[SY-M2] Crystal growth in fluid flow: Nonlinear response effects
Mechanism of solidification is of great interest both to experimentalist and theorist, as it determines the mechanical and thermophysical properties of formed crystalline structures. Many materials, for example, most polymeric and metallic materials of daily life, are produced from the liquid state as their parent phase, in the presence of strong flow (e.g., in extrusion or casting processes). Since crystal growth governs the evolution of the microstructure, detailed knowledge of how crystallization is affected by the processing conditions offers an effective way to design and control material properties in applications.
We investigate crystal-growth kinetics in the presence of strong shear flow in the liquid, using molecular-dynamics simulations of a binary-alloy model. Close to the equilibrium melting point, shear flow always suppresses the growth of the crystal-liquid interface. For lower temperatures, we find that the growth velocity of the crystal depends nonmonotonically on the shear rate. Slow enough flow enhances the crystal growth, due to an increased particle mobility in the liquid. Stronger flow causes a growth regime that is nearly temperature-independent, in striking contrast to what one expects from the thermodynamic and equilibrium kinetic properties of the system, which both depend strongly on temperature. We rationalize these effects of flow on crystal growth as resulting from the nonlinear response of the fluid to strong shearing forces.
We investigate crystal-growth kinetics in the presence of strong shear flow in the liquid, using molecular-dynamics simulations of a binary-alloy model. Close to the equilibrium melting point, shear flow always suppresses the growth of the crystal-liquid interface. For lower temperatures, we find that the growth velocity of the crystal depends nonmonotonically on the shear rate. Slow enough flow enhances the crystal growth, due to an increased particle mobility in the liquid. Stronger flow causes a growth regime that is nearly temperature-independent, in striking contrast to what one expects from the thermodynamic and equilibrium kinetic properties of the system, which both depend strongly on temperature. We rationalize these effects of flow on crystal growth as resulting from the nonlinear response of the fluid to strong shearing forces.