Abstract
Solidification under a supergravity field is an effective method to control the solidified microstructure, which can be used to prepare materials with excellent comprehensive properties. In order to explore the influence of supergravity on the solidification behavior, a phase-field crystal model for the solidification under supergravity fields is developed and utilized to study the supergravity-controlled solidification behaviors. The results show that the grains in the solidification structures are refined in a supergravity field. The grain size in a zero-gravity field is uniformly distributed in the sample, but gradually decreases along the direction of the supergravity, showing a graded microstructure. The simulations show real-time images of the nucleation and growth of grains during solidification. In a supergravity field, solidification occurs preferentially in the liquid subject to greater gravity and advances in the opposite direction of supergravity with the time evolution. In addition, the driving force of crystallization in liquid is calculated to explain the effect of the supergravity field on the solidification structure from a thermodynamic point of view. Our findings are expected to provide a new approach and insight for understanding the solidification behaviors under supergravity.
Highlights
IntroductionSolidification is an important method of material production, especially for metallic materials [1,2,3]
Moreira Jorge JuniorSolidification is an important method of material production, especially for metallic materials [1,2,3]
Song et al [11] used a numerical method to calculate the pressure distribution of the melt in a supergravity field, and the results showed that the pressure of the molten metal gradually increased along the direction of supergravity
Summary
Solidification is an important method of material production, especially for metallic materials [1,2,3]. Most of the metallic materials used in engineering need to be prepared by solidification. Controlling the solidification process to form a reasonable microstructure has great significance for improving the performance of engineering materials and exerting the potential of materials [4,5]. Casting in a special external force field (such as centrifugal casting) is a typical example of controlling the solidification process, effectively regulating the microstructure, and improving the performance of the material [6]. In a solidification experiment under supergravity field, the melt moves in a high-speed circular motion around a rotating axis in the centrifugal device and bears huge centrifugal force. The pressure of each unit volume of the melt can be approximately calculated as [10]: Received: 14 December 2021
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