Magnetically Induced Cavitation for the Dispersion of Particles in Liquid Metals

A contactless excitation of cavitation is possible by superposition of induction heating with a static axial magnetic field. This creates an alternating electromagnetic body force in a liquid metal which in turn produces pressure oscillations. Using this method, the onset of cavitation has been clearly observed in various liquid metals (tin, zinc, aluminum, steel SAE 304) at pressure oscillations in the range of 28…50 kPa. The present study aims to extend the previous work by producing steel metal matrix composites (MMC) and assessing the feasibility of the proposed method for particle dispersion in steel. Stainless steel (SAE 316L) samples with different ceramic inclusions, e.g. TiN, Al2O3, TiB2 as well as others, have been created. It has been demonstrated that the cavitation onset in the liquid steel varies extensively and depends on the cavitation nuclei rather than the strength of acoustic pressure. The microstructure of the produced samples has been analyzed using SEM and EDS.