Phase-field modeling of microstructure formation during rapid solidification in Inconel 718 superalloy

The prediction of the equilibrium and metastable phase/grain morphologies during selective laser melting (SLM) of Ni-base superalloys can be accomplished using phase-field modeling (PF). In this paper, a model for binary and multi-component systems is presented and validated via the steady-state growth problem by comparison to theoretical predictions of the Green-function calculations and the Kurz–Fisher model. By means of the PF simulations, a phenomenological dependency of the growth velocity on undercooling during the rapid solidification is evaluated. It is found that the growth velocity does not achieve steady-state values for real process and material parameters. The final microstructure predicted by the PF is in good agreement with the experimental observations. Additionally, the simulations provide concentration profiles, which show a pronounced segregation of solutes to the dendrite core. The simulated microstructures and concentration fields can be used as inputs for the simulation of the precipitation of secondary phases.