In this paper first examples for global thermal modeling of microgravity experiments in the field of crystal growth and alloy solidification are presented. The software program CrysVUn is used to simulate alloy solidification experiments carried out in TEXUS sounding rocket missions. Based on this software global thermal models are developed for the furnace inserts Low Gradient Furnace (LGF) and Solidification and Quenching Furnace (SQF) to be operated in the Materials Science Laboratory (MSL) onboard the International Space Station (ISS). These models will be used in order to optimize the process conditions and cartridge designs for the experiments to be carried onboard the ISS
High-strength automotive components are often made of AlSi7-based alloys. A very challenging problem with aluminium casting is the influence of melt flow during solidification, because it affects the microstructure formation and therefore the material properties. The scope of this paper is to investigate the effect of forced melt flow on the evolution of the dendritic microstructure in a binary AlSi7 alloy during directional solidification. Global modelling using the software CrysMAS provides typical flow patterns and velocities. These values are used as boundary condition for the flow in the phase field code MICRESS, which allows the numerical simulation of dendritic array solidification in 2D with applied flow. From solidification experiments in a gradient furnace with applied rotating magnetic field the dendrite shapes are determined. It is found consistently that intense melt flow leads to asymmetric dendrite shapes and the growth behaviour of the dendrite arms is directly correlated with the flow direction
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