Detection of the liquid–liquid transitions in superalloys melts upon overheating and relaxation by the electromagnetic method

Among numerous melt structure model representations, the most relevant for liquid heat-resistant nickel alloys description is the quasicrystalline model of a microinhomogeneous structure, in which it is assumed that multicomponent nickel melts consist of clusters and intercluster space. Clusters inherit the short-range order of the atomic structure from various phases of the initial solid metal crystalline structure. Heating the melt to a certain temperature and/or increasing a period of its isothermal holding at constant pressure led to a second-order phase liquid–liquid phase transition (LLT). As a result, atomic associations that are more balanced and uniformly distributed over the melt volume are formed. Structural changes in nickel superalloy melts are irreversible and have a significant effect on the formation of the structure and properties of a solid metal during crystallization. Structural LLT changes in multicomponent nickel melts are the basis for a scientific substantiation of the technological modes of smelting, which contributes to an improvement in the technological properties of melts, a reduction of metallurgical defects, a rational use of expensive elements and foundry waste, as well as a significant improvement in the quality of metal products. This work is devoted to the experimental determination of the LLT transition in superalloy melts by the noninvasive electromagnetic method.