Connectivity of Phases and Growth Mechanisms in Peritectic Alloys Solidified at Low Speed: an X-Ray Tomography Study of Cu-Sn

The variety of microstructures that form at low solidification speed in peritectic alloys, bands, and islands, or even coupled (or cooperative) growth of the primary alpha and peritectic beta phases, have been previously explained by nucleation-growth mechanisms. In a recent investigation on Cu-Sn, a new growth mechanism was conjectured on the basis of two-dimensional (2-D) optical microscopy and electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) observations made in longitudinal sections. In the present contribution, synchrotron-based tomographic microscopy has been used to confirm this mechanism: alpha and beta phases totally interconnected in three dimensions and bands (or islands) can result from an overlay mechanism, rather than from a nucleation events sequence. When the lateral growth of a new layer is too fast, an instability can lead to the formation of a lamellar structure as for eutectic alloys.