Dynamic evolution of liquid–liquid phase separation during continuous cooling

Journal Article · Tue Jan 06 00:00:00 EST 2015 · Materials Chemistry and Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchemphys.2014.12.039· OSTI ID:1238610

Imhoff, Seth D. ^[1]; Gibbs, Paul J. ^[1]; Katz, Martha R. ^[1]; Ott, Thomas J. ^[1]; Patterson, Brian M. ^[1]; Lee, Wah-Keat ^[2]; Fezzaa, Kamel ^[3]; Cooley, Jason C. ^[1]; Clarke, Amy J. ^[1]

---

1. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
2. Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
3. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

Solidification from a multiphase fluid involves many unknown quantities due to the difficulty of predicting the impact of fluid flow on chemical partitioning. Real-time x-ray radiography was used to observe liquid-liquid phase separation in Al₉₀In₁₀ prior to solidification. Quantitative image analysis was used to measure the motion and population characteristics of the dispersed indium-rich liquid phase during cooling. Here we determine that the droplet growth characteristics resemble well known steady-state coarsening laws with likely enhancement by concurrent growth due to supersaturation. Simplistic views of droplet motion are found to be insufficient until late in the reaction due to a hydrodynamic instability caused by the large density difference between the dispersed and matrix liquid phases.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22), Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-06CH11357; AC52-06NA25396
• OSTI ID: 1238610
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1229034; OSTI ID: 22474483; OSTI ID: 1239535; OSTI ID: 1247744
• Report Number(s): LA-UR--13-28612; PII: S0254058414008499
• Journal Information: Materials Chemistry and Physics, Journal Name: Materials Chemistry and Physics Vol. 153; ISSN 0254-0584
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE