Microstructures of electromagnetic casting and direct chill casting LY12 aluminum alloys

LY12 aluminum alloys made by electromagnetic casting (EMC) and direct chill casting (DCC), were analyzed by optical microscope, differential scanning calorimetry, transmission electron microscope and X-ray diffraction. It is found that the surface and subsurface quality of the ingot is improved largely due to the absence of an ingot mold, which is impossible to achieve with conventional DCC. It is also found that the intense forced convection can promote the fast superheat evacuation and break the dendrite arms, leading to the grain multiplication and the appearance of a fine equiaxed grains over the whole cross section. As a result, the hardness of EMC specimens increases one time than that from DCC in the as-cast state. Even though after the solid solution treatment and the artificial aging, the DCC ingot still can not get the same hardness as EMC ones.