1998 Volume 38 Issue 2 Pages 157-162
The effects of the wheel surface condition were investigated on solidification behavior and microstructural evolution of Al-Cu eutectic ribbons. The local solidification velocity was controlled by the wheel surface condition which can be changed by either heating the wheel or coating the wheel surface with boron nitride. The origin of inhomogeneities in the Al-Cu eutectic ribbons both through the ribbon thickness and in the transverse plane was also studied. The average cooling rate of the ribbon during eutectic solidification was greatly changed by more than 1 order under the different wheel conditions. The change of the wheel surface condition brought a variety of changes in eutectic growth morphology. It is evident that the control of the wheel surface condition is significantly important in producing the ribbons with controlled microstructures which will guarantee the reliability of the ribbon materials in practical applications.
