ObservingandMeasuringSolidificationPhenomenaatHighTemperatures.docVIP

Observing and Measuring Solidification Phenomena at High Temperatures C. Orrling, Y. Fang, N. Phinichka, S. Sridhar, and A.W. Cramb TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION THE DOUBLE HOT THERMOCOUPLE TECHNIQUE CONFOCAL SCANNING LASER MICROSCOPY PHENOMENON OBSERVED WITH CSLM Carbon-Saturated Iron Low-Carbon Aluminum-Killed Iron DROPLET SOLIDIFICATION STUDIES ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS References One of the enduring problems in studying solidification is that it is very difficult to carry out in-situ experimentation that allows unambiguous quantification of the solidification phenomena that occur at high temperatures in metal alloy and oxide systems. Recently, however, a number of techniques have been developed that allow visualization and quantification of solidification phenomena at temperatures up to 1,900 K. Three of these techniques will be highlighted in this paper: the double hot thermocouple technique that can be used to study crystallization phenomena in transparent oxides as a function of undercooling and under conditions of variable thermal gradient; the combination of video and mold instrumentation to allow the observation of undercooling and the calculation of initial heat-transfer rates upon contact between a metal droplet and a water-cooled copper mold surface; and, the use of the confocal laser microscope to study the melting and solidification behavior of metals and oxides. INTRODUCTION 1998 was a landmark year in the development of steel-casting technology. The continuous casting of steel, based upon the concept of an oscillating mold, had developed to the point that slabs, billets, blooms, and beam blanks were produced in a variety of shapes, and more than 80% of the worlds steel production was continuously cast. The oscillating mold concept of Siegfried Junghans that was commercialized by Irving Rossi (For an excellent discussion of the development of continuous casting see Continuous Casting—A Revolution in Steel by A. Henrich Tanner, 1998, Write St