Mechanism of Gravity Effect on Solidification Microstructure of Eutectic Alloy

The influence of gravity on the solidification microstructure of Al-Al3Ni eutectic alloy was investigated by using a 50-m-long drop tube. It was found that at different growth rates the average inter-rod spacing was always larger under microgravity (μg) than those under normal gravity (1g). Moreover, with increasing growth rate, the spacing difference between 1g samples and μg samples reduced progressively. Based on the experimental results and analysis, a physical model was proposed to describe the effect of gravity on the solidification process of eutectic alloy.