Center for Process Simulation and Design, University of Illinois Robert B' Haber, Duane D' Johnson,

1
Center for Process Simulation and Design,
University of IllinoisRobert B. Haber, Duane D.
Johnson, Jonathan A. Dantzig, DMR-0121695Dendriti
c Growth in Confined SpacesB. Athreya1, J.A.
Dantzig1 and N. D. Goldenfeld2, University of
IllinoisDepartments of 1Mechanical and
Industrial Engineering, 2Physics
Objectives Use computation to help understand
the mechanisms of pattern selection during
solidification in confined spaces. Approach We
use adaptive grid phase-field calculations in
full 3-D to understand the complex interactions
between pattern selection and physical
boundaries. Impact These computations show for
the first time that experiments can be
contaminated by the presence of physical
boundaries. The results of this work are
important to the metal casting industry.
Simulated microstructures for different thickness
physical domains, and comparison with
experimental observations