Effect of rotating magnetic field on microstructure formation of directionally solidified Sn–1.6Cd peritectic alloy

In order to investigate the effect of rotating magnetic field on the microstructure formation of peritectic alloys, directional solidification experiments of Sn–1.6Cd peritectic alloy have been conducted under different rotating magnetic field conditions. The directional solidification microstructure of Sn–1.6Cd peritectic alloy changes from banded structure to axisymmetric isolated banded structure to axisymmetric oscillatory tree-like banded structure and to single primary phase structure when the magnetic Taylor number of forced-melt flow generated by a rotating magnetic field increases from 0 to 91 to 364 and to 1456. The second and third banded structures are observed in a peritectic alloy for the first time. The results indicate that it is possible to control solidification microstructure and prepare a single primary phase structure by using a rotating magnetic field during directional solidification of peritectic alloys. The experiments show that the effect of forced-melt flow on solute distribution transforms from solute buildup to homogenization with an increase in the magnetic Taylor number. The formation mechanisms of those structures are also discussed.