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During ground-based solidification, buoyancy flow can develop by the density difference in the hypoeutectic type of the alloys, such as Al-7 wt% Si alloy. Buoyancy flow can affect the thermal field, solute distribution in the melt, and the position and amount of the new grains. As solidification is a very complex process, it is not very easy to separate the different effects. Under microgravity conditions, natural convection does not exist or is strongly damped due to the absence of the buoyancy force. Therefore, experiments in microgravity conditions provide unique benchmark data for pure diffusive solidification conditions. Compared to the results of the ground-based and microgravity experiments, it is possible to get information on the effect of gravity (buoyancy force). In the framework of the CETSOL project, four microgravity solidification experiments were performed on grain refined (GF) and non-grain refined Al-7 wt% Si alloy onboard the International Space Station in the Materials Science Laboratory. These experiments aimed to study the effect of the solidification parameters (solid/liquid front velocity vSL, temperature gradient GSL) on the grain structure and dendritic microstructures. The microgravity environment eliminates the melt flow, which develops on Earth due to gravity. Four ground-based (GB) experiments were performed under Earth-like conditions with the same (similar) solidification parameters in a vertical Bridgman-type furnace having four heating zones. The detailed analysis of the grain structure, amount of eutectic, and secondary dendrite arm spacing (SDAS) for different process conditions is reported and compared with the results of the microgravity experiments. GB experiments showed that the microstructure was columnar in the samples that do not contain GF material or in case the solid/liquid (vSL front velocity was slow (0.02 mm/s)). In contrast, in the sample which contained GF material, progressive columnar/equiaxed transition (PCET) was observed at vSL = 0.077 mm/s and GSL = 3.9 K/mm. The secondary (SDAS) dendrite arm spacing follows the well-known power law, S D A S = K [ t 0 ] 1 3 , where K is a constant, and t0 is the local solidification time for both GB and µg experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the solidification of hypoeutectic Al–7% Si alloy, density differences develop in the melt due to variations in concentration and temperature. On Earth, melt flow can occur due to gravity, which then affects the solidification process. The microgravity environment strongly eliminates convection in the melt and allows investigation of the solidification process in purely diffusive circumstances. In this study, four solidification experiments were performed on grain-refined and non-grain-refined Al–7 wt% Si alloy on-board the International Space Station (ISS) in the Materials Science Lab (MSL) to study the effect of solidification parameters (solid/liquid front velocity (v) and temperature gradient (G)) on the grain structure and dendritic microstructure. The grain structure has been analyzed in detail in some earlier studies. The aim of this work was to carry out detailed analysis of the macrosegregation caused by the diffusion of Si from the initial mushy zone during the homogenization step and the subsequent solidification phase of the experiments as well as the correlated distribution of eutectic along the solidification direction. The secondary dendrite arm spacing (SDAS) for different process conditions was also studied. For these two issues, microgravity experimental results were compared to simulation results. The macrosegregation was calculated by the finite difference method. Because the steady-state solidification conditions were never reached, the solidification process was characterized by the average front velocity and temperature gradient. Considering the actual liquidus temperature (TL) caused by macrosegregation, the SDAS was calculated as a function of the average processing parameters and the actual liquidus temperature with the classical Kirkwood's equation. As a result, good agreement was obtained between the calculated and measured SDAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• In-situ investigation of solidification of hypereutectic Al-18 wt%Si-10 wt%Cu alloy. • Growth of primary Si particles for different cooling rates. • Simultaneous growth of mixed equiaxed and columnar Al dendrites. The solidification behavior of hypereutectic Al-18 wt%Si-10 wt%Cu alloy was investigated using in-situ X-ray radiography. Sheet-like samples were solidified both under isothermal cooling conditions and in a moderate temperature gradient with different process parameters. The real-time observation method allows for the investigation of the growth of faceted primary Si particles and non-faceted Al dendrites. Cooling down below the liquidus temperature, firstly primary silicon particles nucleate and grow. At low cooling rates just a few Si particles nucleate and grow continuously to large sizes, whereas at higher cooling rates a larger number of smaller Si particles appear. As cooling continues below the nucleation temperature of aluminium, simultaneous growth of both columnar and equiaxed Al dendrites in the melt surrounding the primary Si particles was observed. In-situ observation as well as post-mortem analysis of the solidification morphology demonstrated that nucleation and growth of Al dendrites in the melt was nearly independent of existing Si particles and no indication was found that the Al phase starts growing from the surface of Si particles. The growth of the equiaxed Al dendrites can be explained by the thermal undercooling controlled by the application of a constant and continuous cooling, but the reason for the fast growing columnar Al dendrites in an isothermal melt is still not clear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The onset and evolution of cellular patterns at the solid-liquid interface were investigated in directional solidification. A bulk sample of the diluted transparent alloy succinonitrile-acetone was used and the experiments were carried out under diffusive conditions onboard a Space Shuttle mission. The experimental parameters and material properties were selected to cause a supercritical planar-to-cellular transition to small-amplitude cells. Distributions of cell spacings and cell neighbors were determined from CCD images as a function of time. In the steady-state regime, a hexagonal arrangement on the interface with approximately 50 pct defects was found. The average cell spacing of 210 µm was compared to different models, of which the Lu/Hunt model concurred best. A minimal-spanning-tree analysis was carried out to examine the disorder of the cellular patterns as a function of time. The resulting order parameters were compared to those of reference patterns generated from Monte-Carlo simulations. In these simulations cellular organization is often modeled by planar lattices disturbed with Gaussian noise. We have extended this model by the constraint of a minimum distance between the lattice points in analogue to the experimentally found distinct minimum spacings. With this new inhibition model, enhanced quantitative agreement with the experimental cellular patterns was found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Microgravity experiments yield nucleation and kinetic parameters. • Neopentylglycol-Camphor shows a change in growth orientation. • Composition effects on interface properties are discussed. We investigate the effect of composition of hypoeutectic Neopentylglycol-(D)Camphor (NPG-DC) alloy on nucleation and microstructure kinetics during alloy solidification in low gravity conditions without convection and buoyancy effects. Two alloys with compositions of 0.2 and 0.3 wt-frac. DC have been solidified in a small thermal gradient to obtain equiaxed dendritic microstructures with different crystallographic growth orientation. In-situ optical and thermal characterization in the transparent material provided evolution of equiaxed dendrite density, nucleation undercooling, dendrite tip velocity and kinetic law. Significant differences in the results for the two compositions were found, which are discussed in relation to temperature and concentration dependent solid–liquid interfacial properties. For NPG-0.2 wt-frac. DC equiaxed dendrites with 〈 100 〉 crystallographic growth orientation exist which tend to grow faster and fill the liquid volume quicker compared to the NPG-0.3 wt-frac. DC alloy. This behavior hinders nucleation of further dendrites and decreases their final number. In contrast, for NPG-0.3 wt-frac. DC equiaxed dendrites with 〈 111 〉 crystallographic growth orientation nucleate at higher undercooling and the kinetic law indicates smaller dendrite tip velocities correlated to a larger number of dendrites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Multiple Equiaxed Dendrite Interaction (MEDI) experiment was launched on the MASER-13 sounding rocket campaign to investigate polycrystalline equiaxed solidification in the transparent phase change material Neopentylgycol-30wt.%(d)Camphor. This material is of interest as an energy-storage material and as a transparent analogue system of solidification in hypoeutectic metal alloys with a Face Centred Cubic lattice. The liquid sample was cooled under a controlled rate of 0.75 K/min with sufficient time to allow semi-solid conditions to develop under microgravity conditions with the absence of gravity-driven convection. This manuscript provides details on the experimental apparatus and procedures. In addition, the experimental method has been augmented with a numerical model to assist with the characterisation of the essential thermal aspects of the experiment. The model followed a volume-averaging, continuum approach for mushy-zone development. A fast algorithm for computing non-isothermal crystallisation kinetics was applied to the case of binary alloy solidification. To build confidence, a formal numerical verification procedure was performed. The model converged sufficiently with second order accuracy as expected. Application of the model gave close agreement between experimental thermocouple readings and numerical simulation data with a Root Mean Square of 0.2 K for the error. A 2D thermal model is sufficient with a suitable heat loss coefficient at the sample-viewing window boundary. Thermal gradients within the sample and along the growth direction were uniform and approximately 0.3 K/mm. Lateral thermal gradients in the sample ranged from zero at the median plane to 0.3 K/mm at the boundary with the containing structure. However, temperature variation in the lateral direction was predicted to be less than 0.22 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Microgravity results for alloy solidification including grain refinement. • Validated model of grain texture for solidified metallic alloy. • Progressive and sharp columnar to equiaxed transitions modelled. • No requirement for a blocking criterion as used in other models. Columnar and equiaxed structures, which occur during solidification of metallic alloys, influence the texture and properties of castings, welded joints and additively manufactured components. During transient solidification, where grain refiner particles provide the predominant nucleation mechanism, a Columnar to Equiaxed Transition (CET) occurs when conditions that had originally favoured directional columnar growth change to those favouring equiaxed. Constitutional undercooling ahead of the columnar front can permit equiaxed nucleation and growth. By carrying out experiments in microgravity conditions, liquid flows due to thermal and solutal buoyancy effects are suppressed. In these diffusion-controlled conditions, we have observed examples of both sharp (clear) and progressive (gradual) CET. The experimental outcomes, especially the observation of a progressive CET, has highlighted the need for a continuum model that allows for competitive columnar and equiaxed structure development; hence, the Concurrent Columnar to Equiaxed Transition (C2ET) model is proposed. The C2ET is thermally transient and relies on the well-known concept of extended growth for impingement mechanics; thereby, greatly reducing numerical complexity. Importantly, the proposed approach removes the need for a specific equiaxed-blocking criterion, which is often proposed as an essential requirement in other CET models. The C2ET model is validated by four experimental solidification scenarios: two velocity jumps and two thermal-gradient decreases. The velocity jumps induced sharp CETs; whereas, thermal-gradient decreases gave progressive CETs. The C2ET model gave good agreement for the columnar and equiaxed transition zones for both sharp and progressive CET. Results are compared with the classic Hunt model. Unlike Hunt's model, the C2ET model predicted all macrostructure transitions faithfully using a single (or consistent) set of nucleation input parameters across all four scenarios. Since, the same level of grain refinement was used in each experiment, a consistent set of nucleation parameters was expected. The validated approach can enable effective simulation at lower computational cost for industrial processes that rely on a solidification processing step. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Nucleation Progenitor Function (NPF) approach that accounts for the interdependence between nucleation and growth during equiaxed solidification is proposed. An athermal nucleation density distribution, based on undercooling, is identified as a progenitor function. A Kolmogorov statistical approach is applied assuming continuous nucleation and growth conditions. The derived progeny functions describe the (supressed) distribution of actual nucleation events. The approach offers the significant advantage of generating progeny functions for volumetric (3D) data and projected image (2D) data. The main difference between 3D and 2D data in transparent alloy experiments is due to a stereological correction for over-projection. Progeny functions can be analysed to obtain statistical output information, e.g., nucleation counts, average nucleation undercooling and standard deviation. The statistical output data may be calculated in a formative (running) or a summative (final) mode. The NPF kinetics have been incorporated into a transient thermal model of equiaxed solidification. The model has been applied to characterise a microgravity solidification experiment with the transparent alloy system Neopentylgycol-30 wt%(d)Camphor. The model predicted thermal and observed nucleation and growth data with a good level of agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: For the understanding of the formation of microstructures the initial transient, i.e. the very beginning of solidification, is of major relevance. At this stage a complex interaction between the velocity of the solidification front, the concentration pile-up and the temperature gradient takes place. In a Bridgman-Stockbarger furnace directional solidification experiments with binary AlCu 1.3wt.% were performed allowing solidification with a planar solid–liquid interface. The velocity and temperature profile were measured during the experiments, concentration profiles afterwards. In this paper we present experimental results. Parallel to the experimental work numerical simulations based on the model of Coriell et al. were performed and first results are compared to the experiments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]