Investigation of the features of crystallization of granules of high-strength aluminum alloys of the Al-Zn-Mg-Cu system at ultra-high cooling rates

The article presents the results of studies of the process of obtaining granular materials from high-strength aluminum alloys of the Al - Zn - Mg - Cu system by centrifugation of the melt with ultra-high cooling rates of granules. The concept of a «steam jacket» is introduced, namely, a steam layer that occurs between the granule body and the cooling liquid, which prevents the intensity of heat removal and is an obstacle to increasing the crystallization rate due to the lower thermal conductivity of water vapor. It is established that the formation of a vapor layer always occurs due to the heating of the cooling liquid in contact with the melt drop to boiling temperatures and the transition of the cooler from the liquid phase to steam. The technology of increasing the rate of crystallization of granules due to the constant removal of the vapor layer is proposed. The removal (knocking down) of the vapor shell that occurs around the drop occurs due to the high speed of the drop movement in the cooling medium. Fundamentally important in the industrial implementation of this technology is not so much the design of the device for obtaining pellets by centrifugation of the melt, namely, the high required rotation speed of the spraying crucible of the device under consideration. The results of experimental data are presented to determine the necessary rotation speed of the perforated cup, which ensures the creation of a sufficient initial velocity of the drop movement, leading to a constant churning of the «steam jacket». It is determined that an increase in the rates of heat removal from the crystallized granules and, as a result, an increase in the crystallization rate leads to an increase in the strength characteristics of granular aluminum alloys of the Al-Zn-Mg-Cu system. In particular, in the production of pressed semi-finished products from alloys of the Al-Zn-Mg-Cu system, such as B95, B96c. the increase in the strength characteristics of the material of the press products is up to 15 % compared to the same granular materials obtained by traditional methods with industrial crystallization rates of melt droplets. It is established that this method, based on the removal of the vapor layer around the formed granule, is the only possible one for further increasing the cooling rate and, as a result, the crystallization rate. Reducing the size of granules to the size of powders leads to serious technological problems in the further consolidation of granules and, in fact, is a dead end branch of the further development of granulation methods.