Research on solidification structure refinement of pure aluminum by electric current pulse with parallel electrodes

The influence of electric current pulse (ECP) with parallel electrodes on the solidification structure of pure aluminum has been investigated. The experimental results indicate that the solidification structure cannot be refined when the ECP is applied before the molten metal starts nucleating. However, significant refinement of the solidification structure can be achieved by applying ECP during the nucleation stage. In addition, under the same cooling conditions, ECP with parallel electrodes has better refinement effect than ECP with up–down electrodes. The refinement mechanism of ECP with parallel electrodes has also been proposed.