Grain Refinement and Nuclei Formation Mechanism of Ni-Based Superalloy K417 with Low Voltage Pulsed Magnetic Casting

Abstract

Low Voltage Pulsed Magnetic Casting (LVPMC) is developed for grain refinement castings in recent years. This paper investigates the grain refinement effect of LVPMC on superalloy K417 and deals with the effects of cooling rate and superheating on grain refinement, as well as grain refinement mechanism. The experimental results show that the grains in the alloy are equiaxed and refined to 60 m averagely. The melt flow and Joule heat during solidification are modeled and simulated to reveals the grain refinement mechanism. It is considered that the melt vibration and convection caused by the pulsed magnetic field, as well as cooling rate and superheating contribute to the refinement of solidified grains.