Simulation of Temperature Field Distribution in Melting TiAl Alloy by PAM Process
Xia Xu1, Hui Chang2, Hongchao Kou3, Zhao Yang4, Jinshan Li5

1Xia Xu, State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an P. R. China.
2Hui Chang, Associate Professor, State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an P. R. China.
3Hongchao Kou, Associate Professor, State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an P. R. China.
4Zhao Yang, Research Institute, Baosteel Group Corporation, Shanghai P. R. China.
5Prof. Jinshan Li, State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an P. R. China.
Manuscript received on 10 May 2013 | Revised Manuscript received on 18 May 2013 | Manuscript Published on 30 May 2013 | PP: 31-35 | Volume-2 Issue-6, May 2013 | Retrieval Number: F0765052613/13©BEIESP
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Abstract: In this paper, the distribution of melt temperature field during Plasma Arc Cold Hearth Melting (PAM) process in TiAl alloy is investigated by computational simulation using the software FLUENT, and the effects of buoyancy, surface tension and process parameters on the melt temperature distribution of TiAl alloy in the second refining hearth were studied. The results show that the buoyancy and the surface tensions strongly affected the melingt temperature field distribution and they are the main cause to drive the fluid flow, thus the chemical composition uniformity of the melt can be improved through controlling the temperature field. The temperature increases as the power of the plasma gun is increased. Adjusting torch moving pattern and scanning frequency can be used to change the distribution of temperature field by controlling the residence time and the overheat of the melt.
Keywords: Melt Temperature Field Distribution, PAM, Scanning Frequency, Torch Moving Pattern.

Scope of the Article: Digital Clone or Simulation