Macrosegregation in directionally solidified dendritic alloys

In this article, gravity-driven flow and its subsequent effect of promoting macrosegregation during unidirectional solidification of dendritic alloys is presented. Examples of macrosegregation that arise during the controlled directional solidification of hypo- and hypereutectic Pb-Sn alloys are shown, and a method of preventing macrosegregation is demonstrated. The experimental work is discussed in terms of how current knowledge of solute redistribution in a dendritic array can be promoted as well as how the processing technique might be applied to improve microstructural homogeneity during controlled directional solidification