Casting
Commercial and non-commercial casting and solidification codes often include databases of alloy specific properties for certain specific alloys for which data are available. However, for in-house alloys, specific alloy chemistries and particularly alloys under development, these alloys would not be included in those databases. In such cases, tools such as Thermo-Calc can be used to predict properties that can be used as user-inputs into these codes.
Some examples include:
Thermo-Calc
- Solidus and liquidus temperatures
- Fraction solid curves (under equilibrium and non-equilibrium conditions)
- Micro-segregation predicted by Scheil solidification simulations, including partial equilibrium in the liquid and solid for elements identified by the user as fast-diffusers | Example Calculation
- Latent and specific heat
- Cp and apparent Cp
- With databases that include molar volume data, both density and relative length change can be predicted
- Thermal expansivity
Diffusion module (DICTRA)
- Micro-segregation during solidification as a function of cooling rate (Thermo-Calc calculations based on Scheil do not consider cooling rates)