Rapid solidification of intermetallic compounds

Non-equilibrium effects in the rapid solidification of intermetallic compounds show features not found for solid solutions. Solidification modelling, of interfacial kinetics and growth velocities, must include variation in the degree of chemical order in the growing solid. This variation relates to solute partitioning which can increase or invert with increasing solidification velocity. Modelling has been demonstrated for binary and ternary compounds. The pattern of anti-phase domains in the final microstructure is affected by the degree of order in the solidifying phase, by ordering in the solid state and by coarsening. The stages in microstructure development are considered and qualitative comparison made with experiment.