Mathematical modelling of microsegregation in eutectic and peritectic binary alloys

Abstract

A mathematical model of microsegregation for eutectic and peritectic binary alloys was implemented using a finite volume method to solve the differential equations for mass transport. In this model simple ideas are used to handle phase boundaries and coarsening without the need to employ node jumping schemes or any transformation of variables to fix the domain size. Some model results were compared with available analytical solutions, revealing excellent agreement, which proved the approach useful to solve dissolution and diffusion coupled problems as well as microsegregation ones. Furthermore, good agreement was observed between the model results and measurements of eutectic volume fractions published previously for an Al–Cu alloy. The model was also capable of showing some important features of a typical peritectic transformation. Some instability was observed during model calculations, but it was easily handled by a time step refining technique.