Physical Metallurgy of Direct Chill Casting of Aluminum Alloys

Pulling together information previously scattered throughout numerous research articles into one detailed resource, Physical Metallurgy of Direct Chill Casting of Aluminum Alloys connects the fundamentals of structure formation during solidification with the practically observed structure and defect patterns in billets and ingots. The author examines the formation of a structure, properties, and defects in the as-cast material in tight correlation to the physical phenomena involved in the solidification and the process parameters. The book draws on the authors advanced research to provide a unique application of physical metallurgy to direct chill (DC) casting technology. He examines structure and defect formation including macrosegregation and hot tearing. Each technology-centered chapter provides historical background before reviewing current developments. The author supports his conclusions with computer simulation results that have been correlated with highly progressive experimental data. He presents a logical system of structure and defect formation based on the specific features of the DC casting process. He also demonstrates that the seemingly controversial results reported in literature are, in fact, caused by the different ratio of the same mechanisms. Compiling recent results and data, the book discusses the fundamentals of solidification together with metallurgical and technological aspects of DC casting. It gives new insight and perspective into DC casting research.