Numerical simulation of initial microstructure evolution of Fe-C alloys using a phase-field model

Abstract

Microstructure evolution during the rapid solidification of Fe-C and Fe-C-P alloys is simulated using the phase-field model for alloys with thin interface limit parameters. Heat transfer equation is solved simultaneously to study the heat flow and the effect of latent heat generation on the microstructure. The calculations have been carried out using a double grid method and parallel computing technique. The competitive growth of growing cells is reproduced, and the cellular/dendritic transition is also observed. Since there is a negative thermal gradient in front of a leading tip, the growth can be regarded as unidirectional free dendrite growth. The microstructure changes depending on the preferred growth orientation and impurity are also studied. The secondary arms grow preferably towards inside of the melt and develop well with increase of the tilted angle. The secondary and primary arm spacing decrease by the small amount of phosphorous addition. The time change of averaged surface temperature depending on the initial undercooling shows that the surface undercooling is always observed even when the initial value is zero.