Effect of Primary Dendrite Orientation on Stray Grain Formation in Cross-Section Change Region During the Directional Solidification of Ni-Based Superalloy

The effect of primary dendrite orientation on stray grain formation in a cross-section change region during the directional solidification of Ni-based superalloy is investigated through both experimental observations and numerical simulation. The results clearly show that the orientation of primary dendrite affects the formation of stray grains in the cross-section change region. It is observed that, for the primary dendrite without misorientation, no stray grain is formed in the cross-section change region; for the primary dendrite with a moderate misorientation (15 deg), stray grains are formed only on the side converging from the mold wall in the cross-section change region. When the misorientation is 25 deg, stray grains are formed on both the side converging from the mold wall and the side diverging from the mold wall in the cross-section change region (the converging side and the diverging side for short). The simulation results are in accordance with experimental results. Furthermore, the correlation among factors such as stray grain formation, primary dendrite orientation, and withdrawal velocity has been analyzed. The mechanism of stray grain formation in various oriented primary dendrites is discussed.