Migration of liquid phase from the primary/peritectic interface in a temperature gradient

Abstract

The migration of the liquid droplets from the primary α/peritectic β interface at the peritectic temperature TP has been observed and analyzed in a Sn–Ni peritectic alloy. During the isothermal annealing stage of the interrupted directional solidification, a concentration gradient is established across the liquid droplets along the direction of the temperature gradient due to the temperature gradient zone melting. Simultaneous remelting/resolidification at the top/bottom of the liquid droplets by this concentration gradient have been confirmed to lead to migration of these droplets towards higher temperatures. The dependence of the migration distance of the liquid droplets on isothermal annealing time has been well predicted. Furthermore, since the lengths of the liquid droplet are not uniform along the direction of the temperature gradient, the remelting/resolidification rates which are dependent on the local morphology of liquid droplet are different at different local positions of the liquid droplets. It has been demonstrated that the morphology of the liquid droplet was also influenced by the morphologies of the liquid phase themselves. Therefore, the morphology of the liquid droplet itself changes from spherical to some kinds of irregular shapes during its migration.