Effect of crucible diameter reduction on the convection, macrosegregation, and dendritic morphology during directional solidification of Pb-2.2 wt pct Sb alloy

The Pb-2.2 wt pct Sb alloy has been directionally solidified in 1-, 2-, 3-, and 7-mm-diameter crucibles with planar and dendritic liquid-solid interface morphology. For plane front solidification, the experimentally observed macrosegregation along the solidified length follows the relationship proposed by Favier.^[17,18] Application of a 0.4 T transverse magnetic field has no effect on the extent of convection. Reducing the ampoule diameter appears to decrease the extent of convection. However, extensive convection is still present even in the 1-mm-diameter crucible. An extrapolation of the observed behavior indicates that nearly diffusive transport conditions require ampoules that are about 40 μm in diameter. Reduction of the crucible diameter does not appear to have any significant effect on the primary dendrite spacing. However, it results in considerable distortion of the dendrite morphology and ordering. This is especially true for the 1-mm-diameter samples.