Million-atom molecular dynamics simulation on spontaneous evolution of anisotropy in solid nucleus during solidification of iron

Spontaneous evolution of anisotropy in the solid nucleus in the undercooling melt of iron is achieved by million-atom molecular dynamics simulation without an anisotropy parameter, which is indispensable for most existing phenomenological simulations. The spherical nucleus grows preferentially in <1 0 0> directions, which is fully consistent with the estimated anisotropy of the kinetic coefficient. The discussion of the morphological dynamics of the crystal growth based on this cutting-edge approach should initiate a new era in next-generation computational metallurgy.