Three-dimensional reconstruction of anomalous eutectic in laser remelted Ni-30 wt.% Sn alloy

Laser remelting has been performed on Ni-30 wt.% Sn hypoeutectic alloy. An anomalous eutectic formed at the bottom of the molten pool when the sample was remelted thoroughly. 3D morphologies of the alpha-Ni and Ni3Sn phases in the anomalous eutectic region were obtained and investigated using serial sectioning reconstruction technology. It is found that the Ni3Sn phase has a continuous interconnected network structure and the alpha-Ni phase is distributed as separate particles in the anomalous eutectic, which is consistent with the electron backscatter diffraction pattern examinations. The alpha-Ni particles in the anomalous eutectic are supersaturated with Sn element as compared with the equilibrium phase diagram. Meanwhile, small wavy lamella eutectics coexist with anomalous eutectics. The Trivedi-Magnin-Kurz model was used to estimate undercooling with lamellar spacing. The results suggest that the critical undercooling found in undercooling solidification is not a sufficient condition for anomalous eutectic formation. Besides, alpha-Ni particles in the anomalous eutectic do not exhibit a completely random misorientation and some neighboring alpha-Ni particles have the same orientation. It is shown that both the coupled and decoupled growth of the eutectic two phases can generate the alpha-Ni + Ni3Sn anomalous eutectic structure.