Faculty Publications
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Item Investigation into creep behaviour of Sn-40%Pb alloy using impression creep method(2009) Udaya Prasanna, H.U.; Udupa, K.R.; Prabhu, K.N.The creep behaviour of Sn-40%Pb hypereutectic alloys cast in the molds made of different materials was investigated using impression creep technique in the temperature range from zero to 32 °C and under the punching stress of 50 MPa. The creep curves.ie, profiles of indentation depth against time are generated and steady state creep rates (SSCRs) are determined. Activation energy was calculated knowing creep rates at different temperature levels. Standard metallographic technique was used to determine the grain size of alloys which were poured into different molds. It was found that SSCR, at all the temperature levels of testing, is a function of grain size of the material. The activation energy being in the range of 10kJ/mol -12 kJ/mol, suggests that the probable creep mechanism is dislocation glide aided by vacancy diffusion. Results of the experiments are discussed.Item Heat transfer during solidification of chemically modified Al-Si alloys around a copper chill(2011) Prabhu, K.N.; Hegde, S.The solidifying metal/chill contour will significantly affect the boundary heat transfer coefficients, and solidification modellers should be aware of the casting conditions for which the heat transfer coefficients are determined. The previous work carried out on solidification of Al-Si alloys in a metallic mould and solidification against bottom/top chills has shown that modification and chilling have synergetic effect resulting in a significant increase in the heat flux transients at the casting/chill interface. In the present work, the heat transfer during solidification of unmodified and chemically modified Al-Si alloys around a cylindrical copper chill was investigated. Heat flux transients were estimated using lumped heat capacitance method. Lower peak heat flux was obtained with chemically modified alloy. This is in contrast to the results reported for alloys solidifying against chills and in metallic moulds. The chill thermal behaviour and heat transfer to the chill material when surrounded by modified and unmodified alloys were explained on the basis of the decrease in the degree of undercooling in the case of modified alloy as compared to unmodified alloy and the change in contact condition and shrinkage characteristics of the alloy due to the addition of chemical modifiers. © 2011 Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.Item Effect of cooling rate during solidification of Sn-9Zn lead-free solder alloy on its microstructure, tensile strength and ductile-brittle transition temperature(Elsevier Ltd, 2012) Prabhu, K.N.; Deshapande, P.; Satyanarayan, S.Solidification rate is an important variable during processing of materials, including soldering, involving solidification. The rate of solidification controls the metallurgical microstructure at the solder joint and hence the mechanical properties. A high tensile strength and a lower ductile-brittle transition temperature are necessary for reliability of solder joints in electronic circuits. Hence in the present work, the effect of cooling rate during solidification on microstructure, impact and tensile properties of Sn-9Zn lead-free solder alloy was investigated. Four different cooling media (copper and stainless steel moulds, air and furnace cooling) were used for solidification to achieve different cooling rates. Solder alloy solidified in copper mould exhibited higher cooling rate as compared to other cooling media. The microstructure is refined as the cooling rate was increased from 0.03 to 25 °C/s. With increase in cooling rate it was observed that the size of Zn flakes became finer and distributed uniformly throughout the matrix. Ductile-to-brittle transition temperature (DBTT) of the solder alloy increased with increase in cooling rate. Fractured surfaces of impact test specimens showed cleavage like appearance and river like pattern at very low temperatures and dimple like appearance at higher temperatures. The tensile strength of the solder alloy solidified in Cu and stainless moulds were higher as compared to air and furnace cooled samples. It is therefore suggested that the cooling rate during solidification of the solder alloy should be optimum to maximize the strength and minimize the DBTT. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.Item A quantitative approach for thermal characterization of phase change materials(ASTM International, 2021) Agarwala, S.; Prabhu, K.N.A quantitative method for the calculation of phase change parameters of salt-based phase change materials (PCMs) has been proposed. This technique involves the estimation of mold-salt interfacial heat flux by solving Fourier's law of heat conduction within the salt and using it for the calculation of phase change enthalpy of salt PCMs. Radial heat transfer was ensured by keeping the length to diameter (L/D) ratio of the mold equal to 5. The proposed method eliminates any drawbacks involved with sample size, reference material, the baseline fitting calculations, and the errors introduced due to the selection of solidification points. Pure salt PCMs such as potassium nitrate (KNO3), sodium nitrate (NaNO3), and solar salt mixture (60 wt. % NaNO3 + 40 wt. % KNO3) were used for validation of this technique. The thermal behaviors of the salt and the mold during solidification of the salt sample were analyzed, and solidification characteristics such as cooling rate, solidification time, and phase change enthalpy of PCMs were determined. © © 2021 by ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959Item Polymer/mold interfacial heat transfer during injection molding(John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2024) Kamala Nathan, D.K.; Prabhu, K.N.An experimental injection molding setup was designed and fabricated. The purpose of the setup is to cast polymer components and estimate the polymer/mold interfacial heat flux transients during injection molding. The mold plate is instrumented with K-type thermocouples to record its thermal history continuously during the cyclic process. Experiments were performed at a melt injection temperature of 280°C. Velocity and shear rate profiles were determined to assess the flow behavior of the melt. The spatiotemporal heat flux transients at the interface and the mold surface temperature were estimated using measured temperature data inside the mold as input to an inverse heat conduction problem. The estimated boundary heat flux transients were used to numerically simulate the polymer melt's cooling behavior. From the estimated heat flux and surface temperatures, heat transfer coefficients (HTC) were determined. The peak value of the HTC was 5775 W/m2K and occurred at a mold surface temperature of 35.7°C and polymer surface temperature of 47.4°C. The evolution of the air gap at the interface was quantified using an exponential fit. The estimated air gap width corresponding to peak HTC was about 4 μm and increased to about 100 μm towards the end of the solidification. While the peak heat flux is associated with the start of the formation of polymer skin on the mold surface, the peak HTC corresponds to the onset of nucleation of the air gap or a nonconforming contact. Highlights: An experimental setup to study heat transfer during injection molding. Spatiotemporal heat flux transients (q) were estimated during injection molding. Polymer temperatures were simulated using q, and HTC was determined. The peak HTC indicated the onset of nucleation of an air gap. Evolution of air gap at the interface was modeled using an exponential fit. © 2023 Society of Plastics Engineers.Item Effect of Mold Contour on Interfacial Heat Transfer During Solidification of AlSi11Cu3Fe Alloy (ADC-12)(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2024) Kamala Nathan, D.K.; Prabhu, K.N.The present work investigated the effect of flat, concave, and convex mold contours on heat transfer during the solidification of an aluminum AlSi11Cu3Fe (ADC-12) alloy. Experiments were designed with copper/steel cylindrical and flat molds to study the effect of convex and flat casting/mold interface on heat transfer. To examine the effect of a concave and flat interfaces, an experimental setup consisting of a cylindrical and square bar chill was fabricated. Casting/mold (chill) interfacial heat flux was estimated by solving an inverse heat conduction problem (IHCP). The temperatures measured at locations inside the mold/chill were used as input to the inverse solver. It was observed that the flat contour yielded higher heat flux than a convex contour for both copper and steel molds. Although the volume to surface area (V/A) ratio for castings solidified against a flat and convex interface are the same, the larger mold volume associated with the flat interface yielded higher heat flux transients. Experiments involving chills suggested that the flat interface resulted in higher heat transfer when the (V/A) ratio for the chill was the same. To study and compare the combined effect of mold material and contour on heat transfer during casting solidification, the molds must have the same volumetric thermal effusivity per unit surface area available for heat transfer. © American Foundry Society 2023.Item Heat Transfer During Solidification of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) in Injection Molding(Springer, 2024) Kamala Nathan, D.K.; Prabhu, K.N.In injection molding, heat transfer at the polymer/mold interface during solidification of the polymer significantly affects the cooling rate, microstructure, and hence the product quality. An accurate estimation of the boundary heat flux transients is essential for the successful simulation of polymer solidification, which can aid in predicting and preventing potential defects that may arise from improper filling and cooling. Simulation studies also help in optimizing the cycle time with different process parameters. In the present work, a pneumatically-operated injection molding machine capable of producing a single component in one cycle was designed and fabricated in-house to estimate the heat flux transients at the polymer/mold interface. The mold used for solidification of the polymer was made from tool steel (P20) with a simple rectangular cavity. The mold was instrumented with thermocouples across the thickness to record its thermal history during injection molding. The polymer/mold interfacial heat flux transients were estimated by solving an inverse heat conduction problem (IHCP). The temperature measured at locations beneath the cavity surface inside the mold was used as an input to the inverse solver. Altering the melt injection and mold temperatures showed negligible effects on heat flux transients at the polymer/mold interface. The estimated solidification time for the polymer sample was about 2 s. © The Indian Institute of Metals - IIM 2024.