Directionally solidified columnar grained article and apparatus for manufacture thereof--

Abstract

Method of manufacturing a directionally solidified columnar grained article (3) with a reduced amount of secondary misorientation of the columnar grains with a casting assembly comprising a mold with a cavity, a selector section (1) at lower end of the mold, a heating chamber and a cooling chamber, wherein the mold is fed with a liquid metal and the mold is removed from the heating chamber to the cooling chamber and thereby the columnar grained article (3) is solidified, characterised in that the columnar grained article (3) is solidified with at least two dendrites (or grains) coming out of the selector section (1) and entering the main cavity of the shell mold in such a way that it is not possible for any dendrite or grain to grow from the bottom of the selector section (1) to the columnar grained article (3) defined by the shell mold cavity along a continuous path of purely vertical growth.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.