Convective effects on columnar dendritic solidification – A multiscale dendritic needle network study

Gravity-induced buoyancy, inevitable in most solidification processes, substantially alters the dynamics of crystal growth, such that incorporating fluid flow in solidification models is crucial to understand and predict key aspects of microstructure selection. Here, we present a multi-scale Dendritic Needle Network (DNN) model for directional solidification that includes buoyant flow in the liquid, and apply it to a range of alloys and growth conditions. After a brief presentation of the model, we study the selection of stable primary dendrite arm spacings in Al-4at.%Cu and in Ti-45at.%Al alloys under different gravity levels, comparing both applications to published phase-field results and experimental measurements. Then, we simulate the oscillatory growth behavior recently reported via X-ray in situ imaging of directional solidification of nickel-based superalloy CMSX-4. In this last application, the DNN simulations manage to reproduce the oscillatory growth behavior, and hence permit identifying the fundamental mechanisms behind the oscillatory growth regime. In particular, we show that sustained oscillations occur when the average liquid flow velocity is close to the crystal growth velocity, and that primary dendritic spacings also play a crucial role in the oscillatory behavior.