Measurement of the Heat Transfer in the Primary Cooling Area of a Laboratory Direct Chill Casting Plant for Alloy Design

The thermal transfer performance in the primary cooling area during direct chill castingDirect chill casting plays a crucial role in the microstructureMicrostructure formationFormation process and thus exerts a major impact on the mechanical propertiesMechanical properties of cast aluminium alloysAluminium alloys. Understanding the influence of cooling rateCooling rate on phase formationPhase formation is essential for optimizing alloy designAlloy design. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of heat transferHeat transfer based on experimental results and its impact on phase formationPhase formation during the solidificationSolidification process of aluminium alloysAluminium alloys. Measurements were conducted on a laboratory-scale direct chill castingDirect chill casting plant (Indutherm VCC3000), with a focus on the primary cooling area. Therein, cooling gradients were determined using fiveFives thermocouplesThermocouples placed inside the graphite-mould walls and three implemented in the starter block. Tests were conducted as block castingCasting and no evaluation of the castingCasting speedSpeed was possible. Based on the obtained results, the influence of heat transferHeat transfer on the cooling gradient of the investigated system is discussed. In this regard, the research provides valuable insights for future studies into the correlation between heat transferHeat transfer, cooling rateCooling rate, and phase formationFormation during the solidificationSolidification of aluminium alloysAluminium alloys in a laboratory direct chill castingDirect chill casting plant. The findings contribute to the optimization of alloy designAlloy design, facilitating the production of aluminium alloysAluminium alloys with tailored microstructuresMicrostructure and improved mechanical propertiesMechanical properties.