Mode of Dendrite Growth in Undercooled Alloy Melts

The mode of dendrite growth in the undercooled Ni–50at%Cu alloy was investigated. At lower undercoolings, the dendrite growth is mainly controlled by solute diffusion, and the formed dendritic morphologies are similar to those of the conventional as-cast equiaxed crystals, except that here the branches are much denser. At higher undercoolings, however, the severe solutal trapping that results from high dendrite growth velocity weakens the effect of solute diffusion on the dendrite growth. In this case, the dendrites branch in the bunching form. The dendrite spacings were measured, and the results were interpreted with the current dendrite growth theories.