Application of non-equilibrium dendrite growth model considering thermo-kinetic correlation in twin-roll casting

Abstract

Upon non-equilibrium solidifications, dendrite growth, generally as precursor of as-solidified structures, has severe effects on subsequent phase transformations. Considering synergy of thermodynamics and kinetics controlling interface migration and following conservation of heat flux in solid temperature field, a more flexible modeling for the dendrite growth is herein developed for multi-component alloys, where, two inherent problems, i.e. correlation between thermodynamics and kinetics (i.e. the thermo-kinetic correlation), and theoretical connection between dendrite growth model and practical processing, have been successfully solved. Accordingly, both the thermodynamic driving force ΔG and the effective kinetic energy barrier Qeff have been found to control quantitatively the dendrite growth (i.e. especially the growth velocity, V), as reflected by the thermo-kinetic trade-off. Compared with previous models, it is the thermo-kinetic correlation that guarantees quantitative connection between the practical processing parameters and the current theoretical framework, as well as more reasonable description for kinetic behaviors involved. Applied to the vertical twin-roll casting (VTC), the present model, realizes a good prediction for kissing points, which influences significantly alloy design and processing optimization. This work deduces quantitatively the thermo-kinetic correlation controlling the dendrite growth, and by proposing the parameter-triplets (i.e. ΔG - Qeff - V), further opens a new beginning for connecting solidification theories with industrial applications, such as the VTC.