The mechanism of eutectic growth in highly anisotropic materials

Ashwin J. Shahani*, Xianghui Xiao, Peter W. Voorhees

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

42 Scopus citations

Abstract

In the past 50 years, there has been increasing interest - both theoretically and experimentally - in the problem of pattern formation of a moving boundary, such as a solidification front. One example of pattern formation is that of irregular eutectic solidification, in which the solid-liquid interface is non-isothermal and the interphase spacing varies in ways that are poorly understood. Here, we identify the growth mode of irregular eutectics, using reconstructions from four-dimensional (that is, time and space resolved) X-ray microtomography. Our results show that the eutectic growth process can be markedly different from that seen in previously used model systems and theories based on the ex situ analysis of microstructure. In light of our experimental findings, we present a coherent growth model of irregular eutectic solidification.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number12953
JournalNature communications
Volume7
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 27 2016

Funding

This work was supported by the Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) under award AFOSR FA9550-12-1-0458. Additional support was provided for A.J.S. by NSF Graduate Research Fellowship under grant no. DGE-1324585. The sample preparation and data acquisition were supported by the DOE under contract no. DE-FG02-99ER45782. We thank J. Sundwall and T. Bui from the Northwestern University instrument shop for machining the Al-Ge samples and the B-N crucibles. We are also grateful for helpful discussions with K.A. Mohan, E.B. Gulsoy and S.O. Poulsen. This research utilized the Quest high-performance computing facility, which is jointly supported by the Office of the Provost, the Office for Research and Northwestern University Information Technology.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemistry
  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
  • General Physics and Astronomy

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