Morphological Evolution of Dendritic Microstructures

Abstract

Dendrite morphology and evolution during coarsening is examined by the authors using measurements of the three-dimensional microstructure. Such experiments are made possible by recent progress in serial-sectioning techniques. The dendrite-matrix interface is characterized by the local interfacial curvature, which in turn can be used to both predict and understand the evolution of the microstructure. Presented here are the first results that illustrate the power of this new approach.