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AssigneeBattelle Memorial Institute
InventorsBenno Lux, Wilfried Kurz, Jean-Claude Hubert, Francois Mollard, Guido Walt
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A metallic alloy is cast in a mold to produce a solid body by unidirectional solidification. The alloy, initially in a molten state, is cast into a mold and is completely and progressively cooled in the mold while a unidirectional thermal gradient superimposed thereon parallel to a direction determined by the configuration of the mold (predetermined direction) until a metastable equilibrium is reached in which the entire body of the melt is in a super-cooled state as a homogeneous liquid. The equilibrium is then broken to cause solidification of the alloy and the formation of dendritic crystals with their principal axes parallel to the thermal gradient substantially instantly and without noticeable advance of a solidification front across the melt.
A process for producing a solid body of a metallic alloy with a unidirectionally oriented fine dendritic structure obtained by solidification of an alloy melt within a cavity of a mold associated with controllable heating and cooling means capable of producing a unidirectional temperature gradient in said melt, said process comprising the steps of:
A process for producing a solid body of a metallic alloy solidified unidirectionally, comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.