Numerical Modeling of Dendrite Growth During Directional Solidification: A Review
Received date: 2025-09-30
Revised date: 2025-12-13
Online published: 2026-02-12
Solidification is a fundamental process in advanced manufacturing, playing a pivotal role in determining the microstructure and performance of components. Directional solidification is a critical technique for producing single-crystal superalloy components; however, precise control of dendritic structure remains challenging. This article aims to systematically review the current status and future trends of dendrite growth simulations in directional solidification. In addition, it seeks to elucidate the key role of multiscale modeling in predicting dendritic morphology, dendrite competition, and defect formation. This article focuses on dendritic growth and summarizes the constitutional undercooling theory, dendrite growth models, and typical directional solidification processes. Multiscale numerical simulation methods, including finite element, finite difference, cellular automaton, and phase-field approaches, are emphasized, with an analysis of their applicability and a discussion of their representative achievements from macroscopic physical-field simulation to microscopic dendrite growth modeling. Finally, the key challenges are outlined, and prospective advancements in the numerical simulation of dendrite growth in directional solidification are delineated.
DONG Hongbiao , HAO Wenshuo . Numerical Modeling of Dendrite Growth During Directional Solidification: A Review[J]. Acta Metall Sin, 2026 , 62(5) : 756 -769 . DOI: 10.11900/0412.1961.2025.00301
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