L2 droplet interaction with α-Al during solidification of hypermonotectic Al–8 wt.% Bi alloys

Studies of Al-based hypermonotectics have so far focused mainly on droplet motion and coagulation dynamics, with limited attention given to the interaction between droplets and the advancing solidification front which is decisive for the final distribution of the second phase within the α-Al matrix. The current work presents results from directional solidification experiments with Al–8 wt.% Bi alloys. It was found that droplets with large radii were frequently pushed and small droplets were engulfed. This is contradictory to the many models that have been proposed to explain pushing/engulfment of solid particles and can in part be ascribed to the fact that while solid-particle models only consider single, non-interacting particles that remain unaffected by solutal gradients ahead of the advancing solidification front, droplet–droplet interaction and local solute gradients have been found to be critical for droplet pushing/engulfment behaviour in hypermonotectic alloys.