MODELING OF RAPID SOLIDIFICATION PROCESS IN THE GAS ATOMIZATION OF MOLTEN METALS

In the present work, a model was proposed to predict the thermal history during rapid solidification (RS) of metal droplets in the gas atomization process. The classical theory of heterogeneous nucleation was based on Newtonian heat flow and enthalpy method. Solving the governing numerical equations by the finite difference method (FDM) gave up the opportunity of analyzing the temperature-time history of the droplets during cooling in the RS process. Here, cooling in the liquid state, nucleation and recalescence, segregated solidification, eutectic solidification and cooling in the solid state were considered. To verify the model, the gas atomization of Al-4.5% Cu alloy was studied and the results were compared with the Shukla's model [1]. Convincing agreement was obtained between the predicted undercoolings and the experimental results reported previously.