Overflowing phenomenon during ultrasonic treatment in Al-Si alloys

At the late stage of solidification with ultrasonic treatment (UST) in Al-Si alloys, a part of semisolid overflows and climbs along the probe. The interesting phenomenon and its influence on the solidification microstructure were investigated in order to better study the mechanism of UST. It is considered that the overflowing phenomenon occurs due to the changes of vibration and flow in the remaining semisolid. Because the overflowed portion comes from the region with intense UST effect and vibrates with the probe during solidification, great modification of primary and eutectic Si (about 10 μm in length) and refinement of primary α(Al) (about 70 μm in size) are observed in this portion.