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Item Microstructure evolution in AI-7Si-0.3Mg alloy during partial melting and solidification from melt: A comparison(2006) Nyamannavar, S.; Ravi, M.; Prabhu, K.N.In the present work, a comparative study of microstructure evolution in Sr modified AI-7Si-0.3Mg alloy isothermally held at semi-solid state under conditions of (i) cooling from liquid state and (ii) partial melting from solid state to the semi-solid temperature was carried out. The effect of cooling rate (0.01 to 100 K/s) on the microstructure during solidification of semisolid alloy is studied. Partial melting of alloy results in the fine and more spherical solid phase compared to cooling of the same alloy from liquid state. Chemical modification of the eutectic silicon by Sr addition was found to remain same for both cooling the melt from liquid as well as partial melting from solid state, contrary to the reported results. The morphology of eutectic silicon corresponding to the liquid entrapped in solid phase is finer compared to that in interconnected liquid channel.Item The effect of strontium modification on casting/chill interfacial heat flux and casting surface profile during solidification of Al-7Si alloy(Institution of Engineering and Technology jbristow@theiet.org, 2013) Vijayan, V.; Prabhu, K.N.The effect of Sr modification of Al-7%Si alloy on casting/chill interfacial heat flux transients was investigated. The alloy was solidified against polished surfaces of copper, brass and cast iron chills. The heat flux across the casting/chill interface was estimated using inverse modeling technique. On modification melt treatment, the peak heat flux increased by about 70%, 24% and 22% for copper, brass and cast iron chills respectively. The effect of Sr modification on casting surface texture was analyzed using a surface profilometer. The surface profile of the casting and the chill surfaces clearly indicated the formation of anair gap at the periphery of the casting. The arithmetic average value of the profile departure from the mean line, within a sampling length(Ra) and arithmetical mean of the absolute departures of the waviness profile from the centre line within a sampling length(W a) were reduced by 50% on modification. The enhancement in heat transfer achieved due to modification was attributed to the decrease in gap width formed at the interface. The width of the gap formed for the unmodified and modified casting surfaces at the periphery were found to be about 35μm and 19μm respectively. The gap width was used to determine the variation of heat transfer coefficient (HTC) acrossthe chill surface after the formation of stable solid shell.It was found that the HTC decreased along the radial direction.Item A comparative study on the wear behavior of cast and forge aged A356 alloy with addition of grain refiner and/or modifier(Trans Tech Publications Ltd ttp@transtec.ch, 2014) Mallapur, D.G.; Sondur, D.G.; Udupa, K.R.In the present work, a comparative study on the wear behavior of cast aged and forge aged A356 alloy has been investigated without and with the addition of grain refiner and modifier, under dry sliding conditions using a pin-on-disc wear testing machine. The comparison study reveals that tribological properties of A356 materials are highly influenced by T6 heat treatment process. It is found in the present study that, cast aged A356 materials possess higher wear resistance as compared to forge aged materials. Apart from this, the study also reveals that cast aged material is associated with lower frictional forces and coefficient of friction as compared to the forge aged category. It is further observed in the present investigation that abrasive wear mechanism is operative in both the categories of the materials when tested with lower load for lower sliding speed and lower distance of run. At higher values of external parameters the adhesive wear mechanism dominates the wear process. Lower values of wear properties recorded by the forge aged material are an unexpected result in the present studies. It is conceived to be due to the presence of micro cracks while forging. © (2014) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.Item Effect of Ni and Sr additions on the microstructure, mechanical properties, and coefficient of thermal expansion of Al-23%Si alloy(Elsevier Ltd, 2021) Vijayan, V.; Ravi, M.; Prabhu, K.N.In this paper, the combined and individual effect of strontium (Sr) and nickel (Ni) additions on the microstructure and mechanical properties of hypereutectic Al-23Si alloy was studied using an optical microscopy, universal tensile testing machine and Brinell hardness tester. The wear properties and coefficient of thermal expansion of the melt treated samples were determined using pin on disc wear testing machine and linear expansion measurement unit respectively. The results indicate that the Ni additions significantly enhanced the mechanical properties of the alloy, whereas, presence of Sr was detrimental. It was observed that the improvement in mechanical properties due to Ni was primarily due to refinement and transformation of the star shaped primary silicon into polyhedral crystals. However, the addition of Sr, both as separate and when combined with Ni, transformed the primary silicon into a faceted crystal and hence decreased the mechanical property. Among all, the Ni melt treated alloy samples showed lowest wear rate and coefficient of thermal expansion. © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Item Effect of section thickness and modification on thermal analysis parameters of A357 alloy(2006) Hegde, S.; Kumar, G.; Prabhu, K.Thermal analysis technique relies on the cooling curve obtained when the sample is cooled in a sampling cup. This may not represent the cooling behaviour of the real casting. The microstructure developed during solidification depends not only on the nucleation and modification potential of the melt but also on the thermal gradient imposed during solidification by the mould. The factors affecting the thermal gradient are the mould material and casting section thickness. In the present investigation the effect of modification melt treatment, cooling rate and casting section thickness on the thermal analysis parameters of A357 alloy was studied. It is found that the dimensionless heat flux parameter is high for small section thickness castings. The metal/mould interfacial heat flux is high in a copper mould. Thermal analysis parameters of A357 alloy are found to be affected significantly by the combined action of modification, chilling and section thickness. © 2006 W. S. Maney & Son Ltd.Item Influence of Ti, B and Sr on tribological properties of A356 alloy(2011) Mallapur, D.G.; Udupa, K.R.; Kori, S.A.The wear behaviour of an A356 alloy has been investigated in this paper. To understand the wear behaviour of the materials, the experiments were carried out using a pin on disc testing machine at various combinations of normal pressure, sliding speed and sliding distances. Tribological results reveal that weight loss of A356 alloy increases with increasing normal pressure and decreases with increasing sliding speed. Also, the results at microlevel revealed a structural change from coarse columnar dendrites to fine equiaxed ones on the addition of grain refiner (Al and B) and furthermore, plate-like eutectic silicon to fine particles on addition of modifier (Sr). It is further noted in the present study that addition of modifier does not disturb the influence of grain refiner and vice versa. Abrasive wear mechanism was interrupted by the formation of microwelds and later by oxidation of the Al matrix. © 2011 W. S. Maney & Son Ltd.Item Studies on the influence of grain refining and modification on microstructure and mechanical properties of forged A356 alloy(Elsevier Ltd, 2011) Mallapur, D.G.; Udupa, K.R.; Kori, S.A.Microstructure and mechanical properties of the forged A356 alloy have been investigated in this paper. Results reveals that at micro level forged structure was more refined than as in the as cast conditions. This is due to the work hardening effect, where the original structure is destroyed during the forging and recrystallization helped in creating large number of nucleating sites leading to fine grain structure. From the investigations on the mechanical properties, we deduce that the PS, UTS and hardness of forged materials are obviously higher than those of the ones treated with as cast condition without and with the addition of grain refiners and modifier. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.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 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 chemical modification of Al-Si alloys on thermal diffusivity and contact heat transfer at the casting-chill interface(2012) Prabhu, K.N.; Jayananda; Hegde, S.The heat flow during the unidirectional downward solidification of Al-7Si and Al-12Si alloys was analyzed using thermal analysis technique and inverse modeling. Chills instrumented with thermocouples were brought into contact with a small pool of liquid metal so as to minimize the effect of convection caused by pouring and temperature gradients. Modification melt treatment resulted in an increase in the cooling rate of the solidifying casting near the casting-chill interfacial region. The corresponding interfacial heat flux transients were also found to be higher. The thermal diffusivities of alloys were measured using a laser pulse technique and were found to be higher for modified alloys. However, the increase in the heat flux transients was attributed mainly to the improvement in the casting-chill interfacial thermal contact condition brought about by the decrease in the surface tension of the liquid metal upon the addition of sodium. Copyright © 2012 by ASTM International.