Characteristic scale selection of lamellar spacings in binary eutectic solidification

The lamellar spacing, which is formed by solidified melt of eutectic or near-eutectic composition, plays a very important role in determining the properties of final products. In this study, the lamellar spacing of eutectic growth in steady-state is predicted by the method which is established based on the classical Jackson-Hunt theory, and completed by considering the free energy change during eutectic solidification at small undercooling. The density difference between the solid phases is also considered when calculating the diffusion field in the liquid. It is found that a band of lamellar spacings would be generally selected for a given alloy under fixed growth conditions. In addition, the lamellar spacing can be morphologically stable below the minimum undercooling value, and this overstabilization is only dependent on the intrinsic characteristic properties of a given system at a fixed growth velocity. The analysis results are found to be in reasonable agreement with experimental data of Al-Al₂Cu, Sn-Pb and CBr₄-C₂Cl₆ systems available from the literature.