Efficient Melt Stirring Using Pulse Sequences of a Rotating Magnetic Field: Part I. Flow Field in a Liquid Metal Column

摘要

The use of a pulsed, rotating magnetic field (RMF) is presented as an auspicious method for obtaining an intensive stirring and mixing in a pool of liquid metal; the RMF pulses within a sequence have been applied with a constant or alternating direction. The resulting flow structure in a cylindrical liquid metal column has been explored by numerical simulations and by model experiments, using the ternary alloy GaInSn. Ultrasonic Doppler velocimetry (UDV) has been used to determine profiles of the vertical velocity. Both the numerical results and the velocity measurements demonstrate the capability of the proposed stirring regimes for overcoming the limited mixing character of conventional rotary stirring. The application of a time-modulated RMF offers considerable potential for providing an optimal flow pattern in a solidifying melt, for reasons of a well-aimed modification of casting properties.