Depicting Aluminium DC Casting by Means of Dimensionless Numbers

Abstract

DC casting of aluminium and its alloys is a controlled heat removal solidification process. The rate of heat extraction has strong effects on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the solidified alloy ingots. In view of this strict temperature, control over the ingot as it solidifies should be implemented in order to achieve metal with the best possible properties. In situ direct temperature measurements are complicated; so in this report, the use of dimensionless analysis to predict temperature distributions on the ingots as they are casted is proposed. It is reported that the dimensionless groups that better represent the impact of process variables on the solidification of aluminium and its alloys are the Péclet (Pe) and Biot (Bi) numbers.