Comparison of Cellular Automaton and Phase-Field Models to Simulate Dendritic Solidification

Abstract

In this work, a cellular automaton (CA)-finite element (FE) model and a phase-field (PF)-FE model were developed to simulate dendritic solidification of both cubic and hexagonal crystal materials. Validation of the both models was performed by comparing the simulation results to the analytical model developed by Lipton-Glicksman-Kurz (LGK), showing qualitatively good agreement in the tip growth velocity at a given melt undercooling. Dendritic solidification in cubic materials is illustrated by simulating the solidification in aluminum alloy Al-3wt%Cu. Results show that both models successfully simulate multiple arbitrarily-oriented dendrites for cubic materials. Application to magnesium alloy AZ91 (approximated with the binary Mg-8.9wt%Al), illustrates the difficulty of modeling dendrite growth in hexagonal systems using CA-FE regarding mesh-induced anisotropy and a better performance of PF-FE in modeling multiple arbitrarily-oriented dendrites.

Meeting Name

4th International Multi-Conference on Engineering and Technological Innovation (2011, Jul. 19-22, Orlando, FL)

Department(s)

Materials Science and Engineering

Keywords and Phrases

Better performance; Dendrite growth; Dendritic solidification; Hexagonal crystals; Magnesium alloy AZ91; Melt undercooling; Phase-field modeling; Phase-field models; Aluminum; Aluminum alloys; Cellular automata; Magnesium alloys; Solidification; Finite element method

International Standard Book Number (ISBN)

978-1936338368

Document Type

Article - Conference proceedings

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2011 International Institute of Informatics and Systemics, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jul 2011

Link to Full Text

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