XRMON-GF: A novel facility for solidification of metallic alloys with in situ and time-resolved X-ray radiographic characterization in microgravity conditions

As most of the phenomena involved during the growth of metallic alloys from the melt are dynamic, in situ and time-resolved X-ray imaging should be retained as the method of choice for investigating the solidification front evolution. On Earth, the gravity force is the major source of various disturbing effects (natural convection, buoyancy/sedimentation, and hydrostatic pressure) which can significantly modify or mask certain physical mechanisms. Therefore solidification under microgravity is an efficient way to eliminate such perturbations to provide unique benchmark data for the validation of models and numerical simulations. Up to now, in situ observation during microgravity solidification experiments were limited to the investigations on transparent organic alloys, using optical methods. On the other hand, in situ observation on metallic alloys generally required synchrotron facilities. This paper reports on a novel facility we have designed and developed to investigate directional solidification on metallic alloys in microgravity conditions with in situ X-ray radiography observation. The facility consists of a Bridgman furnace and an X-ray radiography device specifically devoted to the study of Al-based alloys. An unprecedented experiment was recently performed on board a sounding rocket, with a 6min period of microgravity. Radiographs were successfully recorded during the entire experiment including the melting and solidification phases of the sample, with a Field-of-View of about 5mm×5mm, a spatial resolution of about 4µm and a frequency of 2 frames per second. Some preliminary results are presented on the solidification of the Al–20wt% Cu sample, which validate the apparatus and confirm the potential of in situ X-ray characterization for the investigation of dynamical phenomena in materials processing, and particularly for the studying of metallic alloys solidification. •A setup devoted to study solidification by in situ X-ray radiography was developed.•This setup can be used on microgravity platforms and in laboratory conditions.•A microgravity experiment was recently performed on board a sounding rocket.•Solidification process of the sample in µg conditions were recorded in real-time.•We report some preliminary results on the solidification of an Al–20wt% Cu sample.