The role of solute concentration in interface instability during alloy solidification: A viewpoint from the free energy

Abstract: Solidification structures are determined by the interaction between the interfacial processes and transport processes of heat and solute. In this paper, we investigate planar instability in directional solidification. Firstly, the interfacial evolution at the initial growth stage is simulated, indicating the planar instability is represented by the transition from the planar to the cellular. Secondly, to represent the history-dependence of solidification, constant thermal gradient G and varying pulling speed VP are used in the simulations. The results indicate the cooling rate R ( = G*VP) dominates the overall propagation speed of the interface, to maintain the local thermodynamic equilibrium. The solute segregation determines the stability of the interface, by changing the excess free energy at the interface and corresponding interface energy. Finally, the simulations of the grains with different preferred crystallographic orientations are performed, indicating the surface energy and its anisotropy do not affect the solute diffusion and planar growth. The results also verify the conclusion that solute segregation influences the interface energy and results in interface instability. On the other hand, for the planar-cellular transition, the minimum surface stiffness rule is more suitable than the maximum surface energy rule. The influence of the solute concentration on the excess free energy and interface energy can be applied to other solidification patterns induced by the interface instability, which will be studied in the future.