Faculty Publications
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Item Modification of eutectic silicon in Al-Si alloys(2008) Hegde, S.; Prabhu, K.N.The mechanical properties of Al-Si alloys are strongly related to the size, shape and distribution of eutectic silicon present in the microstructure In order to improve mechanical properties, these alloys are generally subjected to modification melt treatment, which transforms the acicular silicon morphology to fibrous one resulting in a noticeable improvement in elongation and strength. Improper melt treatment procedures, fading and poisoning of modifiers often result in the structure which is far from the desired one. Hence it is essential to assess the effectiveness of melt treatment before pouring. A much investigated reliable thermal analysis technique is generally used for this purpose. The deviation from the standard curve in thermal analysis helps in assessing the level of refinement of the Si structure. In the present review an attempt is made to discuss various aspects of modification, including mechanism, interaction of defects and non-destructive assessment by thermal analysis. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.Item Effect of modification melt treatment and chilling on eutectic arrest temperature and time during solidification of A357 alloy(2011) Prabhu, K.N.; Hegde, S.Thermal analysis technique has been recognised as an efficient non-destructive tool to assess the degree of modification in Al-Si alloys. Apart from chemical modification, chilling refines the microstructure. This is particularly significant as majority of Al-Si alloys are cast in metallic moulds. In the present study, the interaction between chilling and modification melt treatment is investigated to assess their effect on thermal analysis parameters using computer aided cooling curve analysis. For modified alloys, the depression of the eutectic arrest temperature was significant at higher cooling rates. The eutectic arrest temperature and time were correlated with the cooling rate using a power law. High cooling regime in thermal analysis plots was attributed to the combined effect of chilling and modification melt treatment on heat transfer. © 2011 Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.Item The effect of simultaneous refinement and modification by cerium on microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-8% Si alloy(Taylor and Francis Ltd. maney@maney.co.uk, 2016) Vijayan, V.; Prabhu, K.N.The effect of cerium melt treatment on microstructure and mechanical properties of gravity die cast Al-8% Si alloy was studied. The addition of Ce transformed the large columnar ?-Al grains into fine equiaxed grains and modified the acicular eutectic Si into fine fibrous form. The addition of Ce resulted in the formation of needle-shaped complex Ce intermetallic along the grain boundaries. Electrical conductivity measurements are used for the first time to reveal the effect of Ce addition on modification of the eutectic Si. The electrical conductivity of the alloy increased with Ce melt treatment. Scanning Electron Microscopy results suggests that the Ce particles did not heterogeneously nucleate the ?-Al grains, instead the fine equiaxed grains were formed through an invariant reaction between the liquid melt and Ce phase. The ultimate tensile strength, % elongation and hardness of the alloy significantly improved due to simultaneous modification and refinement. © 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.Item The Effect of Wetting Gravity Regime on Shear Strength of SAC and Sn-Pb Solder Lap Joints(Springer New York LLC barbara.b.bertram@gsk.com, 2017) Sona, M.; Prabhu, K.N.The failure of solder joints due to imposed stresses in an electronic assembly is governed by shear bond strength. In the present study, the effect of wetting gravity regime on single-lap shear strength of Sn-0.3Ag-0.7Cu and Sn-2.5Ag-0.5Cu solder alloys reflowed between bare copper substrates as well as Ni-coated Cu substrates was investigated. Samples were reflowed for 10 s, Tgz (time corresponding to the end of gravity regime) and 100 s individually and tested for single-lap shear strength. The single-lap shear test was also carried out on eutectic Sn-Pb/Cu- and Sn-Pb/Ni-coated Cu specimens to compare the shear strength values obtained with those of lead-free alloys. The eutectic Sn-Pb showed significantly higher ultimate shear strength on bare Cu substrates when compared to Sn-Ag-Cu alloys. However, SAC alloys reflowed on nickel-coated copper substrate exhibited higher shear strength when compared to eutectic Sn-Pb/Ni-coated Cu specimens. All the substrate/solder/substrate lap joint specimens that were reflowed for the time corresponding to the end of gravity regime exhibited maximum ultimate shear strength. © 2017, ASM International.Item Effect of Bath Temperature on Cooling Performance of Molten Eutectic NaNO3-KNO3 Quench Medium for Martempering of Steels(Springer Boston, 2017) Pranesh Rao, K.M.; Prabhu, K.N.Martempering is an industrial heat treatment process that requires a quench bath that can operate without undergoing degradation in the temperature range of 423 K to 873 K (150 °C to 600 °C). The quench bath is expected to cool the steel part from the austenizing temperature to quench bath temperature rapidly and uniformly. Molten eutectic NaNO3-KNO3 mixture has been widely used in industry to martemper steel parts. In the present work, the effect of quench bath temperature on the cooling performance of a molten eutectic NaNO3-KNO3 mixture has been studied. An Inconel ASTM D-6200 probe was heated to 1133 K (860 °C) and subsequently quenched in the quench bath maintained at different temperatures. Spatially dependent transient heat flux at the metal–quenchant interface for each bath temperature was calculated using inverse heat conduction technique. Heat transfer occurred only in two stages, namely, nucleate boiling and convective cooling. The mean peak heat flux (qmax) decreased with increase in quench bath temperature, whereas the mean surface temperature corresponding to qmax and mean surface temperature at the start of convective cooling stage increased with increase in quench bath temperature. The variation in normalized cooling parameter t85 along the length of the probe increased with increase in quench bath temperature. © 2017, The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society and ASM International.Item A Comparative Study on Cooling Performance of Hot Oil and Molten Salt Quench Media for Industrial Heat Treatment(Springer, 2020) Pranesh Rao, K.M.; Prabhu, K.N.The present work presents a comprehensive comparative study on the cooling performance of hot oil and molten 54%KNO3-7%NaNO3-39%NaNO2 eutectic mixture quench media. The study was conducted using a cylindrical Inconel probe of 12.5 mm diameter and 60 mm length. Cooling curves at different locations in the probe were acquired and were subsequently used to calculate spatially dependent transient heat flux at the metal/quenchant interface. The heat extraction mechanism in hot oil and NaNO2 eutectic mixture was found to be different. Heat transfer occurred in two stages, namely boiling stage and convective cooling stage during quenching in molten NaNO2 eutectic mixture. In the case of hot oil, apart from these two stages, third stage of cooling, namely vapor blanket stage, was observed. A detailed study was conducted to compare the magnitude and uniformity of heat extraction during each stage of quenching. Molten salt offered a higher cooling rate and more spatial uniform cooling as compared to that obtained in hot oil quench medium. The non-uniformity in surface temperature during boiling stage in Inconel probe was ten times lower in molten salt medium as compared to that observed in the hot oil medium. However, the non-uniformity in surface temperature during convective cooling stage in both the media were comparable. Based on the distribution of characteristic cooling time (t85) calculated in quenched Inconel probe, higher and uniform hardness distribution is predicted in steel parts quenched in molten NaNO2 eutectic mixture media as compared to that in hot oil. © 2020, ASM International.Item A Novel LiNO3-Based Eutectic Salt Mixture for Industrial Heat Treatment(ASTM International, 2022) Pranesh Rao, K.M.P.; Prabhu, K.N.A potassium nitrate-lithium nitrate-sodium nitrate (KNO3-LiNO3-NaNO3) eutectic mixture having a low melting point has been proposed as an alternative high-temperature quench medium. Inconel and steel probes were used to compare the quench performance of a conventional sodium nitrite (NaNO2) eutectic mixture and the proposed alternative medium at different bath temperatures. For the Inconel probe, the heat extraction rate was higher in the eutectic LiNO3 mixture maintained at 150°C. At elevated bath temperatures of 200°C, 250°C, and 300°C, the heat extraction rate was higher in the eutectic NaNO2 mixture. AISI 52100 steel probes quenched in eutectic LiNO3 quench medium at 150°C and 200°C showed higher hardness. At bath temperatures of 250°C and 300°C, the hardness of AISI 4140 steel probes quenched in both media was comparable. Wettability studies on Inconel and steel surfaces revealed the occurrence of nonuniform dilation of a LiNO3 eutectic mixture droplet. On the steel surface, the phenomenon occurred at lower temperatures, which resulted in an extended boiling stage and increased hardness. © 2022 by ASTM InternationalItem Effects of Phosphorus Treatment on Cooling Behavior, Heat Transfer, Microstructure, and Mechanical Properties of Hypereutectic Al-23%Si Alloy(Springer, 2025) Vijayan, V.; Prabhu, K.N.The influence of phosphorus (P) treatment on the microstructure, cooling behavior, interfacial heat flux, and mechanical properties of hypereutectic Al-23 Si alloy is investigated in the present work. Computer-aided cooling curve analysis revealed that higher cooling rates suppressed silicon cluster agglomeration and promoted nucleation of primary silicon at lower undercooling. The addition of P increased the nucleation temperature of primary silicon and resulted in finer silicon crystals. Eutectic silicon nucleation was facilitated by P treatment, with refined primary silicon acting as nucleation sites. Interfacial heat flux analysis demonstrated that P addition decreased the heat flux, attributed to the presence of less conductive primary silicon, and unmodified eutectic silicon microstructure. Microstructural analysis revealed the refinement of primary silicon and transformation of its morphology to polyhedral shape with P treatment. Heat treatment improved tensile properties, with refined primary silicon and copper precipitation contributing to enhanced strength. The morphology and composition of copper intermetallic varied with P and Cu content, influencing mechanical properties. These findings provide insights into optimizing alloy compositions and processing conditions for hypereutectic Al-Si alloys in various industrial applications. © ASM International 2023.