Competitive dendrite growth during directional solidification of a transparent alloy: Modeling and experiment

A two-dimensional (2-D) cellular automaton-finite difference method (CA-FDM) model and in situ observation experiments of directional solidification using a transparent alloy of SCN-2wt.% ACE are employed to investigate various microstructural evolution of columnar dendrites during directional solidification. In the present model, the growth of columnar dendrites is simulated using a CA technique. The solute diffusion is solved using the FDM. The model is capable of visualizing the interaction between the formation of dendrite arrays with identical or different growth orientations, and the evolving solute concentration field. Several dendritic competitive growth modes between two converging and diverging dendrite arrays are reproduced. The simulation results agree well with the experimental observations. The simulations are also performed to study the effects of temperature gradient and cooling rate on the growth morphology of diverging dendrites. It is found that with the increase of temperature gradient and cooling rate, the tertiary branches produced from the well-developed side branches of the unfavorably oriented grain at the divergent grain boundaries are more likely to become the new primary dendrite arms.