During a routine examination of the microstructure of rapidly solidified IN-100 powder, produced by a newly-developed centrifugal atomization process1, essentially two distinct types of microstructure were identified. When a high melt superheat is maintained during atomization, the powder particles are predominantly coarse-grained, equiaxed or columnar, with distinctly dendritic microstructures, Figs, la and 4a. On the other hand, when the melt superheat is reduced by increasing the heat flow to the disc of the rotary atomizer, the powder particles are predominantly microcrystalline in character, with typically one dendrite per grain, Figs, lb and 4b. In what follows, evidence is presented that strongly supports the view that the unusual microcrystalline structure has its origin in dendrite erosion occurring in a 'mushy zone' of dynamic solidification on the disc of the rotary atomizer.The critical observations were made on atomized material that had undergone 'splat-quenching' on previously solidified, chilled substrate particles.
