A phase-field model for non-equilibrium solidification of intermetallics

Abstract Intermetallics may exhibit unique solidification behaviour—including slow growth kinetics, anomalous partitioning and formation of unusual growth morphologies—because of departure from local equilibrium. A phase-field model is developed and used to illustrate these non-equilibrium effects in solidification of a prototype B2 intermetallic phase. The model takes sublattice compositions as primary field variables, from which chemical long-range order is derived. The diffusive reactions between the two sublattices, and those between each sublattice and the liquid phase are taken as ‘internal’ kinetic processes, which take place within control volumes of the system. The model can thus capture solute and disorder trapping effects, which are consistent—over a wide range of the solid/liquid interface thickness—with the predictions of the sharp-interface theory of solute and disorder trapping. The present model can also take account of solid-state ordering and thus illustrate the effects of chemical ordering on microstructure formation and crystal growth kinetics.