Continuously cast Cu–Al–Ni shape memory alloy – Properties in as-cast condition

•As yet, continuous casting of Cu–Al–Ni SMAs with a cold mould was not reported.•ϕ 16mm strands were successfully cast via this technique.•The castability was found to be good.•No cracks or other casting flaws occurred.•Microstructures were martensitic already in as-cast condition. In respect to the...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:Journal of alloys and compounds 2013-12, Vol.580, p.497-505
Hauptverfasser: Lojen, G., Gojić, M., Anžel, I.
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:Volltext
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:•As yet, continuous casting of Cu–Al–Ni SMAs with a cold mould was not reported.•ϕ 16mm strands were successfully cast via this technique.•The castability was found to be good.•No cracks or other casting flaws occurred.•Microstructures were martensitic already in as-cast condition. In respect to the cost of constituents, Cu–Al–Ni alloys can be regarded as low-cost shape memory alloys. However, the processing is quite costly due to the brittleness of the ingots. Therefore it would be advantageous to produce semi-finished products directly from the melt via highly productive technique. A laboratory device for vertical continuous casting directly from the vacuum induction melting furnace was experimentally employed for continuous casting of the Cu-13wt.% Al-4wt.% Ni shape memory alloy. A water-cooled copper crystalliser with a graphite insert was used to cast ϕ 16mm strands. Diverse sets of casting parameters were tested, the average casting speeds being within the range from 250mmmin−1 to 625mmmin−1. The castability of the alloy using this technique was good. Strands were examined in the as-cast condition, and no cracks or other defects were discovered. Medium casting speeds resulted in good surface quality, and a fully martensitic microstructure was obtained even at the lowest average casting speed. The paper presents and discusses the surface quality, microstructures and mechanical properties.
ISSN:0925-8388
1873-4669
DOI:10.1016/j.jallcom.2013.06.136