Simultaneous melting and solidification of a columnar dendritic microstructure in a temperature gradient: Numerical modeling and experiments⋆

The microstructural evolution of a SCN-ACE alloy in a temperature gradient is studied by cellular automaton (CA) modeling and in situ experiments. The initially columnar dendrites gradually evolve to a completely solid region with a planar solid/liquid interface. The CA simulations and in situ observations present the migration of secondary dendrite arms and liquid pockets due to temperature gradient zone melting (TGZM), and the movement of the...