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Convective and Interfacial Instabilities During Solidification of Succinonitrile Containing Ethanol

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

R. J. Schaefer  and
S. R. Coriell
R. J. Schaefer
Affiliation:
National Bureau of Standards, Washington, D.C., USA
S. R. Coriell
Affiliation:
National Bureau of Standards, Washington, D.C., USA
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Abstract

Although slow convective flow is difficult to detect in solidifying metals, it can readily be observed in transparent materials by observing the motion of small neutrally buoyant particles. An excellent material for such studies is succinonitrile, which solidifies with an unfaceted solid/liquid interface and which has well characterized physical properties. For studies of solute-induced convection, ethanol is a useful addition to succinonitrile because it has a lower density and a somewhat similar molecular structure.

Samples of high purity and ethanol-doped succinonitrile are solidified unidirectionally in a vertical temperature gradient. Latex microspheres, 2μm in diameter, are suspended in the liquid to delineate convective flow. Convective and morphological stability are observed as a function of solute concentration and growth velocity. These measurements are compared to theoretical calculations which predict the transition from stability to instability as a function of solidification conditions. The predicted transitions occur at low concentrations and solidification velocities, so that extreme care is required to eliminate the effects of impurities or thermally-induced convection.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 9 , 1981 , 479
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1982

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References

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