Thermodynamic and microstructural modeling of Nb-Si based alloys

Nb-Si alloys have gained much attention over the last decade as the next generation alloys for high-temperature aero-engine applications due to their low density and improved mechanical properties. However, the microstructures of these alloys are quite complex and vary significantly with the addition of elements such as Ti and Hf. Hence, an improved understanding of the phase stability and the microstructural evolution of these alloys is essential for alloy design for advanced high-temperature applications. In the present paper, we describe the microstructural evolution modeling results of the dendritic and eutectic solidification of the binary Nb-16 at.% Si alloy, obtained using a Phase-Field simulations performed with MICRESS. The effect of parameters; such as heat extraction rate, the ratio of the diffusivity of the solute in liquid to solid, and the interfacial energy of liquid and solid interface, on the microstructural evolution during dendritic solidification is discussed in detail.