Rotating Directional Solidification of Ternary Eutectic Microstructures in Bi-In-Sn: A Phase-Field Study.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Computational Materials Science

Background:

• Directional solidification is crucial for controlling microstructure in alloys.
• Rotating directional solidification offers enhanced control but is complex to simulate.
• The ternary eutectic system Bi-In-Sn provides a well-characterized model for studying solidification phenomena.

Purpose of the Study:

• To simulate rotating directional solidification using a novel phase-field model.
• To investigate the microstructural evolution in the Bi-In-Sn system under rotating directional solidification.
• To validate the simulation method against experimental data and theoretical analysis.

Main Methods:

• Development of a grand-potential-based phase-field model.
• Introduction of a new simulation setup with a rotating temperature field.
• Two-dimensional simulations of both directional and rotating directional solidification for the Bi-In-Sn system.

Main Results:

• Successful simulation of the αβ αδ phase ordering in the Bi-In-Sn system.
• Observation of tilted lamellae, consistent with experimental findings, due to interfacial energy anisotropy.
• Validation of simulation results using Jackson-Hunt analysis and comparison with experimental data.

Conclusions:

• The developed phase-field model and simulation setup are effective for studying rotating directional solidification.
• The model accurately captures microstructural features like tilted lamellae, highlighting the role of anisotropy.
• This approach offers a precise tool for investigating complex solidification processes.