Method and Apparatus for Manufacturing Equiaxed Crystal Aluminum Alloy Cast Ingot by Using Additive Manufacturing and Rapid Solidification Techniques

Abstract

A method and apparatus for manufacturing an equiaxed crystal aluminum alloy cast ingot by using additive manufacturing and rapid solidification techniques are provided. The apparatus comprises: a metal heating mechanism and a negative pressure cooling mechanism. The metal heating mechanism is located above the negative pressure cooling mechanism and is connected thereto by a nozzle. The negative pressure cooling mechanism comprises a vacuum chamber having an air inlet hole and an air outlet hole, and a three-dimensional moving ingot mechanism disposed inside the vacuum chamber. The three-dimensional moving ingot mechanism comprises a moving ingot and a two-dimensional moving platform vertically connected to the moving ingot. A water cooling mechanism is disposed outside the moving ingot, and the moving ingot is driven by a precision motor to precisely move up and down.

Claims

1. An apparatus for manufacturing a fully-equiaxed crystalline aluminum alloy cast ingot by using additive manufacturing and rapid solidification techniques, comprising: a metal heating mechanism and a negative pressure cooling mechanism, wherein the metal heating mechanism is located above the negative pressure cooling mechanism and is connected to the negative pressure cooling mechanism by a nozzle; and the negative pressure cooling mechanism comprises a vacuum chamber with a gas inlet hole and a gas outlet hole, and a three-dimensional moving ingot mechanism arranged inside the vacuum chamber, wherein the three-dimensional moving ingot mechanism comprises a moving ingot and a two-dimensional moving platform vertically connected to the moving ingot, a water cooling mechanism is arranged outside the moving ingot, and the moving ingot is configured to be driven by a precision motor to be precisely displaced up and down.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the metal heating mechanism comprises a crucible, a filter device, and a nozzle baffle sequentially arranged from a top to a bottom.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a heater and a thermal insulating layer are sequentially arranged at an outside of the crucible.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle has a diameter ranging from 0.2 to 10 mm.

5. A method for manufacturing a fully-equiaxed crystalline aluminum alloy cast ingot by using additive manufacturing and rapid solidification techniques, the method comprising: spraying, through a vertical nozzle, a heated molten metal onto a surface of a three-dimensionally movable moving ingot in a negative pressure environment, so that the molten metal is condensed instantaneously when in contact with the surface of the moving ingot; and obtaining a crystalline layer with a thickness of δ by a horizontal planar movement of the moving ingot, and then downward moving the moving ingot by a distance of δ and repeating the planar movement thereof to form a new crystalline layer, which are repeated many times to obtain the cast ingot.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the molten metal is obtained by heating and melting a metal block in a crucible until the metal block is completely melted.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein the negative pressure refers to a pressure lower than one standard atmosphere; and a spraying speed and a flow rate of the molten metal are controllable by controlling a gas pressure difference.

8. The method according to claim 5, wherein the negative pressure is obtained by firstly evacuating a vacuum chamber and then filling the vacuum chamber with an appropriate amount of argon gas to make a gas pressure in the vacuum chamber lower than one standard atmosphere.

9. The method according to claim 5, wherein the vertical nozzle is subjected to a preheated treatment, with a preheating temperature higher than a melting point of the metal.

10. The method according to claim 5, wherein the horizontal planar movement of the moving ingot is performed at a moving speed v1≤1000 mm/s at a pass spacing d≤20 mm/pass.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0023] FIG. 1 is a schematic structural view of an apparatus of the present disclosure;

[0024] FIG. 2 is a top view of a contact surface and a cooling surface;

[0025] FIG. 3 is a top view of a cast ingot;

[0026] FIG. 4 shows a grain structure manufactured in Example 1, and FIG. 5 shows a grain structure of pure aluminum obtained by an ordinary casting method;

[0027] FIG. 6 shows a grain structure manufactured in Example 2, and FIG. 7 shows a structure of an aluminum-silicon alloy obtained by an ordinary casting method.

[0028] In the figures: 1 crucible, 2 heater, 3 thermal insulating cover, 4 filter device, 5 nozzle, 6 nozzle baffle, 7 nozzle heater, 8 vacuum chamber, 9 ingot guiding device, 10 two-dimensional moving platform, 11 precision motor, 12 gas inlet hole, 13 gas outlet hole, 14 vacuum pump, 15 connecting rod, 16 sleeve, 17 cooling medium, 18 moving ingot, 19 downward guiding device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Example 1

[0029] As shown in 1 and FIG. 2, an apparatus for manufacturing a fully-equiaxed crystalline aluminum alloy cast ingot by using additive manufacturing and rapid solidification techniques involved in this example comprises: a crucible 1, a heater 2, a thermal insulating cover 3, a filter device 4, a nozzle 5, a nozzle baffle 6, a nozzle heater 7, a vacuum chamber 8, an ingot guiding device 9, a two-dimensional moving platform 10, a motor 11, a gas inlet hole 12, a gas outlet hole 13, a vacuum pump 14, a connecting rod 15, a sleeve 16, a cooling medium 17, a moving ingot 18, and a downward guiding device 19.

[0030] In this example, the above-mentioned apparatus is used in such a manner that a molten pure aluminum melt is poured into the crucible and then is left to stand for 0.5 to 1.5 hours, with the temperature thereof adjusted to 715° C. The vacuum chamber is evacuated or vacuumized and filled with an appropriate amount of argon gas to make the gas pressure in the vacuum chamber be 0.5 atmospheres, and the nozzle is preheated to a temperature of 720° C. The spray distance is set to be 18 cm, the vertical distance between the contact surface and the cooling surface is set to be 2.5 cm, and the two-dimensional moving platform is set to move at a speed of 5 mm/s at a pass spacing of 1.2 mm and move in a manner as shown in FIG. 3.

[0031] The two-dimensional moving platform is set to have total displacements of X=100 mm, Y=100 mm, and Z=100 mm in the three directions, respectively. The nozzle baffle is raised up so that the aluminum liquid in the thermally insulated crucible is sprayed out from the nozzle under the action of the gas pressure difference, and at the same time the translation of the two-dimensional moving platform is started. When the aluminum liquid is sprayed onto the upper surface of the moving ingot which is moving, the aluminum liquid is condensed instantaneously under the cooling action. The two-dimensional moving platform is controlled to be translated leftward, rightward, frontward, and rearward, so that the crystallization is carried out on a rectangular plane to form a thin layer with a thickness of 1.2 mm. After the crystallization is completed, the ingot guiding head is moved downward by a distance of 1.2 mm. Then, the two-dimensional moving platform is repeatedly controlled to be translated leftward, rightward, frontward, and rearward so that a new crystalline layer is formed. A cubic cast ingot having a fully-equiaxed crystal structure without segregation can be manufactured by repeating this process. The finally obtained cubic cast ingot has a size of 100*100*100 mm. Its grain structure is shown in FIG. 4, and the grain structure of pure aluminum obtained by an ordinary casting method is shown in FIG. 5.

Example 2

[0032] In this example, the above-mentioned apparatus is used in such a manner that a molten aluminum-silicon alloy having a silicon content of 7% w.t. is poured into the crucible and then is left to stand for 0.5 to 1.5 hours, with the temperature thereof adjusted to 680° C. The vacuum chamber is evacuated or vacuumized and filled with an appropriate amount of argon gas to make the gas pressure in the vacuum chamber be 0.6 atmospheres, and the nozzle is preheated to a temperature of 700° C. The spray distance is set to be 15 cm, the vertical distance between the contact surface of the moving ingot and the cooling surface is set to be 2.5 cm, and the two-dimensional moving platform is set to move at a speed of 3.5 mm/s at a pass spacing of 0.8 mm and move in a manner as shown in FIG. 3. The two-dimensional moving platform is set to have total displacements of X=120 mm, Y=20 mm, and Z=80 mm in the three directions, respectively. The nozzle baffle is raised up so that the aluminum liquid in the thermally insulated crucible is sprayed out from the nozzle under the action of the gas pressure difference, and at the same time the translation of the two-dimensional moving platform is started. The aluminum liquid is sprayed onto the upper surface of the moving ingot which is moving, and is condensed instantaneously under the cooling action. The two-dimensional moving platform is controlled to be translated leftward, rightward, frontward, and rearward, so that the crystallization is carried out on a rectangular plane to form a thin layer with a thickness of 0.8 mm. After the crystallization is completed, the ingot guiding head is moved downward by a distance of 0.8 mm. Then, the two-dimensional moving platform is repeatedly controlled to be translated leftward, rightward, frontward, and rearward so that a new crystalline layer is formed. An square flat ingot having a fully-equiaxed crystal structure without segregation can be manufactured by repeating this process. The finally obtained square flat ingot has a size of 120*20*80 mm. Its grain structure is shown in FIG. 6, and the structure of an aluminum-silicon alloy obtained by an ordinary casting method is shown in FIG. 7.

[0033] The above specific embodiments may be partially adjusted by those skilled in the art in different ways without departing from the principle and spirit of the present disclosure. The scope of protection of the present disclosure is defined by the claims and is not limited by the above specific embodiments. All the embodiments falling within its scope are bound by the present disclosure.