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Tewari, Surendra N.

Publications and source records attributed to Tewari, Surendra N..

Evaluation of the MICAST #2-12 AI-7wt%Si Sample Directionally Solidified Aboard the International Space Station

The US team of the European led "MIcrostructure Formation in CASTing of Technical Alloys under Diffusive and Magnetically Controlled Convective Conditions" (MICAST) program recently received a third Aluminum - 7wt% silicon alloy that was processed in the microgravity environment aboard the International Space Station. The sample, designated MICAST#2-12, was directionally solidified in the Solidification with Quench Furnace (SQF) at a constant rate of 40micometers/s through an imposed temperature gradient of 31K/cm. Procedures taken to evaluate the state of the sample prior to sectioning for metallographic analysis are reviewed and rational for measuring the microstructural constituents, in particular the primary dendrite arm spacing (Lambda (sub1)), is given. The data are presented, put in context with the earlier samples, and evaluated in view of a relevant theoretical model.

Tewari, Surendra N.

Controlled Directional Solidification of Aluminum - 7 wt Percent Silicon Alloys: Comparison Between Samples Processed on Earth and in the Microgravity Environment Aboard the International Space Station

An overview of the international "MIcrostructure Formation in CASTing of Technical Alloys" (MICAST) program is given. Directional solidification processing of metals and alloys is described, and why experiments conducted in the microgravity environment aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are expected to promote our understanding of this commercially relevant practice. Microstructural differences observed when comparing the aluminum - 7 wt% silicon alloys directionally solidified on Earth to those aboard the ISS are presented and discussed.

Grugel, Richard N.

Primary Dendrite Array: Observations from Ground-Based and Space Station Processed Samples

Influence of natural convection on primary dendrite array morphology during directional solidification is being investigated under a collaborative European Space Agency-NASA joint research program, Microstructure Formation in Castings of Technical Alloys under Diffusive and Magnetically Controlled Convective Conditions (MICAST). Two Aluminum-7 wt pct Silicon alloy samples, MICAST6 and MICAST7, were directionally solidified in microgravity on the International Space Station. Terrestrially grown dendritic monocrystal cylindrical samples were remelted and directionally solidified at 18 K per centimeter (MICAST6) and 28 K per centimeter (MICAST7). Directional solidification involved a growth speed step increase (MICAST6-from 5 to 50 millimeters per second) and a speed decrease (MICAST7-from 20 to 10 millimeters per second). Distribution and morphology of primary dendrites is currently being characterized in these samples, and also in samples solidified on earth under nominally similar thermal gradients and growth speeds. Primary dendrite spacing and trunk diameter measurements from this investigation will be presented.

Tewari, Surendra N.

Interface Pattern Selection in Directional Solidification

The central focus of this research is to establish key scientific concepts that govern the selection of cellular and dendritic patterns during the directional solidification of alloys. Ground-based studies have established that the conditions under which cellular and dendritic microstructures form are precisely where convection effects are dominant in bulk samples. Thus, experimental data can not be obtained terrestrially under pure diffusive regime. Furthermore, reliable theoretical models are not yet possible which can quantitatively incorporate fluid flow in the pattern selection criterion. Consequently, microgravity experiments on cellular and dendritic growth are designed to obtain benchmark data under diffusive growth conditions that can be quantitatively analyzed and compared with the rigorous theoretical model to establish the fundamental principles that govern the selection of specific microstructure and its length scales. In the cellular structure, different cells in an array are strongly coupled so that the cellular pattern evolution is controlled by complex interactions between thermal diffusion, solute diffusion and interface effects. These interactions give infinity of solutions, and the system selects only a narrow band of solutions. The aim of this investigation is to obtain benchmark data and develop a rigorous theoretical model that will allow us to quantitatively establish the physics of this selection process.

Trivedi, Rohit

Macrosegregation in Directionally Solidified Pb-Sn Alloys

Thermosolutal convection in the dendritic mushy zone occurs during directional solidification of hypoeutectic lead tin alloys in a positive thermal gradient, with the melt on the top and the solid below. This results in macrosegregation along the length of the solidified samples. The extent of macrosegregation increases with increasing primary dendrite spacings for constant mushy zone length. For constant primary spacings, the macrosegregation increases with decreasing mushy zone length. Presence of convection reduces the primary dendrite spacings. However, convection in the interdendritic melt has significantly more influence on the spacings as compared with that in the overlying melt, which is caused by the solutal build up at the dendrite tips.

Tewari, Surendra N.

Zone Directional Solidification Of NiAl Composites

Interfacial shear strengths increased. Zone directional solidification investigated for use in toughening nickel aluminide matrices in NiAl-matrix/Al(2)O(3)(sapphire)-fiber composite materials.

Bowman, Randy R.

Shape selection criterion for cellular array during constrained growth of binary alloys - Need for low gravity experiment

Development of steady-state periodic cellular array is one of the critical problems in the study of nonlinear pattern formation during directional solidification of binary alloys. The criterion which establishes the values of cell tip radius and spacing under given growth condition is not known. Theoretical models, such as marginal stability and microscopic solvability, have been developed for purely diffusive regime. However, the experimental conditions where cellular structures are stable are precisely the ones where the convection effects are predominant. Thus, the critical data for meaningful evaluation of cellular array growth models can only be obtained by partial directional solidification and quenching experiments carried out in the low gravity environment of space.

Tewari, Surendra N.