EMS8 Milind Thesis

Linear Electromagnetic Stirrer
A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of
Master of Science
in the Faculty of Engineering
By Milind
Department of Electrical Engineering Indian Institute of Science Bangalore - 560 012 India March 2005
Acknowledgements
I thank Prof. V. Ramanarayanan and Prof. V.T. Ranganathan for accepting me a student of PEG. Their constant encouragement and inspiring presence have made this lab an excellent place for research. I thank them for providing me an opportunity and nancial support to present my work at IEEE-IAS04 and NPEC-2003 conferences. I express my profound gratitude to my guide Prof. V. Ramanarayanan for suggesting me a research topic of industrial relevance. I thank him for his continuous support and encouragement during my stay. I thank Dr. G Narayanan for his advice and suggestions. I thank Prof. K.S.S Murthy and Prof. Pradip Dutta of Mechanical Engineering Department for their support. I acknowledge the generous nancial support of Ministry of Mines, DST and DRDO for setting up a National Facility for Semi-solid Forming (NFSSF) in the Mechanical Engineering Department, IISc. The primary motivation of this work has emerged out of this project. I gratefully acknowledge the nancial support provided by Government of India. I thank the Institute authorities for providing excellent hostel and mess facilities. I am grateful to Dr. Giri Venkataramanan, University of Wisconsin, Madison and Dr. Rajapandian of Arizona State university for giving me an opportunity to visit their labs and present my work. I thank Mahesh at University of Wisconsin, and my friend Pramod and his room mates at Phoenix, for providing accommodation and help during my visit to these universities. I thank Mr. Ramachandra, Mr. Ravi, Mr. Babu and all workshop sta for their help during fabrication of stirrer. I thank Mrs. Silvi Jose for procuring the components. I thank Mr. Channegowda and all oce sta of Electrical Engineering Department for their help in ocial and administrative matters. i
ii
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank all the members of the project team:- Pramod, Kamalakannan, Nishant, Shravana Kumar, Hamsa Lakshmi and Bharathi for their help in various forms during the project. I take this opportunity to acknowledge the exhaustive support and encouragement extended to me by my parents and sister throughout my academic career. I thank Dr. Souvik Chattopadhyay, Dr. A.R. Beig and Dr. N. Vishwanathan for their suggestions and advices. Finally, I thank all my labmates Shashi, Amit, Swaminathan, Kamalesh, Debmalya, Vishal, Kaushik, Venugopal, Lakshmi and Mirzaei for keeping a lively atmosphere in the lab.
Abstract
Electromagnetics nd wide applications in the area of melting, handling and heating of metals. The major advantage is the application of heat or force without contamination. This thesis presents the design, fabrication and evaluation of an electromagnetic stirrer. Such stirrers nd application in stirring the molten metal during the freezing phase of ingot making. The microstructure of the material plays an important role on the physical properties of the metal. The microstructure in turn depends on the history of freezing during the forming process. Several methods to get dierent micro-structures in metals are being employed some of them mechanical. A more popular and convenient method to achieve the same is through electromagnetic stirring. The desired force in the metal is produced through electromagnetic induction. An alternating eld is setup in the molten metal. The resultant eddy currents interacting with the eld produce mechanical forces in the metal. The magnitude of the forces produced and the depth of penetration of the same are related to the magnetic eld and the frequency. The design of such stirrer is quite challenging on account of several trade-os involved. On account of large currents involved, the thermal design poses several challenges as well. In the process of ingot casting, stirring can be introduced in the transverse or tangential direction. Accordingly the stirrers are classied as linear or rotary. A linear stirrer uses traveling magnetic eld whereas a rotary stirrer uses rotating magnetic eld to produce swirling action in the metal pool. Figure 0.1 shows the structure of a linear electromagnetic stirrer. The principle of working is similar to that of a linear induction motor. When the space displaced coils (AA , BB , CC ) are excited by three phase currents, a traveling magnetic eld is established along the axis of the coils. The axial eld is varying with time. This varying axial eld produces induced iii
iv
Abstract
voltage in the molten metal in the tangential direction. The eddy current in the liquid metal and the magnetic eld produce forces in the liquid metal. These forces will be predominantly in the axial direction and partly in the radial direction. These forces set the liquid metal into motion. Strong melt ow will result in strong shear stresses at the liquid-solid boundary of the ingot. This shear force alters the microstructure favorably. The resulting microstructure - free from dendrites - is well suited for semi-solid forming process in the fabrication of several components. In the above process, stirring the molten metal during solidication is achieved by electromagnetic means. Metal Pool
A C B A C Solid Liquid Interface B Chiller Ingot Three Phase Coils
Fig. 0.1: Structure of a 2-pole Linear Electromagnetic Stirrer
An experimental prototype is fabricated to validate the design and its performance is evaluated. Results obtained from mathematical model, numerical model and the prototype are presented.
Contents
Acknowledgements Abstract List of Tables List of Figures 1 Introduction 1.1 1.2 1.3 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Motivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Processing of Aluminium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3.1 Casting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3.1.1 1.3.1.2 1.3.1.3 1.3.2 1.3.3 1.3.2.1 1.3.3.1 1.3.3.2 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Mold Casting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ingot Casting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Advantages and disadvantages of casting . . . . . . . . . . . Advantages and disadvantages of forging . . . . . . . . . . Stages in a SSF process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Advantages and Disadvantages of SSF . . . . . . . . . . . . i iii viii ix 1 1 2 2 3 3 3 5 5 6 6 7 8 8 10 10 11
Forging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Semi Solid Forming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Solidication with stirring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Electromagnetic Stirring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Scope of the Thesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Organization of the thesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
vi 2 Electromagnetic Stirring 2.1 2.2 2.3
Contents
12 12 12 13 14 14 15 16 16 16 18 18 19 19 19 24 26 30 30 30 31 32 34 37 37 39 40 41 42 43 43
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Magnetohydrodynamic Phenomenon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Electromagnetic Stirring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.1 2.3.2 Rotary Stirrer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Linear Stirrer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.4
Issues and challenges associated with the design of Electromagnetic Stirrers .
3 Linear Stirrer: Analysis and Modeling 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Principle of Working . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coil arrangement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Current Sheet Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4.1 3.4.2 3.4.3 3.5 3.6 3.7 Field due to a circular coil carrying current . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4.1.1 Sample Field Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Field due to a Solenoid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Excitation with three phase currents in space distributed windings . .
Traveling eld in the Stirrer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Field Orientations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Analytical Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.7.1 3.7.2 3.7.3 3.7.4 3.7.5 3.7.6 3.7.7 3.7.8 3.7.9 Field Dening Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Magnetic Field Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Current Density Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Field Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Low Frequency Approximations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Force Field Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Design methodology of a Linear Stirrer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Power transferred to the metal pool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coupling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.8
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4 Numerical Analysis and Experimental Results 4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Contents 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Finite Element Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2.1 Comparison with Analytical Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Modied Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mechanical and Thermal Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Experimental Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Full Scale Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
vii 43 47 48 54 54 62 65 66 i ii
5 Conclusion References Publications
List of Tables
3.1 4.1 4.2 Stirrer Parameters for analytical model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stirrer Parameters for numerical model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Scaled Down Stirrer Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 44 54
viii
List of Figures
0.1 1.1 1.2 1.3 2.1 2.2 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 Structure of a 2-pole Linear Electromagnetic Stirrer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DC casting Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stages in a SSF process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Solidication during a casting process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rotary Stirrer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Linear Stirrer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Structure of a 2-pole Linear Electromagnetic Stirrer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mechanism of grain multiplication during stirring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phasor notation of currents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Circular coil carrying current . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Axial and Radial Field due to a circular coil carrying current . . . . . . . . . Solenoid excited by a current sheet of Jz A/m . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Axial and Radial eld due to a Solenoid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Field in a Solenoid excited by a spatially distributed current( L/R =5) . . . Field in a Solenoid excited by a spatially distributed current( L/R =25) . . . iv 4 7 9 14 15 17 17 18 19 20 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 28 29 29
3.10 Field in a Solenoid excited by a current varying with space and time . . . . . 3.11 Spatially Distributed windings in the stirrer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.12 Lumped Current in the coils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.13 MMF distribution(A/m) due to each phase along the axis(m) . . . . . . . . 3.14 Axial Field (A/m) along the axis of the stirrer at dierent instants of time . 3.15 Axial Field(A/m) at dierent radii at 0.01sec along the axis of the stirrer . . 3.16 Radial Field at various radii at t=0.0133sec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.17 Radial and Axial eld at dierent radii at t=0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
List of Figures
3.18 Field Formulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.19 Fall of Magnetic Field with the radius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.20 Fall of Induced Current Density with the radius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.21 Variation of axial eld with radius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.22 Variation of phase angle of the axial eld with radius . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.23 Variation of Induced Current Density with radius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.24 Variation of phase angle of the induced current density with radius . . . . . 3.25 Field Distribution in the metal at t=0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.26 Force Field Distribution in the metal at t=0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.27 Linear variation of Induced Current Density at Low frequencies . . . . . . . 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 Finite Element Model and its Mesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Variation of the axial eld in the metal with radius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Variation of the radial eld in the metal with radius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Variation of the induced current density in the metal with radius . . . . . . . Variation of the axial force density in the metal with radius . . . . . . . . . . Flux in the stirrer in the presence of a high permeability material . . . . . . Modied Model and its mesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Variation of the axial eld in the metal with radius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Variation of the axial eld in the metal along the length(r=0.03m) . . . . . .
31 33 33 35 35 36 36 38 39 40 45 45 46 46 47 49 49 50 51 51 52 53 53 55 56 57
4.10 Variation of the radial eld in the metal with radius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.11 Variation of the induced current density in the metal with radius . . . . . . . 4.13 Variation of the axial force density in the metal with radius . . . . . . . . . . 4.14 Variation of the axial force density in the metal with length(r=0.03m) . . . . 4.15 Two Pole Linear Stirrer scaled down model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.16 Coil Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.17 Block Diagram of Excitation System for the Stirrer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.19 Experimental Results of Axial Force density variation with excitation current for dierent aluminium billet diameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.20 Experimental and Numerical Results of Axial Force density variation with aluminium billets of dierent diameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.12 Variation of the induced current density in the metal along the length(r=0.03m) 52
4.18 Schematic of the experimental Setup for measuring force on Aluminium Billets 57 58 59
List of Figures 4.21 Experimental Results of Axial Force density variation with excitation in hollow aluminium billets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.22 Experimental and Numerical Results of Axial Force density variation with excitation frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
xi
59 60
4.23 Experimental result of axial force variation with excitation current in IndAlloy 61 4.24 Experimental result of axial force variation in IndAlloy with percentage of solid height . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.25 Two pole full scale stirrer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.26 Four pole full scale stirrer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 63 64
Chapter 1 Introduction
1.1 General
Electromagnetics application today span a lot of elds. A common and popular application is in metallurgy. Applications include induction furnaces, electromagnetic pumps, electromagnetic levitators etc. The main advantage of using electromagnetic elds in all these applications is the absence of any physical contact with the metal to be processed. The result is always a clean process. Over the years applications have grown from heating to shaping the metals. Modern metallurgical processes use magnetic elds to control the ow, shape and solidication of liquid metal. Solidication describes the phenomenon of liquid transforming into solid as a result of a decrease in liquid temperature. It occurs in a wide range of industrial processes like casting and semi-conductor growth. Electromagnetic Stirring during solidication of metals leads to morphological changes in the microstructure. Electromagnetically stirred billets form the feedstock for the popular form of metal processing known as Semi Solid Forming which is now increasingly used in the automotive industry. Two basic stirrers commonly used in practice are the linear stirrer and the rotary stirrer. A linear stirrer uses travelling magnetic eld whereas a rotary stirrer uses rotating magnetic eld to produce swirling action in the metal pool. The focus of this thesis is on linear linear. The principle of working, design, analysis and fabrication of such a stirrer is discussed in detail. Electromagnetic Stirrers are commonly employed with dc casting and continuous casting processes. In the following sections, the various methods of metal processing are discussed. The eect of stirring during solidication is explained. The chapter concludes with scope of 1
2 the thesis.
Chapter 1. Introduction
1.2
Motivation
Eorts to improve fuel eciency in auto industry have been directed towards search of a light weight metal. It is estimated that every 100kg reduction in weight would result in a fuel saving of 0.6 litres/100km in a medium sized car. This weight reduction allows savings of 3000 litres of fuel in the lifetime of a vehicle. Aluminium as a light material has been one of the principal materials considered to achieve this objective. Presently around 150kg of aluminium is used in medium sized cars and the demand is expected to double in the near future. The following properties of aluminium make it a very attractive option in auto industry. Low Density: With a density of 2.7g/cm3 , one-third that of steel, aluminium components are gradually replacing heavier steel counterparts. High Strength: Aluminium is not only light but also has high strength. Its high strength to weight advantage makes it suitable for automobile structures. Anti-corrosive: Aluminium is highly resistant to corrosion. Recycling: Aluminium is unique with respect to recycling, as it can be recycled again and again without loss of quality. 95 percent of aluminium in end of life vehicles is recycled with energy savings up to 95 percent compared to primary metal production. Die casting, permanent mold and forging methods have been used in manufacturing critical parts in aluminum, but have a number of quality and weight problems to overcome. Soundness, uniformity, cost to performance, complex shapes and near-net-shape limitations are some of the issues still associated with these processes. Over the past few years, semi-solid forming(SSF) process has developed into a mature, high volume production method capable of satisfying the need for near-net-shape, high quality, low cost aluminum parts.
1.3
Processing of Aluminium
The various methods for processing aluminium can be classied depending on the physical state in which the metal is processed. Correspondingly they can be grouped as under
1.3. Processing of Aluminium Casting Forging Semi-Solid Forming
1.3.1
Casting
Casting is a process of forming molten material into a particular shape by pouring it into a mold and allowing it to solidify. Casting is now a well established manufacturing method and many variations have been developed over the years to cater for new materials and products. Depending on the end-product, casting may be broadly classied as Mold casting Ingot casting. 1.3.1.1 Mold Casting
Mold casting is employed to produce complicated shapes economically. The melt is poured in to a mold of desired shape where it solidies. The quality of the cast product, besides accurate control of the process, depends on a properly designed mold. The cast product is nished product in itself and can be subjected to a minimum change in shape under heat treatment. Depending on the mold material and methods employed in molding, mold casting may be classied as sand casting, centrifugal casting, plaster mold casting and investment mold casting. 1.3.1.2 Ingot Casting
In this process metal is cast into rolling ingot (rectangular slab), extrusion ingot (circular billet) and wire bar ingot (square slab) which are subsequently transformed into semi and nished products. It is a faster and more ecient method of producing ingots in large volumes. In this technique ingot is continuously solidied while molten metal is being poured, and the length is not determined by mold dimensions. Ingot casting is also known popularly as Continuous casting. Depending on the cast metal, dierent types of continuous casting exist. Steel is continuous cast using a vertical or horizontal process. Over 90% of commercial aluminium alloys are
cast by semi-continuous vertical casting machines. This process also known as direct chilled (DC) casting is similar to steel continuous casting, with the signicant dierence that it must be stopped periodically when the bottom of the cast ingot reaches the oor of the casting pit. Other dierences include slower casting speed (0.03 0.1 m/min.), which is required to avoid internal cracks and shorter metallurgical length (0.1 - 1.0 m). Fig. 1.1 shows a DC casting unit. Molten aluminium is poured from the furnace through a troughing system into a mold table containing molds with a cross sectional shape of the desired ingot. A starting head, mounted to a hydraulic ram, forms a sort of false bottom to the mold. When the metal lls the mold and begins to solidify, the starting head is lowered at a controlled rate. As the starting head lowers, water jets built into the mold spray water onto the ingot to cool the surface and further solidify the metal.
Fig. 1.1: DC casting Unit
1.3. Processing of Aluminium 1.3.1.3 Advantages and disadvantages of casting
Certain advantages are inherent in a metal casting process. They are: The most intricate of shapes, both external and internal, may be cast. As a result, many other operations such as machining, forging and welding may be minimized.
Metal casting is a process highly adaptable for mass production making it a low cost process.
Flexibility in design can be achieved. Disadvantages of casting are Poor mechanical properties: Cast products are mostly associated with porosity and defects leading to poor mechanical strength. This results in low strength-to-weight ratio of the cast product. Requires close process control and inspections.
1.3.2
Forging
Forging is a process of forming metal using pressure or force at room temperature or elevated temperature. Forging changes the size and shape, but not the volume, of a part. Cold forging is limited to soft metals. Most metals are hot forged. Forging renes the grain structure resulting in increased metallurgical soundness and better mechanical properties of the metal. Material properties also depend on the heat-treating process after forging. Slow cooling in air may normalize workpieces, or they can be quenched in oil and then tempered or reheated to achieve the desired mechanical properties and to relieve any internal stresses. A forged metal can result in the following. Increase length, decrease cross-section, called drawing out the metal. Decrease length, increase cross-section, called upsetting the metal. Change length, change cross-section, by squeezing in closed impression dies.
6 1.3.2.1 Advantages and disadvantages of forging
Advantages of forging are: Directional Strength: Controlling deformation during the forging process results in for important directional properties of strength, ductility, and resistance to impact and fatigue. High Strength-to-Weight Ratio: The higher strength-to-weight ratio can be used to reduce section thickness in part design. High Structural Integrity: As forged products are devoid of internal cracks and porosity they can withstand under conditions of high stress and impact. Following are the disadvantages of forging. Shape limited when undercuts or complex shapes are required. Overall cost is usually higher than Casting. Multiple steps are often required.
improved metallurgical properties. The forging process produces directional alignment
1.3.3
Semi Solid Forming
Semi Solid Forming(SSF) is now well-known as a manufacturing method for high performance products. It combines the advantages of both liquid metal casting and solid metal forging. In this process the material is processed at a temperature between the solidus and liquidus state. Hence, a semi-solid material exhibits behaviours of a solid as well a liquid. As a solid it maintains its structural integrity, therefore while processing it can be processed as a solid. As a liquid, the material ows with ease and lls die cavities in a progressive manner. SSF was conceived at the MIT in the early 1970s and termed as rheocasting. Despite having many advantages it did not take o till mid 1990s , when the automobile industry started looking for lightweight, low-cost and reliable parts. Since then cast components made of steel and iron began being replaced by components of aluminium alloys manufactured by SSF. Typical automotive applications where SSF components are being used include master brake cylinders, steering and suspension components, engine pistons, fuel rails, knuckles,
1.3. Processing of Aluminium
wheels etc. Potential areas of application are rocker arms, air conditioner components and in military aerospace applications.
1.3.3.1
Stages in a SSF process
Al Billet (Dendritic Microstructure)
Electromagnetic Stirring during Casting (Globular Microstructure)
Billets reheated to form Semi-Solid Slugs (Globular Microstructure)
Die Casting
SSF Component
Fig. 1.2: Stages in a SSF process Fig. 1.2 depicts the various stages involved in a SSF process. The feedstock for a SSF process is a non-dendritic billet with globular microstructure. Various methods have been proposed for production of non-dendritic billets [1]. Among these those produced by mechanical or electromagnetic stirring are popular. The billets are then reheated to form semi-solid slugs. They are then transferred to the shot sleeve of a high pressure die casting machine and subsequently cast into die. After solidication under pressure, the SSF component is extracted from the die. The micro-structures in Fig. 1.2 show the uniform divorced euctectic structure of the electromagnetically cast billet and the structural modication obtained on reheating as shown by divorced-euctectic with globular micro-structure. The unique feature of the SSF process is the retention of the feedstock microstructure of the formed part.
8 1.3.3.2 Advantages and Disadvantages of SSF
Following are the advantages associated with SSF process. SSF has lower heat content than liquid metal. This results in longer mold life along with lower energy consumption compared to a die casting process. SSF material has behaviors of a solid as well as a liquid. Viscosity is higher in SSF than in liquid metals. The benets of this characteristic are less gap entrapment, improved soundness and less mold attack. Due to solid behavior of SSF material casting shrinkage, voids are minimized. Due to low ow stress in SSF than in solid metal, intricate parts can be formed which is dicult in a forging process. Because of the ability of SSF materials to incorporate other materials it can be used in forming of composite materials. Following are the disadvantages with SSF process The overall cost associated with the process is high when compared with casting process. Mechanical properties of SSF components are not better than the forged ones but are higher than the cast ones.
1.4
Solidication with stirring
When a metal alloy is cast, solidication begins with the formation of a thin layer of solid metal at the surface of the mold [2]. As the solidication front progresses into the ingot, the solidication front becomes unstable and forms dendrites throughout the remaining liquid. This partially solidied region is termed as mushy zone. The bulk of the ingot remains in the solid-liquid state for a substantial amount of time while heat is extracted till the liquid solidies. During this time the dendrites undergo a coarsening process that determines their ultimate morphology. Dendrites - from the ancient Greek word for tree - are tiny branching structures. The size, shape and orientation of the dendrites have a major eect on the strength, ductility
1.4. Solidication with stirring
Fig. 1.3: Solidication during a casting process and usefulness of an alloy. In many applications this dendritic microstructure is not desired as it results in poor mechanical properties. The dendritic structure is greatly aected by convection during the early eects of solidication. Enhancing the uid ow by convection in the mushy zone is one of the means to suppress this dendritic growth [1]. Stirring is commonly used to obtain such vigorous convection in continuous castings. Stirring can be aected by using a mechanical device mechanical stirring electromagnetic elds electromagnetic stirring. The mechanical stirring is commonly eected by means of augers, impellers, or multi-paddle agitators mounted on a central rotating shaft. However, the mechanical agitation approach is characterized by several specic and serious drawbacks. It is primarily suited for batch, rather than continuous, production. Also, the erosion of these mechanical agitators which is immersed into a very aggressive medium, results in undesirable pollution of the melt. The above factors have made electromagnetic stirring a popular choice for stirring molten metals.
10
1.5
Electromagnetic Stirring
Metals are electrically conducting and currents can be induced in them by varying magnetic elds. The eld and current together give rise to Lorentz forces which is used aect solidication of the melt. One of the major advantages of the electromagnetic force is its direct action on the melt without any contact. Electromagnetic stirrers are now commonly employed with DC casting and continuous casting. Electromagnetic stirring causes a dened inuence on the solidication during the casting process by strong rotation of the melt. It is seen that electromagnetic stirring
renes the grain structure. decreases macro-segregation and porosity besides cleaning the melt. Electromagnetic stirrers are designed to produce melt convection deep in the liquid pool near the solidication front. Hence low frequency magnetic elds are employed to improve the penetration depth of induced forces in the molten metal pool. This feature dierentiates stirring from induction heating where high frequencies are employed. In the process of ingot casting, stirring can be introduced in the transverse or tangential direction. Accordingly the stirrers are classied as linear or rotary. A linear stirrer uses traveling magnetic eld whereas a rotary stirrer uses rotating magnetic eld to produce swirling action in the metal pool. A less common, known as helicoidal stirring combines arrangement of rotary and linear stirring.
1.6
Scope of the Thesis
This thesis covers the design, fabrication and evaluation of a linear stirrer suitable for manufacturing semi-solid aluminium alloys. The design problem in such a stirrer is the evaluation of electromagnetic elds for a given geometry, electrical excitation and frequency of excitation & relate the same to the magnetic eld, induced eddy currents and mechanical forces.
1.7. Organization of the thesis
11
1.7
Organization of the thesis
The thesis is organised as follows: CHAPTER 2: Chapter 2 gives an introduction to electromagnetic stirring. The eects of magnetohydrodynamics, the science of electrically conducting uids under magnetic elds is discussed. Dierent electromagnetic stirring techniques - rotary and linear are presented. Issues and challenges involved in the design of such stirrers are highlighted. CHAPTER 3: Chapter 3 presents the design methodology of a linear stirrer. An analytical model is proposed after making suitable simplifying assumptions. An approximate analytical model is developed. It is useful for obtaining the magnetic eld, eddy currents and the axial and tangential forces. Results obtained from the model are presented. A scaled down pilot stirrer is designed based on this analysis. CHAPTER 4: In Chapter 4, a numerical electromagnetic analysis based on FEM is carried out on the pilot model. The results obtained from the FEM model are validated by comparing with those obtained from the analytical model. It is observed that the forces obtained are not totally axial. For a good melt ow pure axial forces are preferred. The magnetic stirrer is modied to obtain higher axial forces. The evaluation of the forces for the modied design has been done using the numerical model. It is seen that adding low reluctance return path to the stirrer improves the force performance by at least a factor of two. The results are validated through measurements on aluminium cores of dierent dimensions. The mechanical and thermal design involved are discussed. These results form the basis for the design of a full scale model. CHAPTER 5: Chapter 5 gives conclusions from the work and summarizes the contents of the thesis.
Chapter 2 Electromagnetic Stirring

2.1 Introduction
In the previous chapter the advantages of electromagnetic stirring over mechanical stirring were presented. In this chapter the principle of magnetohydrodynamics is discussed. The basic types of electromagnetic stirring - linear and rotary are discussed. Issues and challenges associated with the design of such stirrers are highlighted.
2.2
The Magnetohydrodynamic Phenomenon
A solid or liquid moving in a magnetic eld experiences an emf. If the material is electrically conducting and a current path is available, currents ensue. Alternatively, currents may be induced by a varying magnetic eld. There are two consequences: (i) An induced magnetic eld associated with these currents appears perturbing the original magnetic eld. (ii) An electromagnetic force due to the interaction of currents and eld appears perturbing the original motion. These are the two basic eects of Magnetohydrodynamics, the science of electrically conducting uids under magnetic elds. It deals with the mutual interaction between the uid velocity eld and the electromagnetic eld; the motion aects the magnetic eld and magnetic eld aects the motion. Magnetohydrodynamic phenomena are described by combined system of Maxwells equations, hydrodynamic equations and heat transfer equations. The electromagnetic half of the magnetohydrodynamic equations for conducting uids will be governed by the Maxwells 12
2.3. Electromagnetic Stirring equations dened by the following: E = E + v B H =J H E = o t J = (E + v B ) B =0 J =0
13
(2.1) (2.2) (2.3) (2.4) (2.5) (2.6)
In these equations the magnetic permeability is considered to be equal to o , the magnetic permeability of free space, since all uids are non-paramagnetic, and the slight dierence in relative permeability in paramagnetic uids are neglected. The hydrodynamic half of the MHD are governed by equations of continuity and NavierStokes equation dened by d + (v ) = 0 dt (2.7)
u + u u = P + 2 u + f (2.8) t Given enough boundary conditions, the above equations suce to determine the unknown vector and scalar elds. In the simplest case , , and may be treated constants. MHD consists essentially of the interaction of B and v elds. The state of these xes the state of everything, because I follows from B by amperes law and then E from ohms law.
2.3
Electromagnetic Stirring
One of the earliest applications of magnetohydrodynamics(MHD) in metallurgy is in stirring of liquid metals during casting. Stirring improves the quality of cast product by helping to (i) eliminate blowholes caused by escaping gases (ii) remove inclusions (iii) make the interior structure more homogeneous. Electromagnetic stirring technique employs magnetic elds to produce swirling in the metal pool. Generally time varying elds are employed. Depending on the type of such elds employed electromagnetic stirring may be classied as linear, rotary or helicoidal. A linear stirrer uses a traveling magnetic eld, a rotary stirrer employs rotating eld and a helicoidal stirrer uses a rotating twisted magnetic eld to aect stirring.
14
Chapter 2. Electromagnetic Stirring
2.3.1
Rotary Stirrer
Fig 2.1 shows the structure of a rotary stirrer. The coils are arranged in a circular fashion similar to that of an induction motor. The molten metal to be stirred forms the rotor of the motor. When three phase excitation is given to space displaced windings, a rotating magnetic eld is established. The time varying eld establishes eddy currents in the molten metal. The direction of these currents will be in such a direction so as to oppose the magnetic eld. The eld and current interact resulting in forces in the molten metal. These forces aect the microstructure favorably during the freezing phase of ingot.
R B' Y'
Coils Molten Metal

Y
Field
B R'
Fig. 2.1: Rotary Stirrer With rotary stirring, it can be observed from the gure that the eld is in the radial direction and the stirring is in the tangential direction.
2.3.2
Linear Stirrer
Fig. 2.2 shows the structure of a linear stirrer. The coils are arranged in a linear fashion. When these coils are excited by three phase currents, a travelling magnetic eld is established. The time varying eld induces currents in the molten metal. The eld and the current in the metal interact to establish forces in the metal. The resulting ow of the melt as seen from the gure is axisymmetric. The design and analysis and fabrication of a linear stirrer for stirring aluminium alloys is dealt in detail in this thesis.
2.4. Issues and challenges associated with the design of Electromagnetic Stirrers
Metal Pool R Phase
15
Y Phase
B Phase
Chiller Ingot
Fig. 2.2: Linear Stirrer
2.4
Issues and challenges associated with the design of Electromagnetic Stirrers

penetration in melts. But at lower frequencies, magnitudes of the induced currents in the metal are lower resulting in low force densities.
Optimum stirring frequency : Stirrers employ low frequency to achieve better eld
Force densities: The magnitude of the force density depends primarily on the excitation current. Force densities ultimately aect the velocity of melts which should be adequate to shear o the dendrites located in the solidication zone. Excitation current in the coils: The excitation current is xed by commanded force which demands ecient cooling. End eects: End eects are dominant with linear stirrers because rotor do not close on itself i.e. they have nite length. End eect results in non-uniform ux distribution along the length of the stirrer. The simplied analytical model of the linear stirrer and the approximate performance gures for the same are derived in the next chapter.
density in the melt. Higher excitation current in the coils results in increased I 2 R loss
Chapter 3 Linear Stirrer: Analysis and Modeling
3.1
Introduction
In the previous chapter two basic types of stirrers were identied as linear and rotary. This chapter deals with linear stirrer. The principle of working of such a stirrer is explained. A current sheet model for analysing the mmf distribution in the air gap is presented. An analytical model for such a stirrer is proposed to obtain electromagnetic eld solutions. Analytical results on a scaled down prototype are presented.
3.2
Principle of Working
Fig. 3.1 shows the structure of a linear electromagnetic stirrer. The principle of working is similar to that of a linear induction motor. Electrically it is a two pole motor. The circular coils A A , B B and C C form the stator windings and the metal to be stirred forms the motor. The coils are displaced in space by 120o . When they are excited by three phase currents, a traveling magnetic eld is established along the axis of the coils. The axial eld is changing with time. This varying eld induces voltage in the molten metal in the tangential direction. The induced voltage establishes tagential eddy currents in the liquid metal.The eddy current(tangential) in the liquid metal and the magnetic eld(radial and axial) produce forces(axial and radial) in the liquid metal. These forces set the liquid metal into motion. A strong melt ow generates strong shear stresses, and these shear stresses will shed away the dendrites near the solid-liquid interface. Bulk of the dendrites are carried to the centre of the liquid pool by convection where they melt away. This mechanism induced by 16
3.2. Principle of Working Metal Pool
17
A C B A C Solid Liquid Interface B Chiller Ingot Three Phase Coils
Fig. 3.1: Structure of a 2-pole Linear Electromagnetic Stirrer
Fig. 3.2: Mechanism of grain multiplication during stirring
strong electromagnetic stirring is depicted in Fig. 3.2. This action alters the microstructure of the metal favorably. The position of the solid-liquid interface is determined by the rate of cooling of the chiller. The melt ow is parallel to the walls of the mould. Liquid from the top of the pool is transported to the bottom, helping to improve heat transfer and liquid mixing during solidication.
18
Chapter 3. Linear Stirrer: Analysis and Modeling
3.3
Coil arrangement
A sinusoidal distribution of mmf along the axis of the coils is achieved when the coils are displaced in space by 120o . When these space displaced coils are excited by three phase currents, the resulting mmf is sinusoidally distributed in space as well as time. The coils are arranged in the sequence A C B A C B . The coils A , B and C carry the same currents carried by the coils A, B and C but in the opposite direction respectively. Fig. 3.3 shows the phasor representation of ac currents in the coils when current in the coil A is at the positive maximum. It can be observed that the currents in the coils are sinusoidally distributed at any instant of time. The angular spacing between the vectors is 60o . IC IB
60 IA
IA
IB
IC
Fig. 3.3: Phasor notation of currents
3.4
Current Sheet Concept
In any electrical machine, it is desired to have a sinusoidal distribution of mmf in the air-gap. Accordingly the stator windings in the machine should be sinusoidally distributed in space. The kind of space distribution of currents in the space displaced windings which will produce a sinusoidally distributed mmf in the space , is produced by sinusoidally distributed current. This is explained by current sheet model which is used for mmf analysis in the air gap of a machine [3]. The development of a current sheet model from preliminaries is explained in the following subsections.
3.4. Current Sheet Concept
19
3.4.1
Field due to a circular coil carrying current
Let Hz (Zp , Rp , Z ) and Hr (Zp , Rp , Z ) respectively be the axial and radial elds at (Zp , Rp ) due to a circular coil of N turns, radius R, and carrying a current I amperes located at Z as shown in g. 3.4. Then[4], H z (Z p , R p , Z ) = H r (Z p , R p , Z ) = N RI 4 N RI 4
2 0 2 0 2 [Rp
R2
2RRp cos + (Zp Z )2 ] 2 (Z Zp ) cos d

3
(R Rp cos) d
(3.1) (3.2)
2 + R2 2RR cos + (Z Z )2 ] 2 [Rp p p
L Z H (Z p , R p ) Zp Rp R
Fig. 3.4: Circular coil carrying current 3.4.1.1 Sample Field Calculations
Let R=0.04m, L=0.2m, J=100A, Rp vary from 0 to R(0.04m). Let Z, where the coil is located may vary from 0 to L. Zp also varies from 0 to 0.2m. The axial and radial elds at dierent radiii as obtained from eqn 3.1 and eqn 3.2 are shown in Fig. 3.5. Here, Hz (Zp , 0, 0.1) indicates the axial eld at various Zp for Rp = 0 when the current carrying conductor is located at Z=0.1. From the g. 3.5, it can be observed that the eld along the centre(Rp = 0) is purely axial while at any other radius it has both axial and radial components. Also the axial eld is maximum at Z where the coil is located.
3.4.2
Field due to a Solenoid
(a) Solenoid excited by a current sheet of J A/m Consider a solenoid of length L and radius R excited by a current density of Jz = J A/m as
20
1500
1000
Hz (Zp , 0.0, 0.1) Hr (Zp , 0.0, 0.1) 500 Hz (Zp , 0.03, 0.1) Hr (Zp , 0.03, 0.1)
0
-500
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
Zp
Fig. 3.5: Axial and Radial Field due to a circular coil carrying current
shown in g. 3.6. Let Hz (Zp , Rp ) and Hr (Zp , Rp ) respectively be the axial and radial eld at a point (Zp , Rp ) inside the solenoid. Then [4], L Z
Zp
H(Zp ,Rp ) Rp
Jp A/m Fig. 3.6: Solenoid excited by a current sheet of Jz A/m
21
H z (Z p , R p ) =
R 4 R 4
L 0 0
2 2 [Rp 2 0
R2
Jz (R Rp cos) d
2RRp cos + (Zp Z )2 ] 2

3
dZ
(3.3)
L 0
H r (Z p , R p ) =
2 + R2 2RR cos + (Z Z )2 ] 2 [Rp p p
Jz (Z Zp ) cos d
dZ
(3.4)
Sample Field Calculations Let R=0.04m, L=0.2m, J=100A/m. Let Rp vary from 0 to R(0.04m) and Zp vary from 0 to L(0.2m). Notice that the current density is constant. The axial and radial elds at dierent radii as obtained from eqn 3.1 and 3.2 are shown below. Fig. 3.7 shows the varia-
100
62.5
Hz (Zp , 0.0) Hz (Zp , 0.03) Hr (Zp , 0.0) Hr (Zp , 0.03)

-12.5 25
-50
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
Zp
Fig. 3.7: Axial and Radial eld due to a Solenoid
tion of axial and radial eld as a function of radius along the solenoid. Ideally(L
R) in a
solenoid the eld is entirely axial with Hz = Jz A/m. In the example considered L/R=5, the eld is predominantly axial with negligible radial component. The axial eld in not uniform at the ends of the solenoid. The radial eld has its eect at the ends of the solenoid. These are the end eects.
22
(b) Solenoid excited by a current varying as a function of space Consider a solenoid of Fig. 3.6 with length L and radius R excited by a current of density of Jz = Jsin[(2Z )/L] A/m. Let Hz (Zp , Rp ) and Hr (Zp , Rp ) respectively be the axial and radial eld at a point (Zp , Rp ) inside the solenoid. Then Hz (Zp , Rp ) and Hr (Zp , Rp ) are respectively given by eqn. 3.3 and 3.4. Sample Field Calculations )A/m. Let Rp vary from 0 to R(0.04m) and Zp Let R=0.04m, L=0.2m, Jz = 100 sin( 2Z L vary from 0 to L(0.2m). Notice that the current density is varying as a function of space. The axial and radial elds at dierent radii as obtained from eqn 3.3 and 3.4 are shown below.
100
Hz (Zp , 0.0) Hz (Zp , 0.03) Hr (Zp , 0.0)
33.33
Hr (Zp , 0.03) -33.33
-100 0 0.067
Zp
0.13
0.2
Fig. 3.8: Field in a Solenoid excited by a spatially distributed current( L/R =5) Fig. 3.8 shows the variation of axial and radial eld as a function of radius along the axis of the solenoid. It can be seen that the eld has components along axial and radial direction. The axial eld is nearly constant along the radius. The strength of the radial eld is less than that of the axial eld. Ideally(L R) the peak value of axial eld(in this case 62A/m)
23
100
Hz (Zp , 0.0) 33.33 Hz (Zp , 0.03) Hr (Zp , 0.0) Hr (Zp , 0.03)

-33.33
-100
0.33
Zp
0.67
Fig. 3.9: Field in a Solenoid excited by a spatially distributed current( L/R =25)
should be equal to peak of the excitation(100A/m). Now if length L=1m, then L/R=25. Fig. 3.9 shows the axial and radial eld in this case which is more close to an ideal solenoid. The peak value of the axial eld in now nearly matching that of the excitation. It is observed that the magnitude of radial component has reduced. (c) Solenoid excited by a current varying as a function of space and time Consider the solenoid of g. 3.6 with length L and radius R, excited by a current of density t] A/m. Notice that the current density is varying as a function of space Jz = J sin[ 2Z L and time. Let Hz (Zp , Rp , t) and Hr (Zp , Rp , t) respectively be the axial and radial eld at a point (Zp , Rp ) at an instant t inside the solenoid. The the eld is now traveling along the axis of the solenoid. Then [4], RJ H z (Z p , R p , t) = 4
L 0 0 2
2 + R2 2RR cos + (Z Z )2 ] 2 [Rp p p
t) d (R Rp cos) sin( 2Z L
dZ
(3.5)
24 RJ H r (Z p , R p , t) = 4 Sample Field Calculations

L 0 0 2
2 + R2 2RR cos + (Z Z )2 ] 2 [Rp p p
(Z Zp ) cos sin( 2Z t) d L
dZ
(3.6)
t)A/m, f=50Hz. Let Rp vary from 0 to R(0.04m) Let R=0.04m, L=0.2m, J=100sin( 2Z L
100
Hz (Zp , 0.0, 0.0) Hz (Zp , 0.03, 0.1) Hr (Zp , 0.0, 0.0) Hr (Zp , 0.03, 0.01)
33.33
-33.33
-100 0
0.067
Zp
0.13
0.2
Fig. 3.10: Field in a Solenoid excited by a current varying with space and time and Zp vary from 0 to L(0.2m). The axial and radial elds at dierent radii as obtained from eqn 3.5 and 3.6 are shown below. Fig. 3.10 shows the variation of axial and radial eld as a function of radius along the length at dierent instants of time. The eld is now traveling at a velocity of L.f = 10m/s. The axial eld is nearly constant along the radius. The strength of the radial eld is less than that of the axial eld. The radial eld is ahead of the axial eld by 90 o .
3.4.3
Excitation with three phase currents in space distributed windings
Let us consider three phase windings distributed in space by 120o being excited by three phase currents distributed in time by 120o . The situation is similar to the one considered in
25
a linear stirrer as shown in g. 3.11 . The three phase coils can be considered equivalent to an is possible when L t). Such an approximation excitation current sheet with a linear current density Jsin( 2Z L R, where the radial component of the eld can be neglected. The situation can be visualized in a multi-pole stirrer. The three phase coil can be approximated A C B A C B
r z
Fig. 3.11: Spatially Distributed windings in the stirrer to a current sheet as dened above by rst obtaining the lumped currents in each of the individual phase coils as shown in g 3.12. The peak current in the coils is lumped over the width of the coils. The spatial distribution of mmf due to lumped currents of a single phase is then considered. With sinusoidal excitation, the spatial distribution of mmf due to a single phase is now pulsating. If the eects of all the three phases are considered, the resulting mmf can be approximated to be sinusoidally distributed and traveling at a average t). velocity of L f m/s represented by Jsin( 2Z L Let dHr (Zp , Rp , Z ) and dHz (Zp , Rp , Z ) respectively be the radial and axial component
of eld at point (Zp , Rp ) on account of the current in the elemental ring having N turns carrying a peak current of I A located at Z. Then, dHr (Zp , Rp , Z ) = N RI 4 N RI 4
2 0
2 + R2 2RR cos + (Z Z )2 ] 2 [Rp p p 2
(Z Zp ) cos d (R Rp cos) d
(3.7)
dHz (Zp , Rp , Z ) =
2 + R2 2RR cos + (Z Z )2 ] 2 [Rp p p
(3.8)
26
L J A Phase Z=0 J -J B Phase J W -J Fig. 3.12: Lumped Current in the coils C Phase -J Z=L
Let Hra (Zp , Rp ) and Hza (Zp , Rp ) respectively be the radial and axial component of eld at point (Zp , Rp ) in the N turn A-phase coils(A A ) having width W , due to current density of J, where J = I/W A/m . Then with I replaced by J in eqn. 3.7 and eqn. 3.8 ,
W W
Hra (Zp , Rp ) = Hza (Zp , Rp ) =
0 W 0
dHra (Zp , Rp , Z ) dZ dHza (Zp , Rp , Z ) dZ
0 W 0
dHra (Zp , Rp , Z ) dZ dHza (Zp , Rp , Z ) dZ
(3.9) (3.10)
Accordingly Hrb (Zp , Rp ), Hrc (Zp , Rp ), Hzb (Zp , Rp ) and Hzc (Zp , Rp ) are dened. The axial and radial eld at any point (Zp , Rp ) as a function of time when the coils are excited by three phase currents is given by 4 2 ) + Hzc (Zp , Rp ) sin(t ) 3 3 (3.11) 2 4 Hr (Zp , Rp , t) = Hra (Zp , Rp ) sin(t) + Hrb (Zp , Rp ) sin(t ) + Hrc (Zp , Rp ) sin(t ) 3 3 (3.12) Hz (Zp , Rp , t) = Hza (Zp , Rp ) sin(t) + Hzb (Zp , Rp ) sin(t
3.5
Traveling eld in the Stirrer
A scaled down model built has the following dimensions. L=160mm, R=42mm, width of the coil(W)=9mm, N=10. The eld is solved using the current sheet model as explained above
3.5. Traveling eld in the Stirrer when the coils are carrying a current of 100A R.M.S(J =
141.4 0.09
27 A/m) at 50Hz. Fig. 3.13
shows the distribution of mmf of the individual phases A, B and C along the axis of the coils when the A phase current(IA ) is at its positive maximum. Fig. 3.14 shows the variation of axial eld at dierent instants of time along the length of the stirrer. It can be seen that the variation of axial eld as a function of radius along the length of the stirrer. It can be the eld is moving with an average velocity of L f = 0.16 50 = 8m/s. Fig. 3.15 shows approximated as nearly constant along the radius. Fig. 3.16 shows the variation of radial eld along as a function of radius along the length of the stirrer. It can be approximated to be proportional to the radius. Fig. 3.17 shows that the radial eld is ahead of the axial eld by 90o . We approximate the travelling eld inside stirrer as Hz (Z, t) = Ho sin( Hr (Z, r, t) = 2Z t) L (3.13)
r 2Z Ho sin( t + ) (3.14) R L 2 where Ho is the peak value of the axial eld obtained from the calculations. In this case Ho = 20000A/m.
15000
10000
5000
Hza (Zp , 0.0, 0.005) Hzb (Zp , 0.0, 0.005) 0 Hzc (Zp , 0.0, 0.005)
5000
-10000
-15000 0 0.04
Zp
0.08
0.12
0.16
Fig. 3.13: MMF distribution(A/m) due to each phase along the axis(m)
28
20000
10000
Hz (Zp , 0, 0, 0.0) Hz (Zp , 0, 0, 0.0067) Hz (Zp , 0.0, 0.0133)

0
-10000
-20000 0 0.04 0.08 0.12 0.16
Zp
Fig. 3.14: Axial Field (A/m) along the axis of the stirrer at dierent instants of time
30000
15000
Hz (Zp , 0.0, 0.01) Hz (Zp , 0.01, 0.01) Hz (Zp , 0.02, 0.01)
-15000
-30000
0.04
0.08
0.12
0.16
Zp
Fig. 3.15: Axial Field(A/m) at dierent radii at 0.01sec along the axis of the stirrer
3.5. Traveling eld in the Stirrer
29
15000
7500
Hr (Zp , 0.0, 0.0133) Hr (Zp , 0.01, 0.0133) 0 Hr (Zp , 0.02, 0.0133) Hr (Zp , 0.03, 0.0133)
-7500
-15000 0
0.04
Zp
0.08
0.12
0.16
Fig. 3.16: Radial Field at various radii at t=0.0133sec
30000
15000
Hz (Zp , 0.01, 0.0) Hr (Zp , 0.01, 0.0) Hz (Zp , 0.02, 0.0) 0 Hr (Zp , 0.02, 0.0)
-15000
-30000 0
0.04
Zp
0.08
0.12
0.16
Fig. 3.17: Radial and Axial eld at dierent radii at t=0
30
3.6
Field Orientations
Since a circular symmetry is present in the stirrer we make use of cylindrical co-ordinate system for eld calculations. If the coils are along Z axis, the resulting H eld will have components along R and Z axis. The induced current(J) in the molten metal will be along axis. The forces due to the interaction of H and J eld will have components along Z and R axis.
3.7
Analytical Model
An analytical model is proposed after making suitable simplifying assumptions as listed below. The assumptions made are: The stirrer is innitely long in the Z direction i.e. L R. In such a case the traveling
2Z ). L
eld is completely axial dened as Hz = Ho sin(t
The electromagnetic equations are decoupled from the momentum equations. Leakage eects are ignored.
3.7.1
Field Dening Equations
Fig. 3.18 shows the formulation of the eld problem. Let (r)= Flux enclosed in a radius r (Wb) v (r)= Induced voltage at radius r in direction (V) J (r) = Eddy current density at radius r in direction (Am2 ) = Conductivity of metal (Sm1 ) = Permeability of the metal(Hm1 ) The following are the governing equations [5]. v (r ) =
r
(3.15) (3.16) (3.17)
(r ) =
Hz 2rdr
r
v (r) = 2
Hz dr t
3.7. Analytical Model
31
Magnetising Field Jr + J Z Jr r
L Hzr + H Hzr l r z
Fig. 3.18: Field Formulation
Taking
H dl = I for the shaded area of Fig. 3.18 Hz l + (Hz + Hz )l = J (r)rl J (r ) = Hz r (3.18) (3.19)
Taking
E dl =
d dt
for the shaded area of Fig. 3.18 1 d (J 2r + (J + J )2 (r + r)) = dt J r + J r = rr Hz dt (3.20) (3.21)
The equation governing the relationship between the magnetic eld and induced current is obtained by combining the above equations. Hz 2 Hz 1 Hz + =0 2 r r r t (3.22)
3.7.2
Magnetic Field Distribution
Under sinusoidal excitation with magnetic eld dened by H = Ho ej (t

2Z ) L
(3.23)
32
the governing equation 3.22 takes the form of standard Bessels equation of order 0 2 Hz 1 Hz + + jHz = 0 r2 r r The solution of this equation is given by Hz (r) = AIo ( jkr) where k= = 2 (3.25) (3.24)
(3.26) (3.27) (3.28) (3.29)
Io ( jkr) = ber(kr) + j bei(kr) (kr/2)4 (kr/2)8 + ...... 2! 4! (kr/2)2 (kr/2)6 (kr/2)10 + ...... bei(kr) = (1!)2 (3!)2 (5!)2 ber(kr) = 1 is the skin depth parameter. At r=R, Hz (Z, R, t) = Ho sin(t Hz (Z, r, t) =
2Z ) L
Here ber(kr) and bei(kr) are respectively the real and imaginary parts of Bessel function.
2Z ber(kr) + j bei(kr) Ho sin(t ) ber(kR) + j bei(kR) L
(3.30)
In terms of skin depth the equation can be modied as Hz (Z, r, t) =

2r ) 2R ber( )
ber(
+ j bei( +j
2r ) Ho 2R bei( )
sin(t
2Z ) L
(3.31)
Fig. 3.19 shows the fall of magnetic eld with radius in the metal for various ratios of radius to depth of penetration. With the phase angle taken into account the above equation becomes Hz (Z, r, t) = ber(kr)2 + bei(kr)2 2Z Ho sin[t H (r)] 2 2 ber(kR) + bei(kR) L (3.32)
3.7.3
Current Density Distribution
Using 3.30 in 3.19 gives expression for J as, J (Z, r, t) = ber (kr) + j bei (kr) 2Z Ho sin(t ) ber(kR) + j bei(kR) L (3.33)
33
1
R =1
0.75
H 0.5 Ho
0.25
R =2
R =4 R =10
0.25
0.5
0.75
r/R
Fig. 3.19: Fall of Magnetic Field with the radius
1
R =1 R =2 R =4 R =10
J Jo
0.5
0.25
0.5
0.75
r/R
Fig. 3.20: Fall of Induced Current Density with the radius The equation can be rewritten as a function of skin depth( ) as J (Z, r, t) = ber (
2r ) 2R ) ber(
+ j bei ( +j
2r
Ho 2R bei( )
sin(t
2Z ) L
(3.34)
34
Fig. 3.20 shows the fall of induced current density eld with radius in the metal for various ratios of radius to depth of penetration. With the phase angle taken into account the above equation becomes J (Z, r, t) = ber (kr)2 + bei (kr)2 2Z Ho sin(t J (r)) 2 2 ber(kR) + bei(kR) L (3.35)
3.7.4
Field Calculations
Reference [6] estimates the required force for the stirrer to work satisfactorily to be about 8kN/m3 . The scaled model was then designed to achieve the same with reasonable currents and dimensions. Accordingly, it was decided to start with a billet diameter of 60mm(standard size billet). The coil diameter was then xed at 80mm. Table 3.1 lists the dimensions and parameters of the pilot scaled down model. Field quantities(H and J) are solved using the proposed analytical model. Table 3.1: Stirrer Parameters for analytical model Coil Radius Axial Length of the stirrer, ingot, L No. of turns, N Billet Radius, R Frequency, f Excitation Current r of Aluminium for aluminium( Molten state 700o C) 42mm 160mm 10 40mm 10, 50 Hz 100A R.M.S 1 1.05 107 Sm1
The eld variation in the metal is a function of frequency of excitation, resistivity and permeability of the metal. Fig. 3.21 shows the variation of axial eld(H z ) in the metal as a function of radius at 50Hz and 10Hz. Fig. 3.22 shows the phase variation H (r) in the metal as a function of radius at 50Hz and 10Hz. Fig. 3.23 shows the variation of induced current density(J ) in the metal as a function of radius at 50Hz and 10Hz. Fig. 3.24 shows the phase variation of the induced current J (r) in the metal as a function of radius at 50Hz and 10Hz.
35
2 104
2 104
1.8
1.8
Axial Field (A/m)

1.6
Axial Field (A/m)

1.6
1.4
1.4
1.2 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04
1.2 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04
Radius (m) (a) F=10Hz
Radius(m) (b) F=50Hz
Fig. 3.21: Variation of axial eld with radius
-20
-20
-40
H -40
-60
-60
-80 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04
-80 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04
Fig. 3.22: Variation of phase angle of the axial eld with radius
36
10 105
10 105
7.5
7.5
Current Density 5 (A/m2 )
Current Density 5 (A/m2 )

2.5
2.5
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
Radius (m) (b) F=50Hz
Fig. 3.23: Variation of Induced Current Density with radius
-90
-90
-112.5
-112.5
-135
-135
-157.5
-157.5
-180 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04
-180 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04
Radius(m) (a) F=10Hz
Fig. 3.24: Variation of phase angle of the induced current density with radius
37
It is seen from the results that at low frequency the depth of eld penetration is higher. The axial eld is constant along the radius. The phase angle of the axial eld can approximated to zero for low frequencies. The induced current density is nearly proportional to the frequency. It can be approximated to vary linearly with the radius at low frequency. Its phase angle may be approximated to be 90 degrees.
3.7.5
Low Frequency Approximations
The above results can be used to make valid simplifying assumptions for determining force eld distribution in the stirrer. The following simplifying assumptions are made: The axial eld is constant along the radius. The phase variation is neglected. The axial eld is approximated as Hz (Z, t) = Ho sin(t 2Z ) L (3.36)
The induced current density in the metal is varying linearly with the radius. The phase
angle is approximated to 90o . The induced current density is approximated as 2Z r 90o ) (3.37) J (Z, r, t) = Ho sin(t R L
If the nite length of the stirrer is considered, the eld has a radial component in addition to the axial component. The radial eld is proportional to the radius and ahead of the axial eld by 90o . The radial eld may be approximated as r 2Z Hr (Z, r, t) = Ho sin(t + 90o ) R L of the stirrer at t=0.
(3.38)
Fig. 3.25 shows the magnetic eld and induced current density in the metal along the axis
3.7.6
Force Field Distribution
The eld and the current in the metal give rise to axial and radial forces in the metal. The dening equation of force density is F = J B . Then, Fz (Z, r, t) = J Br 2Z 2Z r2 90o ) sin(t + 90o ) = o Jo Ho 2 sin(t R L L r2 1 cos2[t (2Z )/L] = o Jo H o 2 R 2
(3.39)
38
Hz (Z ) Hr (Z, r) Hr (Z, 2r)

0
J (Z, r) J (Z, 2r)
Fig. 3.25: Field Distribution in the metal at t=0
Fr (Z, r, t) = J Bz 2Z 2Z r 90o ) sin(t ) = o Jo Ho sin(t R L L r sin2[t (2Z )/L] = o J o H o R 2
(3.40)
From eqn 3.39 and 3.40 we can nd that axial and radial force densities are proportional to the square of the radius and the radius respectively. The radial force has no average(space and time) whereas the axial force averages(both space and time) in the direction of phase sequence. The average axial force is given by
R
Fzav = =
o Jo H o 2 r dv 2R 2 0 R J H o o o 2 = r 2rh dr 2R 2 0 o hJo Ho R2 N ewtons Fzav = 4
0 R
Fz dv
(3.41)
3.7. Analytical Model At 10Hz, for billet diameter of 40mm considered, the axial force is given by, Fz = 4 107 20000 1.85 105 0.042 0.16 = 0.93N 4
39
(3.42)
At 50Hz the calculated force is 5.05N. Fig. 3.26 shows the force eld distribution in the stirrer at t=0. It can be observed the radial force has no average and axial averages in a direction determined by the phase sequence.
Fz (Z, r) Fz (Z, 2r) Fr (Z, r) Fr (Z, 2r)

0
Fig. 3.26: Force Field Distribution in the metal at t=0
3.7.7
Design methodology of a Linear Stirrer
The design problem in a linear stirrer is the evaluation of electromagnetic elds for a given geometry, excitation and its frequency. The design logic for a linear stirrer is outlined below. (a) The excitation for the metal is a magnetic eld varying in space and time. Equations 3.7 to 3.12 dene the eld. The eld has components in axial and radial directions. They are approximated and dened by equations 3.13 and 3.14.
40
(b) With the excitation for the metal dened as above, the eld variation in the metal is dened by eqn. 3.19 and 3.21. The dening equations for eld and induced current in the metal are then arrived at using the same. Equation 3.30 and 3.33 respectively dene them. (c) Low frequency approximations are then made to study the force eld distribution in the metal (Equation 3.39 and 3.40).
3.7.8
Power transferred to the metal pool
The current density at low frequencies can be approximated to be varying linearly with the radius as shown in 3.27. If Jo is the peak value of the induced current density at radius
Jo r dr
J (r )
Fig. 3.27: Linear variation of Induced Current Density at Low frequencies r=R(where R is the radius of Al billet), then at any radius r < R J = Jo r R (3.43)
Consider an elemental cylinder of thickness dr situated at a radius r. Power transferred to this elemental cylinder is given by dW = (J dA)2 dR = (J 2r dr)2 = J 2 L2r dr Power transferred to the metal pool is given by
R
L 2r dr (3.44)
W =
dW

R
41 = = 2LJ 2 r dr
0 R
2LJ0 2 3 r dr R2 0 2 4 LJ0 R = 2
(3.45)
At 10Hz, for the 40mm diameter billet considered, the power loss in aluminium is 1.3W.
3.7.9
Coupling
For a peak excitation current of I amperes in the coils, the equivalent travelling primary current Ipri = 1.5 N I . Equivalent secondary current is given by
R
Isec = =
r Jo 2Ldr R 0 2LJo R rdr = R 0 LRJo = 2
0 R
J dA
(3.46)
If the coupling factor K is dened as K = Isec /Ipri (3.47)
For the 40mm Billet Diameter having a length of L=160mm, the coupling K is given by Ipri = 1.5 10 141.1 = 2121A Isec = 0.16 0.04 1.85 105 = 1860A 2 K = 1860/2121 = 0.87 (3.48)
42
3.8
Conclusion
In this chapter a detailed analysis of a linear stirrer is presented. The principle of working of the stirrer is explained. The current sheet model is developed for studying the distribution of the traveling eld. An analytical model for eld distribution in the metal is then proposed. Low frequency approximations are made to study force eld distribution in the metal. Design methodology of a linear stirrer is outlined. Results obtained on a pilot scaled down model are presented. These results serve as a check for the results obtained from numerical method. The numerical method based on nite element analysis is taken up in the next chapter.
Chapter 4 Numerical Analysis and Experimental Results

4.1 Introduction
In the previous chapter, an analytical model for a scaled down stirrer was presented. The analytical model serves as a starting iteration in the design of a linear stirrer. However, it has limitations as it incorporates several simplifying assumptions. A numerical model can incorporate several asymmetries present in the system. Such a solution therefore can be more useful in realistic situations. In this chapter, the electromagnetic problem is solved using a numerical method which is based on nite element analysis(FEM). The results obtained from the FEM are compared with those obtained from the analytical model. The simple and symmetric magnetic circuit of the stirrer is easy to analyse. However the magnitude of the elds achieved can be improved with judicious modications in the magnetic circuit. The FEM analysis tool is helpful in this respect. The modied magnetic circuit is solved with FEM. Results obtained with these modications are presented. Experimental results on laboratory scaled down prototype are presented. Experimental and simulation results are compared. Mechanical and thermal design & their issues are highlighted. These results form the basis for the design of a full scale model.
4.2
Finite Element Model
The analytical model gives a good insight to the electromagnetic eld distribution in the stirrer. The model is derived after making simplifying assumptions to obtain closed form 43
44
Chapter 4. Numerical Analysis and Experimental Results
solutions. Using numerical analysis based on nite element method, eld solutions closer to exact can be obtained. In the nite element method of analysis, the geometry is divided into a mesh of elements. The eld inside each element is represented by a polynomial with unknown coecients. The nite element analysis is the solution of the set of equations for the unknown coecients. Depending on the model symmetry, the model can be solved using 2D or 3D. In 2D, the elements are shaped like triangles dened by three vertices (nodes). In 3D, the elements are shaped like tetrahedra. Each tetrahedral element is dened by four vertices. The accuracy of the solution depends upon the nature of the eld and the size of the mesh elements. In regions where the direction or magnitude of the eld is changing rapidly, high accuracy requires small elements or high polynomial orders (or a combination of both) [7]. Fig. 4.1 shows the 3D model and its mesh generated by MagNet. The air-box around the stirrer is omitted in the gure to show the parts of the stirrer. The density of mesh is increased in the aluminium cylinder to improve the accuracy of solution. When alternating elds are considered, the skin depth can be accounted in the conductor by considering its mesh size to be lesser than the skin depth. The geometry is solved using Time Harmonic 3D solver. Time-harmonic analysis is done at one specied frequency. Sources and elds are represented by complex phasors. All the materials in the problem are assumed to be linear. The tangential ux boundary condition is applied to the outer surface of the air-box. The model is solved for the parameters listed in table 4.1. The parameters are same as those listed in table 3.1 Table 4.1: Stirrer Parameters for numerical model Coil Radius Axial Length of the stirrer, billet No. of turns Billet Radius Frequency Excitation Current r of Aluminium 42mm 160mm 10 40mm 10, 50 Hz 100A R.M.S 1
for aluminium( Molten state 700o C) 1.05e7 Sm1
4.2. Finite Element Model
45
Fig. 4.1: Finite Element Model and its Mesh

4
2.5 x 10
2.5x 10
Axial Field1.5 (A/m)

1
Axial Field 1.5 (A/m)

1
0.5 0 0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
0.5 0
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
Fig. 4.2: Variation of the axial eld in the metal with radius Fig. 4.2 shows the variation of axial eld in the metal as a function of radius at 10Hz and 50Hz. It can be observed that the depth of eld penetration is higher at 10 Hz. Fig. 4.3 shows the variation of radial eld in the metal as a function of radius at 10Hz and 50Hz. It
46
4
2 x 10
2 x 10
1.5
1.5 Radial Field 1 (A/m)
Radial Field 1 (A/m)
0.5
0.5
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
0 0
0.01
0.02 Radius(m)
0.03
0.04
(b) F=50Hz
Fig. 4.3: Variation of the radial eld in the metal with radius
12 x 10
5
12x 10
10
10
Induced Current 6 Density (A/m2 )

4
Induced Current 6 Density 2 (A/m )

4
2 0
2 0
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
Fig. 4.4: Variation of the induced current density in the metal with radius
4.2. Finite Element Model

4 4
47
3 x 10
3 x 10
2.5
2.5
Axial Force 1.5 Density (N/m3 )

1

1
0.5 0 0
0.5
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
Fig. 4.5: Variation of the axial force density in the metal with radius is seen that the radial eld variation is nearly independent of frequency. Fig. 4.4 shows the variation of induced current density in the metal as a function of radius at 10Hz and 50Hz. It is observed that at 10Hz the magnitude of the induced current is lower when compared to 50Hz. The induced current density may be approximated to vary linearly with the radius. Fig. 4.5 shows the variation of axial force density in the metal with the radius at 10Hz and 50Hz. It is seen that the axial force is concentrated at the periphery and is zero at the center. Because of higher induced current at 50Hz, the force at 50Hz is greater than at 10Hz. It may be seen that the force density is nearly a parabolic function (product of eld and current, both of which are nearly linear).
4.2.1
Comparison with Analytical Model
We may compare the analytical results with the FEM results. The axial eld at the surface (Fig. 4.2 and Fig. 3.21) are nearly equal. The axial eld at the core exhibits higher error(30% at 50Hz, 50% at 10Hz). This is because the thickness of the coil is neglected while arriving at the analytical expression for the eld. With the thickness taken in to account, the axial eld will be lesser than observed, which is seen in the numerical result.The induced current
48
densities show good match at all radii (error less than 15%, Fig. 4.4 and Fig. 3.23). The gross force experienced by the ingot at 10Hz evaluated analytically (Eqn. 3.42) and evaluated through FEM match within 5% (0.93N and 0.9N). At 50Hz the force evaluated through FEM is 3.5N compared to 5N from analytical model. The error is higher at 30%. It may be observed that the peripheral force densities induced in the metal are in the range of 5kN/m 3 to 25kN/m3 (10 to 50Hz). Reference [6] estimates the required force for the stirrer to work satisfactorily to be about 8kN/m3 . It is observed that judicious modication to the magnetic circuit can enhance the induced forces. This may be done by reducing the overall reluctance of the magnetic circuit.
4.3
Modied Model
The basic model as shown in Fig. 4.1 is associated with large leakage of magnetic ux. Fig. 4.6 shows the cross-section of the stirrer after modication. Compared to the basic model, a low reluctance return path has been provided. It may be seen that the overall reluctance reduces to almost half the original value. We expect the eld to nearly double. Ideally, we would like to have the low reluctance path surrounding the coils. With such an arrangement, the cooling and placement issues of the coils dominate over increased performance. The six teeth shaped structures were arrived at after making a compromise. FEM is used to analyse the eld pattern after making suitable modications in the magnetic circuit. Fig. 4.7 shows the modied model and its view after meshing. Teeth shaped structures made of magnetic iron are used to provide low reluctance return path for the magnetic ux. The structures function similar to a pole shoe in a machine. The structures additionally help in holding the coils. Fig. 4.8 shows the variation of axial eld in the metal with the radius at 10Hz and 50Hz. Fig. 4.9 shows the variation of axial eld along the axis(r=0.03m) in the metal at 10Hz and 50Hz. Fig. 4.10 shows the variation of radial eld with the radius at 10Hz and 50Hz. Comparison of Fig. 4.8 and Fig. 4.2 & Fig. 4.10 and Fig. 4.3 indicate that the peak axial and radial eld have now nearly doubled . The magnitude of the eld has increased for the same excitation current in the coils. This implies a reduction in the magnetizing component of the primary excitation. This reduction in magnetizing current is due to appropriate placement of slotted (teeth shaped) structures in the magnetic path. Fig. 4.11 and 4.12 show the variation of induced current density in the metal with the
4.3. Modied Model
49
Coil
High permeability material for providing low reluctance
Flux Path
Aluminium Ingot Fig. 4.6: Flux in the stirrer in the presence of a high permeability material
(a) Finite Element Model
(b) Meshed Model
Fig. 4.7: Modied Model and its mesh
50
radius and along the axis respectively at 10Hz and 50Hz. Comparison of Fig. 4.11 and Fig. 4.4 indicates that the peak value of current density at 50Hz has increased by 40% while at 10Hz the increase is 50%. Fig. 4.13 and 4.14 show the variation of axial force density in the metal along the radius and axis respectively at 10Hz and 50Hz. The increase in axial force is the eect of increase in the radial eld and induced current density. The average axial force as obtained from FEM in this case at 10Hz is 2.3N . It is observed that the force has increased more than double(0.93N for the basic model). At 50Hz the average axial force obtained is 7.67N. It may be noted that the magnitude of forces has now doubled. Thus by providing a low reluctance path to the magnetic ux, higher axial forces have been achieved. It may be also noted that with these additional structures the basic eld pattern is unaected.
4
6 x 10
6 x 10
Axial 4 Field (A/m)

3
Axial 4 Field (A/m) 3
1 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04
0.01
0.02 Radius(m)
0.03
0.04
(b) F=50Hz
Fig. 4.8: Variation of the axial eld in the metal with radius
4.3. Modied Model
51
3x 10
3 x 10
2.5 2
2.5

1
0.5

1 0.5 0 0 0.04
0.04
0.08
0.12
0.16
Z(m) (a) F=10Hz
Z(m)
0.08
0.12
0.16
(b) F=50Hz
Fig. 4.9: Variation of the axial eld in the metal along the length(r=0.03m)
4
3.5 x 10 3 2.5
3.5x 10 3 2.5
Radial
Field (A/m) 1.5

1 0.5 0
Radial 2 Field (A/m) 1.5

1 0.5 0
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
Fig. 4.10: Variation of the radial eld in the metal with radius
52
16 x 10
5
16 x 10
12
12

4

4
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
Fig. 4.11: Variation of the induced current density in the metal with radius
14 x 10
5
14x 10 12 10
12 10
Induced 8 Current Density (A/m2 ) 6

4 2 0
Induced 8 Current Density (A/m2 ) 6

4 2
0.04
0.08
0.12
0.16
0 0 0.04 0.08 0.12 0.16
Z(m) (a) F=10Hz
Z(m) (b) F=50Hz
Fig. 4.12: Variation of the induced current density in the metal along the length(r=0.03m)
4.3. Modied Model
53
7 x 10
7 x 10 6 5
6 5
Axial 4 Force Density 3 (N/m3 )

2 1 0 0
Axial 4 Force Density (N/m3 )
2 1 0 0.01 0.03 0.02 Radius(m) 0.04 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04
(a) F=10Hz
Fig. 4.13: Variation of the axial force density in the metal with radius
4
3x 10
3 x 10
2.5 2
2.5 2

1 0.5 0 0

1 0.5 0
0.04
0.08 Z(m)
0.12
0.16
0.04
0.08 Z(m)
0.12
0.16
(a) F=10Hz
(b) F=50Hz
Fig. 4.14: Variation of the axial force density in the metal with length(r=0.03m)
54
4.4
Mechanical and Thermal Design
Mechanical and thermal design involved in the design of electromagnetic stirrers is challenging as molten metal(temperature as high as 700o C) is processed. The mechanical assembly houses the coils, the slotted structures and provides path for cooling the coils. It integrates the stirrer with the furnace on the top and DC casting machine at the bottom. The coils carry hundreds of ampere current which results in I 2 R loss. This loss reects as heat in the coil. Also, due to radiation of heat from the molten metal, the coil temperature increases. If the cooling requirement is not met, it results in increased resistance of the coils. This increased resistance reduces the excitation current, which directly aects the force. The thermal design should ensure that the coils are adequately cooled.
4.5
Experimental Results
Fig. 4.15 shows the two pole linear stirrer. Fig. 4.16 shows view of the coil assembly with slotted structures. The parameters of the stirrer are listed in table 4.2. The coils are insulated using Kapton which can withstand temperatures upto 200o C. The coils are individually cooled through pipes(Fig. 4.16) which are connected to main water inlet(Fig. 4.15). The slotted structures are made of soft mild steel of high permeability. Table 4.2: Scaled Down Stirrer Parameters Coil Radius Axial Length of the slotted structures, Billet No. of turns Billet Radius Frequency Excitation Current r of Aluminium for aluminium(Room Temperature) 42mm 160mm 10 8mm to 37.5mm 10, 50 Hz Upto 200A R.M.S 1 3.8e7 Sm1
4.5. Experimental Results
55
Fig. 4.15: Two Pole Linear Stirrer scaled down model
56
Coil Terminals Water pipe for cooling coil
Coil Slotted Structure
Fig. 4.16: Coil Assembly
57
415V, 3, 50Hz Input Rectier
Stirrer
Inverter Output Transformer 415V /16V, 3, 10Hz
Fig. 4.17: Block Diagram of Excitation System for the Stirrer Fig. 4.17 shows the block diagram of the excitation system for the stirrer. A DSP controlled inverter is used to vary the frequency of excitation to the stirrer. Fig. 4.18 shows the schematic view of the experimental setup for measuring the electromagnetic force on aluminium billets. Aluminium billets of various diameters were hung Weighing Balance Table
Aluminium Billet
Stirrer
Fig. 4.18: Schematic of the experimental Setup for measuring force on Aluminium Billets from a weighing balance and change in weight is used to calculate the average axial electromagnetic force when the stirrer is excited by three phase currents. The direction of force can be reversed by changing the phase sequence of the excitation. In pulling mode, the
58
electromagnetic force assists the gravity and this is seen as increase in weight in the balance. In the levitation mode, the electromagnetic force acts in a direction opposite to the gravity and this is seen a reduction in the net weight in the balance. Fig. 4.19 shows the variation of average axial force density with excitation current for billets of dierent diameters at 50Hz. It can be observed that the axial force density is proportional to the square the excitation current.
F=50Hz
50
40
d=75.7mm d=63.25mm
Average Axial Force Density (kN/m3 ) 20
30
d=57mm d=45mm d=36mm d=25.5mm
10
d=16mm
0 50 100 150 200 250
Excitation Current (A)
Fig. 4.19: Experimental Results of Axial Force density variation with excitation current for dierent aluminium billet diameters Fig. 4.20 shows the variation of axial force density for dierent billet diameters at an excitation current of 100A at 50Hz. The axial force density may be approximated to be proportional to the square of the radius. It also compares with the result as obtained from the FEM model. The results are matching with a maximum error of 20%. The material properties and its mesh inuence the results of FEM in a strong manner. The return paths used to provide low reluctance path has a strong inuence the gross force. With smaller mesh and better knowledge of material properties this dierence between experimental and numerical result can be reduced. From Fig. 4.13 it was observed that the force eld is concentrated at the periphery and
59
50 40 30
I=200A, 50Hz
Average Axial Force Density 20 (kN/m3 )

10 0 0 20 40 60 80
Experimental Simulation
Billet Diameter (mm)
Fig. 4.20: Experimental and Numerical Results of Axial Force density variation with aluminium billets of dierent diameters
100.00 80.00 60.00
F=50Hz
OD-72.9mm, ID-62mm
Average Axial Force Density (kN/m3 ) 40.00

20.00 0.00 50 100 150 200
OD-59.8mm, ID-41.2mm
OD-48.5mm, ID-37.1mm
Fig. 4.21: Experimental Results of Axial Force density variation with excitation in hollow aluminium billets is zero at the center. Forces on hollow aluminium billets having dierent inner and outer diameters are measured to estimate force concentration over a section of radius. Fig. 4.21
60
shows the variation of average axial force density with excitation current on dierent hollow Al billets. It is observed for a solid aluminium billet with a diameter of 75.7mm, the average axial force density to be 11.4 kN/m3 at an excitation current of 100A. For the same excitation current in case of a hollow aluminium billet, with OD 72.9mm and ID 62mm, it seen that the axial force density is 21kN/m3 . This result reveals that the axial force density is concentrated at the periphery of the metal and decreases to zero at the centre. Fig. 4.22 shows the variation of axial force density with the excitation frequency. At low frequencies (<20Hz), the axial force is proportional to the frequency. This is because at low frequencies, the radial eld in nearly constant and the induced current density is proportional to the frequency. Higher the frequency(<50Hz), higher is the axial force, weaker the eld penetration in the metal. At higher frequencies(>20Hz), where skin depth is much less than the radius of the ingot, the axial force density saturates.
I=100A, D=63.35mm 10 8 Axial Force Density (kN/m3 ) 2 0 0 10 30 40 20 Excitation Frequency (Hz) 50 6
Experimental
Simulation
Fig. 4.22: Experimental and Numerical Results of Axial Force density variation with excitation frequency A low melting alloy - IndAlloy (47o C) was made by mixing Indium, Lead, Bismuth, tin in right proportions. This resistivity of this alloy is fteen times higher than that of aluminium at room temperature. Accordingly, we expect the forces to be lower when compared to aluminium for the same excitation. Fig. 4.23 shows the force variation with excitation when
61
alloy is in solid and liquid state. It can be observed that the force variation pattern is unchanged. However, it is seen that the axial force measured is higher when the alloy
F=50Hz, D=60mm
2.5
2
1.5
Average Axial Force (N)
Soild
Liquid
0.5
0 0 50 100 150 200 250
Fig. 4.23: Experimental result of axial force variation with excitation current in IndAlloy
is in solid state than in the liquid state.This is because, when the alloy is in liquid state, the liquid is set into convection by the electromagnetic force. When the liquid is set into motion, the liquid velocity eld and the traveling magnetic eld interact and generate an emf. This motionally induced emf opposes the applied voltage which results in reduction of the excitation current. The reduction in current is reected as decrease in the measured force. Fig. 4.24 shows the variation of the axial force with excitation for various ratios of solid to liquid height. It can be observed as the liquid height is increased, the force measured is reduced due to the reason explained above. This result is quite important. It will be useful in estimating the height of the solid/liquid boundary in the freezing metal, through measurements of currents.
62
D=60mm, I=200A, F=50Hz

2.5 2 1.5
Average Axial 1 Force (N)

0.5 0 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Liquid
Solid
Percentage of Solid Height
Fig. 4.24: Experimental result of axial force variation in IndAlloy with percentage of solid height
4.6
Full Scale Model
The scaled down model serves as a starting step towards building a full scale model. As molten aluminum is processed which is at temperatures of the order of 700o C, adequate protection should be taken to avoid any contact with water. Also the heat ux radiating from the molten metal should be minimized. Taking into account all these factors a 2-pole and 4-pole linear stirrers have been designed and is under fabrication. Fig. 4.25 and 4.26 show the full scale 2-pole and 4-pole linear stirrer. Evaluation of the full scale model is being done but not in the scope of this thesis.
4.6. Full Scale Model
63
Fig. 4.25: Two pole full scale stirrer
64
Fig. 4.26: Four pole full scale stirrer
4.7. Conclusion
65
4.7
Conclusion
In this chapter numerical analysis based on nite element and experimental results were presented. FEM results on basic model is compared with those obtained from analytical model. FEM model is then used to make suitable modications in the magnetic circuit to enhance the stirrer performance. Results obtained from the numerical model on the modied model are presented. Finally, experimental results on a scaled down prototype are presented. From the experimental results obtained, we conclude that The axial force density for a given radius is proportional to the square of the excitation current. The axial force density for a given current is proportional to the square of the radius. At low frequencies (20Hz), the axial force density is proportional to the frequency. ingot, the axial force density saturates. The pilot model has validated the analytical as well as numerical results to a reasonable degree of accuracy. It is possible to extend the design to full scale to handle ingots upto a diameter of 100mm. The evaluation of the full scale model is beyond the scope of this thesis. At higher frequencies(>20Hz), where skin depth is much less than the radius of the
Chapter 5 Conclusion
In this thesis an attempt has been made to cover the design, fabrication and evaluation aspects involved in a linear stirrer suitable for manufacturing semi-solid aluminium alloys. The design problem is simplied to obtain an analytical model which provides approximate solutions of the electromagnetic elds. The electromagnetic eld is also evaluated through a nite-element model(FEM) taking into account the actual electro-magnetic circuit. The approximate analytical solution serves as a check for the correctness of the FEM model. Suitable modications are made in the magnetic circuit to obtain higher axial forces and validated using FEM. Further, a scaled model of the stirrer is fabricated to verify the results of the FEM analysis. The contributions made in the thesis are: Development of an analytical model for solving the electromagnetic eld problem. Such a model serves as a starting iteration in the design of the stirrer. Evaluation of eld through FEM and its validation by comparison with the analytical model. Enhancing the stirrer performance (orientation of the eld and magnitude of the forces) through modications in the magnetic circuit and its validation through FEM. Validation of the analytical and FEM results through experiments on a pilot scale model. Fabrication of a full scale model based on experimental results obtained. Evaluation of the full scale model is being done but not in the scope of this thesis. 66
67 Based on the analysis and experimental results we conclude that When three phase excitation is given to the space displaced coils a traveling magnetic eld is established. This magnetic eld is proportional to the excitation current. The penetration of the eld in the metal depends on the material resistivity and permeability and frequency. However, above the curie temperature the relative permeability can be assumed to be unity. The magnetic eld has two components -axial and radial. At low frequencies(20Hz), the axial eld is constant along the radius and the radial eld is varying linearly with radius. The induced current density in the metal is mainly due to varying axial eld. At low frequencies (20Hz), the induced current density varies linearly with the radius as well as the frequency. The forces are due to interaction of magnetic eld and induced current in the metal.
The force has two components, axial and radial. The axial forces average in the direction of phase sequence while the radial forces average to zero. The axial force at low frequencies (20Hz) can be approximated as proportional to square of the excitation current and radius & proportional to the frequency.
The thesis demonstrates that it is possible to obtain the required force densities (> 8kN/m3 ) with reasonable currents(< 200A) and dimensions (coil diameter-100mm).
References
[1] Flemings M. C., Behavior of metal alloys in the semisolid state , Metallurgical Transactions, 22B, pp. 269-293, 1991. [2] Flemings M. C., Solidication Processing , McGraw-Hill, 1974. [3] A. E. Fitzgerald, C. Kingsley and S. D. Umans, Electrical Machinery , McGraw-Hill, 1992. [4] M. V. K. Chari and S. J. Salon, Numerical Methods in Electromagnetism , Academic Press, 2000. [5] A. G. Warren, Mathematics Applied to Electrical engineering , Chapman and Hall, 1942. [6] MagNet, Getting Started Guide, Infolytica Corporation, 2004. [7] Arvind Kumar, Numerical Modelling of Transport Phenomena in DC Casting of Nondendritic Billets , M.Sc(Engg.) Thesis, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, March 2003.
Publications
1. Milind and V.Ramanarayanan, Design and Analysis of a Linear Type Electromagnetic Stirrer Conference Record of the 2004 IEEE, 39th IAS Annual Meeting, Industry Applications Conference, Volume: 1, pp.188-194, 3-7 Oct. 2004, Seattle, USA. 2. B.K. Singh, Milind, Rijil Ramchand and V. Ramanarayanan Design of Electromagnetic Stirrer in National Power Electronic Conference, NPEC 2003, IIT Bombay, INDIA.
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EMS8 Milind Thesis

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Linear Electromagnetic Stirrer

A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of

A C B A C Solid Liquid Interface B Chiller Ingot Three Phase Coils

Fig. 0.1: Structure of a 2-pole Linear Electromagnetic Stirrer

Forging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Semi Solid Forming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

vi 2 Electromagnetic Stirring 2.1 2.2 2.3

Issues and challenges associated with the design of Electromagnetic Stirrers .

4 Numerical Analysis and Experimental Results 4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5 Conclusion References Publications

1.3. Processing of Aluminium Casting Forging Semi-Solid Forming

Fig. 1.1: DC casting Unit

1.3. Processing of Aluminium 1.3.1.3 Advantages and disadvantages of casting

6 1.3.2.1 Advantages and disadvantages of forging

improved metallurgical properties. The forging process produces directional alignment

Semi Solid Forming

1.3. Processing of Aluminium

Stages in a SSF process

Al Billet (Dendritic Microstructure)

Electromagnetic Stirring during Casting (Globular Microstructure)

Billets reheated to form Semi-Solid Slugs (Globular Microstructure)

8 1.3.3.2 Advantages and Disadvantages of SSF

Solidication with stirring

1.4. Solidication with stirring

Scope of the Thesis

1.7. Organization of the thesis

Organization of the thesis

Chapter 2 Electromagnetic Stirring

The Magnetohydrodynamic Phenomenon

2.3. Electromagnetic Stirring equations dened by the following: E = E + v B H =J H E = o t J = (E + v B ) B =0 J =0

(2.1) (2.2) (2.3) (2.4) (2.5) (2.6)

Chapter 2. Electromagnetic Stirring

Coils Molten Metal

Fig. 2.2: Linear Stirrer

Issues and challenges associated with the design of Electromagnetic Stirrers

Chapter 3 Linear Stirrer: Analysis and Modeling

3.2. Principle of Working Metal Pool

A C B A C Solid Liquid Interface B Chiller Ingot Three Phase Coils

Fig. 3.1: Structure of a 2-pole Linear Electromagnetic Stirrer

Fig. 3.2: Mechanism of grain multiplication during stirring

Chapter 3. Linear Stirrer: Analysis and Modeling

Fig. 3.3: Phasor notation of currents

Current Sheet Concept

3.4. Current Sheet Concept

Field due to a circular coil carrying current

2RRp cos + (Zp Z )2 ] 2 (Z Zp ) cos d

2 + R2 2RR cos + (Z Z )2 ] 2 [Rp p p

Field due to a Solenoid

Chapter 3. Linear Stirrer: Analysis and Modeling

Jp A/m Fig. 3.6: Solenoid excited by a current sheet of Jz A/m

3.4. Current Sheet Concept

2RRp cos + (Zp Z )2 ] 2

2 + R2 2RR cos + (Z Z )2 ] 2 [Rp p p

Hz (Zp , 0.0) Hz (Zp , 0.03) Hr (Zp , 0.0) Hr (Zp , 0.03)

Fig. 3.7: Axial and Radial eld due to a Solenoid

Chapter 3. Linear Stirrer: Analysis and Modeling

Hz (Zp , 0.0) Hz (Zp , 0.03) Hr (Zp , 0.0)

Hr (Zp , 0.03) -33.33

3.4. Current Sheet Concept

Hz (Zp , 0.0) 33.33 Hz (Zp , 0.03) Hr (Zp , 0.0) Hr (Zp , 0.03)

2 + R2 2RR cos + (Z Z )2 ] 2 [Rp p p

24 RJ H r (Z p , R p , t) = 4 Sample Field Calculations

Chapter 3. Linear Stirrer: Analysis and Modeling

2 + R2 2RR cos + (Z Z )2 ] 2 [Rp p p