Asymptotic equations in directional solidification (Q580054)

Directional solidification is a process which can be used to remove impurities from metals by repeated melting and freezing. The properties of the final material are in a large part determined by the structure of the solid-liquid interface which may be planar, cusped, or dendritic. In certain parameter regions the modes which destabilize a planar interface are the low modes. In these regimes, there is an effective separation of scales which allows one to derive evolution equations for the dynamics of the solidification front. Such an analysis is possible both (1) just below the limit of absolute stability and (2) just above the limit at which a coherent interface vanishes, if deviations from local thermal equilibrium are taken into account. The ability of the resultant equations to describe the relevant physics is discussed.