On-line prediction of aluminum-silicon eutectic modification level using thermal analysis

Most contemporary evaluations of silicon modification level(ML) are done ac cording to a specific scale based on an American Foundry Society (AFS) stan dard chart in aluminum-silicon casting. The structures depicted in the char t do not always resemble those seen in actual castings. Therefore, this pro cedure is subjective and can introduce bias into comparative metallographic analyses. Thermal analysis (TA) that incorporates image analysis algorithm s can be a powerful on-line tool for estimating the degree of silicon modif ication in cast test samples. The aim of this work is to establish a method ology for the on-line quantitative control of aluminum-silicon ML using TA. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.