Experimental study of radial segregation caused by weak convection

Abstract

Under conditions of weak convection in the liquid during metal solidification and crystal growth, large chemical inhomogeneities can occur due to insufficient mixing of the melt. In this project a series of experiments with increasing melt flow, driven by thermo-capillary forces, have been performed in a Get Away Special flight. The level of convection was evaluated quantitatively from analysis of axial segregation profiles. As expected a significantly stronger radial segregation has occurred in the space grown material compared to ground based reference experiments. It was also found that there was a shift of the position of maximum concentration when the flow was increased. Unexpected axial solute maxima were also revealed in the space samples. A comparison was made to numerical simulations, and good correlations were found to first order effects.