Abstract
The solidification experiments of Al-2.8 wt.% Cu alloy were conducted under both microgravity and normal gravity conditions by using a 50-m-high drop tube. The solidification microstructure and element distribution were analyzed by using OM, EBSD and EPMA. Columnar dendrites were found growing epitaxially from the seeds during solidification under both microgravity and normal gravity conditions. Comparatively, the primary dendrite spacing and secondary dendrite spacing formed under microgravity condition were smaller, and the deviation angle between growth direction and the preferred crystal orientation < 001 > was smaller. Cu content in the center region of 1g sample is always higher than that of μg sample, and shows a characteristic of high in the middle and low at the edges along radial directions. While the Cu content in μg sample seems to display an opposite trend in the distribution along radial directions, and has a smaller wave amplitude. Microsegregation of Cu exists in both 1g sample and μg sample, and basically presents a gradually decreasing trend with the increase of solidification distance. Nevertheless, the degree of microsegregation in μg sample is always lower. The above results suggest that under normal gravity condition, Cu element had a trend to enrich to central area under the effect of convection, and therefore, might contribute to enlarge dendrite spacing and increase microsegregation in that area.
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taken from the epitaxial growth area near the center of samples and next to the remelting interfaces. The Y0 direction of the inverse pole figure is parallel to the direction of epitaxial growth
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This research was supported by the China manned space engineering (TGJZ800-2-RW024).
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Kong, Y., Luo, X., Li, Y. et al. Gravity-induced Solidification Segregation and Its Effect On Dendrite Growth in Al-2.8 Wt.% Cu Alloy. Microgravity Sci. Technol. 33, 72 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12217-021-09913-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12217-021-09913-4