CA-LBM studies on the grain formation process of aluminum alloy under convection

Abstract

A cellular automata-lattice Boltzmann coupled model was established to simulate the grain formation process of aluminum alloy under convection conditions. The influence of flow on crystal grain growth was simulated. Results show that the existence of convection prevents the crystal from growing symmetrically compared with the pure diffusion condition. Moreover, the growth of dendrite at the upstream side is promoted, whereas that at the downstream side is inhibited because of solute segregation. The greater the flow velocity is, the stronger the asymmetry of the grain is. The greater the undercooling is, the greater the dendritic growth driving force is, the faster the dendritic growth is, the dendrite arms coarsen, and the secondary dendrite arms become increasingly developed, thereby increasing the solute concentration at the solid-liquid interface at the tip of the dendrite and aggravating the solute segregation.