| Detached solidification provides a new possibility to grow crystals with improved quality. However, it has not been reproducible. The first part of this dissertation is dedicated to discussion of the mechanisms and conditions that would help to bring detached solidification from a space laboratory to a terrestrial factory. The possibility of a steady-state gap during detached solidification was proved by solving the mass transport and Navier-Stokes equations. A high contact angle of the melt with the ampoule wall, appreciable gas atmosphere, and a low freezing rate are needed to obtain detachment. Stability analysis showed that mass transfer of volatile species from the melt into the gap and heat transfer stabilize detached configuration. In vertical solidification on earth, a convex freezing interface was shown to provide enhanced transport of volatile species towards the gap, and, therefore, supports detachment.;The influence of convection on eutectic microstructure selection has been a question for many years. Both experiment and theory have shown that buoyancy-driven convection alone is not enough to explain the difference in microstructure of earth- and space-grown eutectics. The second part of this dissertation is devoted to a study of the influence of temperature oscillations on microstructure selection. Two different models were chosen. The first, a sharp-interface model, was able to give a solution for the excess compositional undercooling for different leading conditions of both lamellar and rod eutectics. The limitation of this model is that it's not able to set the conditions for catastrophic morphological changes. Application of the principle of minimum entropy production to stationary eutectic growth predicts a decrease in eutectic spacing due to freezing rate oscillations. The second, a phase-field model, was developed for the evolution of the microstructure. This phase-field model correctly describes unsteady eutectic solidification, as well as showing phase nucleation, phase termination, and instabilities. It was concluded that phase termination is not efficient when the temperature field oscillates. Thus one would expect a decrease in eutectic spacing due to nucleation. |
