Instability of a liquid metal surface in an electromagnetic field and relevance to EMC
- Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Mineral Engineering
In electromagnetic casting (EMC) the surface of the molten metal, at the solidification front around the periphery of the melt pool, is not confirmed by a solid mold (as in, say, direct chill casting) but is free to move. Consequently disturbances of the melt surface are reflected in defects (waviness) in the solid ingot. The present paper examines the dynamics of a liquid metal surface in an electromagnetic field comparable to that of EMC. Numerical calculations of the flow of metal and motion of the melt surface have been accompanied by laboratory experiments in which a laser vibrometer has been used to measure the oscillations of the free surface of a mercury pool. Surface oscillations growth with increasing electromagnetic field strength in both the computations and the experiment, probably originating from the turbulent flow in the melt. The implications for EMC are discussed.
- OSTI ID:
- 372051
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-960202--; ISBN 0-87339-312-0
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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