EFFECT OF LIQUID FLOW ON PRIMARY ARM SPACING OF CONSTRAINED COLUMNAR CRYSTALS

An experimental apparatus,which has a convection generator and an aid-heater,is developed for the study of the effect of stable laminar liquid flow on the directional solidification process by the use of transparent alloy SCN-2wt-% Ace.The flow is perpendicular to primary arms. By in-situ observation and photographing at different specific moments,it has been found that such a flow can cause a great change in primary spacings of constrained columnar crystals:for cells,the spacings become smaller;but for dendrites,they become larger.The former is mainly due to the tilted growth of upstreamside branches,while the latter is mainly due to the coup- ling effect of liquid flow with solutal field around dendrite tips.The faster the liquid flows,the further smaller the cell spacing and the further larger the dendrite spacing.