Magnetic field-induced variation of solid/liquid interfacial energy of solid Al2Cu and Al-Cu eutectic melt

Abstract

We investigated the effect of static magnetic field (SMF) on interfacial energy of solid Al2Cu and eutectic melt both by dihedral angle and grain boundary groove method. To uncover the effect of SMF on the interfacial energy, its values were determined and calculated based on the morphologies of dihedral angles and grain boundary grooves. A variation of solid/liquid interfacial energy with SMF up to a factor of three was found experimentally. We found that the solid/liquid interfacial energy experienced a declined trend with increasing SMF under both cases. While in grain boundary groove method, the dramatic decrease of solid/liquid interfacial energy with 0.5 T magnetic field was owning to thermoelectric magnetic convection at the scale of sample. At a high intensity (12 T), thermoelectric magnetic convection at the scale of grain boundary groove and thermoelectric magnetic force in solid were supposed to be responsible for the slight increase of solid/liquid interfacial energy. Determined by two methods, the decreased intrinsic solid/liquid interfacial energy was explained with the magnetic dipole theory and structural ordering based on Ewing’s model. We clarified some conflicting and ambiguous experimental phenomena in magnetic field-induced solid/liquid interfacial energy variation. This study provides consolidate evidence that the SMF is capable of affecting the solid/liquid interface energy.