Directional

solidification

Directional solidification (DS) and progressive solidification are t ypes of solidificat ion wit hin
cast ings. Direct ional solidificat ion is solidificat ion t hat occurs from fart hest end of t he cast ing
and works it s way t owards t he sprue. Progressive solidificat ion, also known as parallel
solidification,[1] is solidificat ion t hat st art s at t he walls of t he cast ing and progresses
perpendicularly from t hat surface.[2]

Directional solidification
 Progressive solidification

Theory -
Most met als and alloys shrink as t he mat erial changes from a liquid st at e t o a solid st at e.
Therefore, if liquid mat erial is not available t o compensat e for t his shrinkage a shrinkage defect
forms.[3] When progressive solidificat ion dominat es over direct ional solidificat ion a shrinkage
defect will form.[2]

The geomet rical shape of t he mold cavit y has a direct effect on progressive and direct ional
solidificat ion. At t he end of t unnel-t ype geomet ries, divergent heat flow occurs, which causes
t hat area of t he cast ing t o cool fast er t han surrounding areas; t his is called an end effect. Large
cavit ies do not cool as quickly as surrounding areas because t here is less heat flow; t his is called
a riser effect. Also not e t hat corners can creat e divergent or convergent (also known as hot
spots) heat flow areas.[4]

In order t o induce direct ional solidificat ion chills, risers, insulat ing sleeves, cont rol of pouring rat e,
and pouring t emperat ure can be ut ilized.[5]
Direct ional solidificat ion can be used as a purificat ion process. Since most impurit ies will be more
soluble in t he liquid t han in t he solid phase during solidificat ion, impurit ies will be "pushed" by t he
solidificat ion front , causing much of t he finished cast ing t o have a lower concent rat ion of
impurit ies t han t he feedst ock mat erial, while t he last solidified met al will be enriched wit h
impurit ies. This last part of t he met al can be scrapped or recycled. The suit abilit y of direct ional
solidificat ion in removing a specific impurit y from a cert ain met al depends on t he part it ion
coefficient of t he impurit y in t he met al in quest ion, as described by t he Scheil equat ion.
Direct ional solidificat ion (in zone melt ing) is frequent ly employed as a purificat ion st ep in t he
product ion of mult icryst alline silicon for solar cells.

Microstructural Effects
Direct ional solidificat ion is t he preferred t echnique for cast ing high t emperat ure nickel-based
superalloys t hat are used in t urbine engines of aircraft . Some microst ruct ural problems such as
coarse dendrit ic st ruct ure, long dendrit e side branches, and porosit y hinder t he full pot ent ial of
single cryst al ni-based alloys.[6] This morphology can be underst ood by looking at t he G/V rat io
of a solidificat ion where G is t he t emperat ure gradient in t he melt ahead of t he solidifying front
and V is t he rat e of solidificat ion.[7] This rat io must be maint ained wit hin a range t o ensure single
cryst al format ion wit h t he correct microst ruct ure of t he coarse dendrit e wit h side branches.[8] It
has been found t hat increasing t he solidificat ion cooling rat e furt her improves t he mechanical
propert ies and rupt ure life of single cryst als grown by direct ional solidificat ion due t o refinement
of t he y’ precipit at es.[9]

In direct ional solidificat ion growt hs of single cryst als, spurious grains nucleat e when molt en
met al flowed int o a gap bet ween t he mold/seed gap and solidified.[10] This is cat ast rophic t o
mechanical propert ies of Ni-based superalloys such as CMSX4, and can be minimized by keeping
t he t olerance of <001> from t he local surface normal.[11] Addit ionally, t he range of axial
orient at ions in t he direct ional solidificat ion st art ing block should be minimized in order t o
successfully grow a single cryst al.[12] This is difficult depending on t he range of orient at ions in
t he DS st art er block, and t herefore makes orient at ion cont rol a large area of focus.[13]

In Ti-Al base alloys, t he lamellar microst ruct ure exhibit s anisot ropic propert ies in t he lamellar
direct ion and t herefore t he kinet ics and orient at ion of it s growt h are int egral t o opt imizing it s
mechanical propert ies.[14] Select ing a direct ional solidificat ion growt h where t he lamellar
st ruct ure is parallel t o t he growt h direct ion will result in a high st rengt h and duct ilit y.[15] It is even
more difficult t o precipit at e t his phase since it is not formed from t he liquid and inst ead from t he
solid st at e.[16] The first way t o overcome t his challenge is by using a seed mat erial, which is
properly orient ed and t hat nucleat es new lamellae during processing wit h t he same orient at ion
as t he original mat erial.[17] It is placed in front of t he main bulk of mat erial so t hat when t he melt
is solidifying it has a precedent for t he correct orient at ion t o follow.[18] If a seed is not used, t he
ot her met hod of achieving t he high st rengt h single lamellar phase is t o have t he lamellar
st ruct ure orient ed along t he growt h direct ion.[19] However, t his is only successful for a small
window of t he solidificat ion, as it s success from t he columnar growt h of t he bet a phase
followed by t he equiaxed growt h of t he alpha phase and alloying wit h boron is compromised by
t he high t hermal gradient of t he cooling.[20]

References

1. Stefanescu 2008, p. 67.

2. Chastain 2004, p. 104.
3. Kuznetsov, A.V.; Xiong, M. (2002).
"Dependence of microporosity formation
on the direction of solidification".
International Communications in Heat and
Mass Transfer. 29 (1): 25–34.
doi:10.1016/S0735-1933(01)00321-9 (http
s://[Link]/10.1016%2FS0735-1933%280
1%2900321-9) .
4. Stefanescu 2008, p. 68.
5. Chastain 2004, pp. 104–105.
6. Fu, Geng, Hengzhi, Xingguo (2001). "High
rate directional solidification and its
application in single crystal superalloys" (ht
tps://[Link]/10.1016%2FS1468-6996%280
1%2900049-3) . Science and Technology of
Advanced Materials. 2 (1): 197–204.
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([Link]
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7. Fu, Geng, Hengzhi, Xingguo (2001). "High
rate directional solidification and its
application in single crystal superalloys" (ht
tps://[Link]/10.1016%2FS1468-6996%280
1%2900049-3) . Science and Technology of
Advanced Materials. 2 (1): 197–204.
Bibcode:2001STAdM...2..197F ([Link]
[Link]/abs/2001STAdM...2..19
7F) . doi:10.1016/S1468-6996(01)00049-3
([Link]
2801%2900049-3) .
8. Fu, Geng, Hengzhi, Xingguo (2001). "High
rate directional solidification and its
application in single crystal superalloys" (ht
tps://[Link]/10.1016%2FS1468-6996%280
1%2900049-3) . Science and Technology of
Advanced Materials. 2 (1): 197–204.
Bibcode:2001STAdM...2..197F ([Link]
[Link]/abs/2001STAdM...2..19
7F) . doi:10.1016/S1468-6996(01)00049-3
([Link]
2801%2900049-3) .
9. Fu, Geng, Hengzhi, Xingguo (2001). "High
rate directional solidification and its
application in single crystal superalloys" (ht
tps://[Link]/10.1016%2FS1468-6996%280
1%2900049-3) . Science and Technology of
Advanced Materials. 2 (1): 197–204.
Bibcode:2001STAdM...2..197F ([Link]
[Link]/abs/2001STAdM...2..19
7F) . doi:10.1016/S1468-6996(01)00049-3
([Link]
2801%2900049-3) .
10. Yamaguchi, M (May 2000). "Directional
solidification of TiAl-base alloys" ([Link]
[Link]/science/article/pii/S
0966979599001570) . Intermetallics. 8
(5–6): 511–517. doi:10.1016/S0966-
9795(99)00157-0 ([Link]
6%2FS0966-9795%2899%2900157-0) .
Retrieved 6 March 2020.
11. Yamaguchi, M (May 2000). "Directional
solidification of TiAl-base alloys" ([Link]
[Link]/science/article/pii/S
0966979599001570) . Intermetallics. 8
(5–6): 511–517. doi:10.1016/S0966-
9795(99)00157-0 ([Link]
6%2FS0966-9795%2899%2900157-0) .
Retrieved 6 March 2020.
12. Yamaguchi, M (May 2000). "Directional
solidification of TiAl-base alloys" ([Link]
[Link]/science/article/pii/S
0966979599001570) . Intermetallics. 8
(5–6): 511–517. doi:10.1016/S0966-
9795(99)00157-0 ([Link]
6%2FS0966-9795%2899%2900157-0) .
Retrieved 6 March 2020.
13. Yamaguchi, M (May 2000). "Directional
solidification of TiAl-base alloys" ([Link]
[Link]/science/article/pii/S
0966979599001570) . Intermetallics. 8
(5–6): 511–517. doi:10.1016/S0966-
9795(99)00157-0 ([Link]
6%2FS0966-9795%2899%2900157-0) .
Retrieved 6 March 2020.
14. D'Souza, D. (Nov 2000). "Directional and
Single-Crystal Solidification of Ni-Base
Superalloys: Part I. The Role of Curved
Isotherms on Grain Selection" ([Link]
[Link]/content/pdf/10.1007/BF0283
[Link]) (PDF). Metallurgical and
Materials Transactions A. 31A (11): 2877–
2886. Bibcode:2000MMTA...31.2877D (http
s://[Link]/abs/2000MMT
A...31.2877D) . doi:10.1007/BF02830351
([Link]
1) . S2CID 136914987 ([Link]
[Link]/CorpusID:136914987) .
15. D'Souza, D. (Nov 2000). "Directional and
Single-Crystal Solidification of Ni-Base
Superalloys: Part I. The Role of Curved
Isotherms on Grain Selection" ([Link]
[Link]/content/pdf/10.1007/BF0283
[Link]) (PDF). Metallurgical and
Materials Transactions A. 31A (11): 2877–
2886. Bibcode:2000MMTA...31.2877D (http
s://[Link]/abs/2000MMT
A...31.2877D) . doi:10.1007/BF02830351
([Link]
1) . S2CID 136914987 ([Link]
[Link]/CorpusID:136914987) .
16. D'Souza, D. (Nov 2000). "Directional and
Single-Crystal Solidification of Ni-Base
Superalloys: Part I. The Role of Curved
Isotherms on Grain Selection" ([Link]
[Link]/content/pdf/10.1007/BF0283
[Link]) (PDF). Metallurgical and
Materials Transactions A. 31A (11): 2877–
2886. Bibcode:2000MMTA...31.2877D (http
s://[Link]/abs/2000MMT
A...31.2877D) . doi:10.1007/BF02830351
([Link]
1) . S2CID 136914987 ([Link]
[Link]/CorpusID:136914987) .
17. D'Souza, D. (Nov 2000). "Directional and
Single-Crystal Solidification of Ni-Base
Superalloys: Part I. The Role of Curved
Isotherms on Grain Selection" ([Link]
[Link]/content/pdf/10.1007/BF0283
[Link]) (PDF). Metallurgical and
Materials Transactions A. 31A (11): 2877–
2886. Bibcode:2000MMTA...31.2877D (http
s://[Link]/abs/2000MMT
A...31.2877D) . doi:10.1007/BF02830351
([Link]
1) . S2CID 136914987 ([Link]
[Link]/CorpusID:136914987) .
18. D'Souza, D. (Nov 2000). "Directional and
Single-Crystal Solidification of Ni-Base
Superalloys: Part I. The Role of Curved
Isotherms on Grain Selection" ([Link]
[Link]/content/pdf/10.1007/BF0283
[Link]) (PDF). Metallurgical and
Materials Transactions A. 31A (11): 2877–
2886. Bibcode:2000MMTA...31.2877D (http
s://[Link]/abs/2000MMT
A...31.2877D) . doi:10.1007/BF02830351
([Link]
1) . S2CID 136914987 ([Link]
[Link]/CorpusID:136914987) .
19. D'Souza, D. (Nov 2000). "Directional and
Single-Crystal Solidification of Ni-Base
Superalloys: Part I. The Role of Curved
Isotherms on Grain Selection" ([Link]
[Link]/content/pdf/10.1007/BF0283
[Link]) (PDF). Metallurgical and
Materials Transactions A. 31A (11): 2877–
2886. Bibcode:2000MMTA...31.2877D (http
s://[Link]/abs/2000MMT
A...31.2877D) . doi:10.1007/BF02830351
([Link]
1) . S2CID 136914987 ([Link]
[Link]/CorpusID:136914987) .
 20. D'Souza, D. (Nov 2000). "Directional and
Single-Crystal Solidification of Ni-Base
Superalloys: Part I. The Role of Curved
Isotherms on Grain Selection" ([Link]
[Link]/content/pdf/10.1007/BF0283
[Link]) (PDF). Metallurgical and
Materials Transactions A. 31A (11): 2877–
2886. Bibcode:2000MMTA...31.2877D (http
s://[Link]/abs/2000MMT
A...31.2877D) . doi:10.1007/BF02830351
([Link]
1) . S2CID 136914987 ([Link]
[Link]/CorpusID:136914987) .

Bibliography

Chastain, Stephen (2004), Metal casting:

a sand casting manual for the small
 foundry, Vol. II ([Link]
m/books?id=3O5kqZww24gC) , vol. 4,
Stephen Chastain, ISBN 978-0-9702203-
3-2.
Stefanescu, Doru Michael (2008),
Science and Engineering of Casting
Solidification ([Link]
m/books?id=JVTJi30phCwC) (2nd ed.),
Springer, ISBN 978-0-387-74609-8.

Further reading

Campbell, John (12 June 2003), Castings

(2nd ed.), Butterworth-Heinemann,
ISBN 0-7506-4790-6.
 Wlodawer, Robert (1966), Directional
solidification of steel castings, Pergamon
Press.

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"[Link]
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