Electromagnetic stirring (EMS) in continuous upcasting of copper and copper alloys

Abstract

The objective of this study was to test the influence of electromagnetic melt stirring (EMS) on the resulting grain structure of pure copper and copper alloys. As this study was a continuation of the earlier mechanical stirring experiments, the experiments were carried out in two stages. The results from the first experiments are very close to the results obtained in the mechanical stirring experiments. The cooling rate dominates the grain growth. With pure copper only a small area was refined whereas DHP copper and brass were affected by the EMS so that almost the whole batch was refined. The results of the second set of experiments corresponded very well to the results of the first experiments. It seems that the upcasting cooler is by far too efficient to get refined structure with pure copper and only little alloyed DHP. In the case of brass, due to the composition and solidification type of molten metal, the EMS works well. /Kir10