IN SITU OBSERVATION OF DIRECTIONAL SOLIDIFICATIONS OF AL - CU ALLOY DURING PARABOLIC FLIGHT CAMPAIGNS

摘要

It is well known that the final properties of materials are strongly related to the microstructures formed during growth and to the accompanying segregation, both being very sensitive to the natural hydrodynamic movements in the melt induced by gravity. Therefore, a deeper understanding of gravity effects on the solidification microstructure is of great importance for industrial applications. In the framework of the ESA-MAP project entitled XRMON (in-situ X-Ray MONitoring of advanced metallurgical processes under microgravity and terrestrial conditions), directional solidification experiments with in situ X-ray radiography were carried out during the 60th and 61st ESA - PF campaigns onboard the Airbus A300 operated by Novespace. Parabolic flights offer several successions of periods with normal gravity between two parabolas, and hyper gravity and microgravity during each parabola, which allows the impact of gravity level variations on the solidification microstructures to be investigated. For this purpose, a dedicated apparatus was designed and developed in collaboration with SSC (Swedish Space Corporation). XRMON-PFF (Parabolic Flight Facility) includes a Bridgman furnace dedicated to the solidification of Al-based alloys with an X-ray device that enables in situ characterization. Columnar and/or equiaxed growth of refined and non-refined Al-20wt.%Cu alloys were investigated and X-ray radiography was successfully used to assess the effect of periodic variations of the gravity level on the solidification microstructure formation. Preliminary results confirmed the strong influence of gravity on the solidification microstructure development.