Settling velocity of equiaxed dendrites in a tube

The settling velocity of equiaxed dendrites can cause macrosegregation and influence the structure of the equiaxed zone during the casting solidification process. So an understanding of the settling characteristics is needed to predict the structure and segregation in castings. The settling velocity of NH₄Cl equiaxed dendrites of non-spherical geometry was studied experimentally in an NH₄Cl-70wt.%H₂O solution. A calculation formula was proposed to calculate the settling velocity of sediment equiaxed dendrites in a tube filling with saturated solution at a moderate Reynolds number region. The retardation effects of wall and morphology of the equiaxed dendrite on the settling velocity were taken into account in the development of the calculation formula, and the correction function B of drag coefficient with consideration of the retardation effects of wall and morphology of the equiaxed dendrite on the settling velocity of the equiaxed dendrite was calibrated according to the experimental results. A comparison showed that the formula has a good accordance with the experimental results.