Microstructure transition of Al-Cu eutectic alloy during containerless rapid solidification

Droplets of Al-32.7% Cu eutectic alloy were rapidly solidified during containerless processing in a 3 m drop tube. The microstructural evolution of Al-Cu eutectic alloy depends strongly on droplet size. The eutectic growth morphology changes from regular lamellar eutectic to a kind of anomalous eutectic with the decrease in droplet size. This microstructural transition was analyzed within the current theories of eutectic growth. The results indicate that there exists a critical velocity for eutectic growth beyond which anomalous eutectic appears. The coupled zone of the Al-Cu eutectic alloy system has been calculated on the basis of the Trivedi-Magnin-Kurz(TMK) eutectic growth and the Lipton-Kurz-Trivedi(LKT)/Boettinger-Coriell-Trivedi(BCT) dendrite growth models, which provides a further interpretation for the morphological transition.