THE EFFECT OF GROWTH CONDITIONS UPON THE SOLIDIFICATION OF A BINARY ALLOY

This investigation provides both a theoretical and an experimental analysis of the factors which affect the mode of solidification of a binary alloy. These factors are: (i) the concentration of solute in the melt (C0); (ii) the rate of solidification (R); (iii) the temperature gradient in the melt at the solid–liquid interface (G). Extremely high purity lead was produced by zone refining and, from this material, crystals containing known concentrations of tin, silver, and gold were grown under a range of well-controlled growth conditions. The mode of solidification was investigated by a careful study of the change in appearance of the solid–liquid interface with a change in growth conditions. For a crystal containing a specific C0 of solute it was observed that (a) the transition from a smooth interface to a cellular interface occurred at a critical ratio of G to R; (b) the width of the cells varied inversely as G and inversely as R; (c) the transition from a cellular interface to a dendritic interface exhibited a large orientation dependence, and for a constant orientation breakdown occurred at a critical ratio of G to [Formula: see text]. The experimental observations confirm both the existence of a solute-rich layer of liquid adjacent to the solid-liquid interface and its quantitative features. From this agreement with theory the diffusion coefficients of tin, silver, and gold in liquid lead at 327 °C. are determined. This work serves to illustrate the effect of extremely small amounts of particular solutes upon the development of substructures during solidification. A technique is proposed for obtaining a measure of the purity of low impurity content alloys.