CHAPTER 8
Principles of Solidification
TECHNOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE
Primary processing - Processes involving casting of molten
metals into ingots or semi-finished useful shapes such as slabs.
Secondary processing - Processes such as rolling, extrusion,
etc.used to process ingots or slabs and other semi-finished
shapes.
NUCLEATION
Nucleation - The physical process by which a new phase is
produced in a material.
Critical radius (r*) - The minimum size that must be formed
by atoms clustering together in the liquid before the solid
particle is stable and begins to grow.
Undercooling - The temperature to which the liquid metal
must cool below the equilibrium freezing temperature before
nucleation occurs.
Homogeneous nucleation - Formation of a critically sized
solid from the liquid by the clustering together of a large
number of atoms at a high undercooling (without an external
interface).
Heterogeneous nucleation - Formation of a critically sized
solid from the liquid on an impurity surface.
APPLICATIONS OF CONTROLLED NUCLEATION
Grain refinement - The addition of heterogeneous nuclei in a
controlled manner to increase the number of grains in a casting.
Dispersion strengthening - Increase in strength of a metallic
material by generating resistance to dislocation motion by the
introduction of small clusters of a second material.
Solid-state phase transformation - A change in phase that
occurs in the solid state.
Rapid solidification processing - Producing unique material
structures by promoting unusually high cooling rates during
solidification.
GROWTH MECHANISMS
Specific heat - The heat required to change the temperature of
a unit weight of the material one degree.
Solidification front - Interface between a solid and liquid.
Planar growth - The growth of a smooth solid-liquid interface
during solidification, when no undercooling of the liquid is
present.
Dendrite - The treelike structure of the solid that grows when
an undercooled liquid solidifies.
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Principles of Solidification
SOLIDIFICATION TIME AND DENDRITE SIZE
Chvorinov’s rule - The solidification time of a casting is
directly proportional to the square of the volume-to-surface
area ratio of the casting.
Mold constant (B) - A characteristic constant in Chvorinov’s
rule.
Secondary dendrite arm spacing (SDAS) - The distance
between the centers of two adjacent secondary dendrite arms.
COOLING CURVES
Recalescence - The increase in temperature of an undercooled
liquid metal as a result of the liberation of heat during
nucleation.
Thermal arrest - A plateau on the cooling curve during the
solidification of a material caused by the evolution of the latent
heat of fusion during solidification.
Total solidification time - The time required for the casting to
solidify completely after the casting has been poured.
Local solidification time - The time required for a particular
location in a casting to solidify once nucleation has begun.
CAST STRUCTURE
Chill zone - A region of small, randomly oriented grains that
forms at the surface of a casting as a result of heterogeneous
nucleation.
Columnar zone - A region of elongated grains having a
preferred orientation that forms as a result of competitive
growth during the solidification of a casting.
Equiaxed zone - A region of randomly oriented grains in the
center of a casting produced as a result of widespread
nucleation.
SOLIDIFICATION DEFECTS
Shrinkage - Contraction of a casting during solidification.
Microshrinkage - Small, frequently isolated pores between the
dendrite arms formed by the shrinkage that accompanies
solidification.
Gas porosity - Bubbles of gas trapped within a casting during
solidification, caused by the lower solubility of the gas in the
solid compared with that in the liquid.
Sievert’s law - The amount of a gas that dissolves in a metal is
proportional to the partial pressure of the gas in the
surroundings.
CHAPTER 8
Principles of Solidification
CASTING PROCESSES FOR MANUFACTURING
COMPONENTS
Sand casting - A casting process using sand molds.
Investment casting - A casting process that is used for making
complex shapes such as turbine blades, also known as the lost
wax process.
Lost foam process - A process in which a polymer foam is
used as a pattern to produce a casting.
Permanent mold casting - A casting process in which a mold
can be used many times.
Pressure die casting - A casting process in which molten
metal/alloys is forced into a die under pressure.
CONTINUOUS CASTING AND INGOT CASTING
Ingot casting - The process of casting ingots.This is different
from the continuous casting route.
Continuous casting - A process to convert molten metal or an
alloy into a semi-finished product such as a slab.
DIRECTIONAL SOLIDIFICATION (DS), SINGLE
CRYSTAL GROWTH, AND EPITAXIAL GROWTH
Directional solidification (DS) - A solidification technique in
which cooling in a given direction leads to preferential growth
of grains in the opposite direction, leading to an anisotropic-
oriented microstructure.
Bridgman processes - A process to grow semiconductor and
other single crystals.
Epitaxial growth - Growth of a material via epitaxy.
Homoepitaxy - Growth of a highly oriented material onto a
crystal of the same material.
Heteroepitaxy - Growth of a highly oriented material onto a
different substrate material.
SOLIDIFICATION OF POLYMERS AND INORGANIC
GLASSES
Lamellar - A plate-like arrangement of crystals within a
material.
Spherulite - Spherical-shaped crystals produced when certain
polymers solidify.
Preform - A component from which a fiber is drawn or a
bottle is made.
CHAPTER 8
Principles of Solidification

JOINING OF METALLIC MATERIALS

Brazing - An alloy, known as a filler, is used to join two

materials to one another.

Soldering - Soldering is a joining process in which the filler

has a melting temperature below 450oC, no melting of the base
materials occurs.

Fusion welding - Joining processes in which a portion of the

materials must melt in order to achieve good bonding.

Fusion zone - The portion of a weld heated to produce all

liquid during the welding process. Solidification of the fusion
zone provides joining.