Refining mechanism of tin–bismuth alloy solidified structure upon applying direct current attached mold

Herein, the effect of direct current (DC) attached the mold on refining the microstructure and alleviating the central segregation of a tin–bismuth (Sn–10 wt.% Bi) alloy ingot during the solidification process has been investigated. The experiment used a self-made device, which can achieve the effect of refining the solidified structure and alleviate the segregation of the metal casting. Numerical simulations were performed to calculate the Lorentz force, Joule heating and induced melt vortex flow for the magneto-hydrodynamic case. Our results show that the maximum velocity of the global electro-vortex reached 0.017 m s^–1. The DC-induced electro-vortex was found to be the primary reason of refining the equiaxed grain and alleviating the segregation of the β-Sn crystal boundary. The grain refining effect observed in these experiments can be solely attributed to the forced melt flow driven by the Lorentz force. DC field attached the mold can lead to grain refinement and alleviate the segregation of the ingot via a global vortex. The technology can be applied not only to opened molds, but also toward improving the quality in closed molds.