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US 10,946,437 B2Granted
Cast metal products with high grain circularity
AssigneeNovelis Inc.
InventorsSamuel Robert Wagstaff, Kathleen Anna Bennett, Elli Taylor Tindall
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Systems and methods for making aluminum alloy products are described including those that decrease the tendency for hot tearing or shrinkage porosity to occur during casting by introducing forced convection during the casting process. The forced convection may result in formation of high circularity grains during the solidification process, thereby increasing the permeability of the liquid aluminum alloy and decreasing the tendency for hot tearing or shrinkage porosity to occur.
Claims20
A method comprising
- feeding an aluminum alloy in a molten state into a casting cavity to form an intermediate product, wherein the intermediate product comprises:
- a first zone having a first temperature below a liquidus temperature of the aluminum alloy and above a coherency temperature of the aluminum alloy;
- a second zone adjacent to the first zone, the second zone having a second temperature below the coherency temperature of the aluminum alloy and above a solidus temperature of the aluminum alloy;
- and
- a third zone adjacent the second zone, the third zone having a third temperature below the solidus temperature;
- and
- forcing convection in at least the first zone to limit a temperature variation across the first zone;
- wherein:
- grains of the third zone of the intermediate product have an average circularity from 0.5 to 1.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.