Mechanistic Selection and Growth of Twinned Bicrystalline Primary Si in Near Eutectic Al-Si Alloys

Morphological evolution and selection of angular primary silicon is investigated in near-eutectic Al-Si alloys. Angular silicon arrays are grown directionally in a Bridgman furnace at velocities in the regime of 10{sup -3} m/sec and with a temperature gradient of 7.5 x 10{sup 3} K/m. Under these conditions, the primary Si phase grows as an array of twinned bicrystalline dendrites, where the twinning gives rise to a characteristic 8-pointed star-shaped primary morphology. While this primary Si remains largely faceted at the growth front, a complex structure of coherent symmetric twin boundaries enables various adjustment mechanisms which operate to optimize the characteristic spacings within the primary array. In the work presented here, this primary silicon growth morphology is examined in detail. In particular, this thesis describes the investigation of: (1) morphological selection of the twinned bicrystalline primary starshape morphology; (2) primary array behavior, including the lateral propagation of the starshape grains and the associated evolution of a strong <100> texture; (3) the detailed structure of the 8-pointed star-shaped primary morphology, including the twin boundary configuration within the central core; (4) the mechanisms of lateral propagation and spacing adjustment during array evolution; and (5) the thermosolutal conditions (i.e. operating state) at the primary growth front, including composition and phase fraction in the vicinity of the primary tip