Abstract: The microstructures of ZL201 alloy slurry prepared by near-liquidus electromagnetic casting(NLEMC), electromagnetic casting(EMC), and near-liquidus casting(NLC) were investigated by means of electron microscopy and image analysis. Mechanical properties of as-cast alloys were determined. The results show that the NLEMC induces a fine, uniform, and equiaxed grain structure with a mean equal-area-circle grain diameter of 32.8μm. The as-cast alloy has a hardness of HV122.8 and a tensile strength of 368MPa. Both of them are better than those of the alloys prepared by EMC and by NLC. The mechanism of grain refinement in the NLEMC alloy slurry was discussed.

Key words: near-liquidus casting, electromagnetic casting, rheocasting