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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: GR/K98384/01
Title: THE INFLUENCE OF FLUID FLOW IN VACUUM ARC REMELTING OF SUPERALLOYS
Principal Investigator: Davidson, Dr P
Other Investigators:
Reese, Professor JM
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Pre Nexus Migration Rolls-Royce Plc (UK)
Department: Engineering
Organisation: University of Cambridge
Scheme: Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts: 03 April 1997 Ends: 02 April 2000 Value (£): 128,030
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Materials Processing
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Manufacturing
Related Grants:
Panel History:  
Summary on Grant Application Form
Vacuum Arc Remelting (VAR) is the prominent method for processing Titanium and Nickel-based superalloys and is an essential element in the continued success of the British superalloy-manufacturing industry. However, many aspects of the remelting process are still poorly understood; in particular the molten metal flow, which completely dominates the heat distribution throughout the melt pool and consequently the solidification. We aim to develop an analytical model of flow in the VAR melt pool, incorporating the effects of three competing sources of motion (buoyancy-driven flow, electromagnetically-driven flow, and externally-induced swirl). This will enable us to understand better those processes which lead to segregation in the remelting ingot, and so identify the optimum conditions for minimising this segregation. Our approach is novel in that previous investigations of the melt pool flow have relied heavily on numerical work which cannot, in itself, resolve the finer points of the flow, nor provide physical insight into the scaling laws for the motion.
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Organisation Website: http://www.cam.ac.uk