Solidification of Some Casting Alloys of Commercial Significance

Abstract

This chapter will cover the solidification of some alloys of commercial interest as well as selected numerical models developed to describe and predict the microstructure evolution and defect formation in these alloys. The research community and the commercial entities have produced and continue to produce quite an abundance of numerical models for the prediction of defect occurrence and microstructure development of alloys. For metal casting applications, the most commonly used commercial software are ProCAST and Magmasoft. General commercial codes, such as ABAQUS or Fluent, have also been used in conjunction with specialized routines. This chapter will attempt to illustrate the progress, success, and limitation of both research and commercial models in the prediction of microstructure and related features.