A pulsed current was applied on the solidification process of LY12 Al alloy.The effect of discharging voltage of pulsed current on the macrostructures

solute content inside the grain and macro-segregation were studied.The discharge process was as follows:the capacitorhad 80 μF capacitance and the dischargevoltagevaried from 3kV to 7kV.It was found through experiments that

comparing with the sample solidified in the absence of pulsed current

the macrostructures of samples solidified under pulsed current of different discharging voltagewere refined at different degree.The refinement was not always more obviousalong with the increasingof the discharge voltage and there is an optimal voltage.The refinement was most remarkablewhen the discharging voltagewas 5kV.Meanwhile

after treated with pulsed current

the Cu content inside the grain of LY12 Al alloy obviously increased.The macro-segregation ofCu can be restrained effectively and the segregation ratiowas reduced evidently.The mechanism of pulsed currentwas discussed preliminarily.