Objective: Increase the accuracy of thermophysical property data for solidification
processing.

Background: The evolution of fraction solid and density during solidification is
required for the analysis and design of materials processing and industrial application.
Applications include the elimination of shrinkage voids, microporosity, and
macrosegregation in the aluminum, steel, and metalcasting industries.

Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC)
A heat transfer model has been developed to account for thermal lags in the DSC
system. The model parameters are time constants associated with appropriate heat
transfer mechanism among the key system components.

Dilatometer
The new sample holder was designed such that a uniform heat flux distribution is
attained with minimal modifications made to the rest of the dilatometer. The new
design will decrease the experiment time by a factor of ten.

Industrial support
ProCAST, Inc.
Flow Science, Inc.
Howmet Research Corp.
Ford Motor Co.
Netzsch Instruments, Inc.

Collaborators
Frankel, J.I., Keyhani, M., Baker, A.J. - University of Tennessee, Knoxville

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Acknowledgements: Industrial Materials for the Future (IMF), Industrial Technologies Program,
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy.