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Real‐time and in situ solidification of Al‐based alloys investigated by synchrotron radiation: a unique experimental set‐up combining radiography and topography techniques
Author(s) -
Buffet A.,
Reinhart G.,
Schenk T.,
NguyenThi H.,
Gastaldi J.,
MangelinckNoël N.,
Jung H.,
Härtwig J.,
Baruchel J.,
Billia B.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
physica status solidi (a)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.532
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1862-6319
pISSN - 1862-6300
DOI - 10.1002/pssa.200790013
Subject(s) - microstructure , synchrotron radiation , materials science , alloy , synchrotron , directional solidification , dendrite (mathematics) , optics , metallurgy , physics , geometry , mathematics
This special issue's cover shows a radiograph and a topograph recorded during Al–3.5 wt% Ni alloy solidification. On the radiograph (left), one can observe the development of a branching structure known as dendrite. The high quality of the dendrite in the early stage of the growth is confirmed by the equal‐thickness fringes which are visible within the solid in the topograph (middle and right). Those fringes evidence the absence of defects within the microstructure. The alloy's properties are largely controlled by the microstructure emerging during the growth process. As most of the phenomena involved during directional solidification are dynamic, it is crucial to perform an in situ and real‐time investigation. A unique experimental set‐up combining X‐ray radiography and topography has been recently developed at the ESRF (European Synchrotron Radiation Facility). It allows direct observation of the microstructure during directional solidification [1]. The first author of the article is a PhD student at the ESRF (Grenoble). Her research focuses on Al‐based alloy solidification and more particularly on strains, stresses and defect formation during directional solidification. She is working in collaboration with the L2MP (CNRS, Marseille). (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)