Effects of local non-equilibrium in rapid eutectic solidification. Part
1: statement of the problem and general solution
Abstract
Numerous experimental data on rapid solidification of eutectic systems
exhibit the formation of metastable solid phases with the initial
(nominal) chemical composition. This fact is explained by suppression of
eutectic decomposition due to diffusionless (chemically partitionless)
solidification beginning at a high but a finite growth velocity of
crystals. A model considering the diffusionless growth is developed in
the present work to analyze the atomic diffusion ahead of lamellar
eutectic couples growing into supercooled liquid. A general solution of
the model is presented from which two regimes are followed. The first
presents diffusion-limited regime with the existence of eutectic
decomposition if the solid-liquid interface velocity is smaller than
characteristic diffusion speed in bulk liquid. The second shows
suppression of eutectic decomposition under diffusionless transformation
from liquid to one-phase solid if the solid-liquid interface velocity
overcomes characteristic diffusion speed in bulk liquid.