Determining dendrite arm spacing in directional solidification using a fast Fourier transform method

An automatic method for determining dendrite arm spacing (DAS) during directional solidification using the fast Fourier transform (FFT) method is developed, enabling future fast monitoring and controlling of DAS in order to achieve consistent and high quality production of casting components. The FFT method has been implemented as a subroutine in a large microstructure model not only to analyze the real-time primary DAS of the microstructural evolution but also to improve our understanding of certain phenomenon such as periodic platform phenomenon. This method can potentially improve the efficiency of determining dendrite arm spacing, as well as the accuracy of data processing. Furthermore, this FFT method has been used to correlate experimental equipment for in-situ measurements of DAS.