Numerical and experimental study of the traveling magnetic field effect on the horizontal solidification in a rectangular cavity part 2: Acting forces ratio and solidification parameters

In recent decades, many phase change processes in metals have been optimized using traveling magnetic fields due to a better understanding of their electromagnetic impact in such applications. In this paper, numerical and experimental study of the effect of traveling magnetic field on the solidification process was evaluated. A three-dimensional numerical model based on the multi-domain method was used to analyze the process of gallium horizontal solidification under the electromagnetic impact in a laboratory-size rectangular cavity. A linear inductor creating traveling magnetic field was designed and built for appropriate measurements and validation the calculations. The analysis was focused on the influence of the ratio between the applied electromagnetic forces and natural convective forces on the solidification front location and shape and on the velocity field. Since the overall electromagnetic force impact on the melt reduced during the solidification, when the melt area was converting into a solid, a new approach to control the solidification parameters was analyzed. In this approach, the value of electromagnetic force acting on the remaining melt during the process was maintained. The main result is the development and improvement of an effective tool for the analysis of direct solidification parameters. The experimental setup included an ultrasonic Doppler velocimeter (UDV) for noninvasive measurements of the velocities in the liquid part of the metal and the liquid-solid interface position, its profile and displacement. All important characteristics of the process were measured, and the results of computations agreed well enough with experimentally obtained data.