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Disequilibrium and macrosegregation during solidification of a binary melt

Abstract

The crystallization of a liquid mixture in the presence of natural convection is an important problem in geophysics and metallurgy. Simple aqueous solutions may be used as analogue systems to study this process. Both theory and experiment reveal that convective motions in the fluid are important in determining both the rate of solidification and the development of compositional stratification in the solid. Moreover, convection may result in solidification in regions other than near the boundary at which cooling is imposed.

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Kerr, R., Woods, A., Worster, M. et al. Disequilibrium and macrosegregation during solidification of a binary melt. Nature 340, 357–362 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/340357a0

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