Analysis, Design and Realization of a Furnace for In Situ Wettability Experiments at High Temperatures under X-ray Microtomography

In this study, we analyzed the problem of a compact furnace, to be used for in situ experiments in a cone-beam X-ray microtomography commercial system. The design process was accomplished and outlined through its main steps, until the realization of a prototype. The furnace was conceived to carry out wettability experiments at temperatures up to 700 °C and under inert atmosphere on sessile droplets of a molten metal alloy, with a few millimeters diameter, posed on a thin ceramic substrate. X-ray imaging of the molten droplet is expected to permit an accurate three-dimensional reconstruction of the droplet profile and a robust estimation of the related quantities (such as the contact angle and the surface tension) utilized for the assessment of metal-ceramic joints by brazing. The challenges faced during this project, mostly related to the constraints of the setup, and the novel solutions implemented were discussed also with the support of analytical and numerical tools, in terms of interaction of X-rays with matter, geometry and working principle, heat transfer and insulation, material selection.

Characteristic of Weld Bead By Using Flat Wire Electrode In GMAW Inline During The Process: An Experimental And Numerical Analysis

This paper focusses on effect of flat wire electrode on gas metal arc welding (FW-GMAW) inline during the process to improve quality of weld bead. Since the flat wire electrode perimeter has enlarged, the turbulence of the molten droplet characteristics is altered due to the effect of electromagnetic force. To bring out, butt joint welding are proven with use of the flat wire electrode. The experimental results indicated that, the flat wire electrode and their orientations are significantly factors to improve the weld bead dimensions, due to the increased in steady state temperature and heat density. The end result also evident that the depth-to-width (D/W) ratio was improved on an average by 7.7 % than regular wire electrode used in GMAW. To validate, a comprehensive numerical model was developed, the result confirmed that the initial arc and steady state temperature are high for FW-GMAW. In addition, improvements in metallurgical and mechanical properties are discussed in this paper.

On the phenomena of partial crystallization of highly undercooled magnesium silicate molten droplets

The present work reports real-time observations of the phenomena of partial crystallization of one of the glass-forming materials, namely enstatite (MgSiO3) from its supercooled liquid droplet. Initially, the molten droplet has been held under purely non-contact conditions using the aerodynamic levitation technique. The desired levels of undercooling have been achieved by deliberately making the levitated molten droplet touch a thin molybdenum wire and hence to initiate heterogeneous nucleation from the point of contact. Influence of thermal parameters like undercooling, cooling rates and recalescence on the process of crystallization is investigated. To understand and report the morphological properties and extent of crystallinity, the solidified enstatite samples have been characterized using optical/scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) respectively, which confirmed the formation of partially crystallized enstatite spherules and fully glass spherules. XRD showed sharp peaks of enstatite, which confirm crystallinity and a halo profile confirms the amorphous phase of enstatite. Based on the observations of several experiments, we propose the effect of thermal parameters such as levels of undercooling and recalescence on the partial crystallization, as well as partial glass formation from the initially molten droplets of enstatite composition.

Transition mechanism of melt depth during Laser Powder Bed Fusion using in-situ X-ray and thermal imaging

This research clarified the transition mechanism of melt depth in Ti powder bed during Laser Powder Bed Fusion process using in-situ X-ray and thermal imaging. A fiber laser beam of 150 W was irradiated on a powder bed at a scan speed of 15 mm/s for 3.5 s in a vacuum chamber. The obtained X-ray images showed a keyhole depth Ld increased immediately after laser irradiation, gradually decreased, and became constant. It also showed a keyhole width Lw increased immediately after laser irradiation and decreased afterward, after that, Lw increased again, and became constant. Furthermore, thermal images that measured the temperature on the powder bed showed the high temperature width Lh gradually increased and become constant. The model of the driving force which pushed the molten droplet was examined by analyzing the volume and scattering speed of the molten droplet. The model indicated the recoil pressure caused by the vaporization of powder metal was a driving force for the molten droplet scattering. The transition mechanism of keyhole depth was considered as follows. The increase of Ld at the beginning is due to the increase of the recoil pressure PT. This is because the decrease of Lw and large quantity of vaporization. Next, the decrease of Ld is due to the decrease in PT. This is because the increase of Lw and decrease of quantity of vaporization. At last, the transition to the constant Ld is caused by stabilization of Lw and Lh followed by stabilization of PT.

Experiments to understand crystallization of levitated high temperature silicate melt droplets under low vacuum conditions

We report experiments on crystallization of highly undercooled forsterite melt droplets under atmospheric and sub-atmospheric pressure conditions. Experiments have been conducted under non-contact conditions using the principles of aero-dynamic levitation. Real time dynamics of solidification, along with the transient evolution of surface textures, have been recorded using high speed camera for three cooling rates. These images have been matched with the time-tagged temperature data to understand the effect of pressure conditions and cooling rates on the crystallization dynamics. Compared to normal pressure, relatively higher levels of undercooling could be achieved under sub-atmospheric conditions. Results showed a strong dependence of surface textures on pressure conditions. For any externally employed cooling rate, relatively small length scale morphological textures were observed under sub-atmospheric conditions, in comparison to those achieved under ambient conditions. The observed trends have been explained on the basis of influence of pressure conditions on recalescence phenomenon and the rate at which latent heat of crystallization gets dissipated from the volume of the molten droplet. Sub-atmospheric experiments have also been performed to reproduce one of the classical chondrule textures, namely the rim + dendrite double structure. Possible formation conditions of this double structure have been discussed vis-à-vis those reported in the limited literature. To the best of our knowledge, the reported study is one of the first attempts to reproduce chondrules-like textures from highly undercooled forsterite melt droplets under sub-atmospheric non-contact conditions.

Numerical study on structures formed by the deposition and solidification of a single molten droplet

The formed structure is of importance in determining the surface quality of a component made by droplet-based 3D printing. In the present work, the molten droplet solicitation process was simulated under an axisymmetric system where the smallest length scale and time scale were fully resolved. Evolutions of sharp droplet interfaces were captured through the front tracking method. Parametric studies have been carried out to explore how the dynamic metrics, which include the Ohnesorge number (Oh) and Weber number (We), can affect the structure of depositing droplet. The effect of the superheat parameter on the cooling rate was also investigated in the final section. Numerical results show that the inertial resisting force is critical dynamics in the variation of horizontal dimensionless length at the early deposition process. Three levels of Oh numbers and stages of We numbers were classified according to the deformation behavior. Flattening degree under different Oh number and We number cases were both fitted well by the exponential function. This paper also reveals that the variation law of the cooling rate and solidification time is affected by the superheat parameter, resulting in a feasible and promising method to predict droplet deformation time through the fully resolved numerical simulations during the manufacturing process.