The effect of Ni on the growth morphology of primary β-phase in an In-35 wt%Sn alloy

In-35 wt%Sn alloy is a superconductive alloy and its superconductivity is highly dependent on the properties of the beta-In3Sn phase. However, detail solidification behaviour with microstructure development had not been studied with minor element additions. This paper investigates the effect of minor addition of Ni on the beta-phase evolution in an In-35 wt%Sn alloy during the solidification process using the in-situ real-time synchrotron radiography technique. The beta-phase preferably formed a columnar dendritic structure that made a transition to a mix structure of cellular and dendrite with a unique morphology with an addition of 0.05 wt%Ni. The findings provide detailed observations of microstructure evolution, specifically beta-In3Sn phase, and examine the effects of Ni addition during solidification of the In-35 wt%Sn alloy, as well as the thermal properties of the alloys by differential scanning calorimeter. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This paper investigates the effect of minor addition of Ni on the beta-phase evolution in an In-35 wt%Sn alloy during solidification and provides detailed observations of microstructure evolution and thermal properties.