam oxidation and deep metallurgical evolutions. This promotes Alpha-Beta phase transformations and an associated strong partitioning of oxygen/hydrogen and of the main chemical alloying elements (Nb, Sn, Fe and Cr). Moreover, it has been shown quite recently that such chemical elements partitioning during on-cooling Beta-to-Alpha transformation can strongly impact the residual mechanical properties of HT oxidized materials. Thus, it appeared that it was important to better quantify and, if possible, to compute the quite complex phase equilibrium that occurs in multi-alloyed zirconium materials in the presence of both oxygen and hydrogen. For that, systematic studies have been performed on industrial alloys, charged with oxygen and/or hydrogen. After applying different heating/cooling scenarii, both Electron Microprobe using Wave Dispersive Spectrometry (WDS) and Nuclear Microprobe using Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis (ERDA) have been applied. Finally, to support the observed chemical elements partitioning between the Alpha and Beta allotropic phases, some thermodynamic calculations have been performed thanks to the development and the use of a specific thermodynamic database for zirconium alloys called “Zircobase".

No abstract

No abstract