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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 February 2011
A comparison is made of microstructures of droplets of Ni-Sn alloys rapidly solidified (a) by gas atomization and (b) in a glass emulsifying medium. Cooling rate of the gas atomized particles ranged from 103 to 106K/s depending on droplet diameter (20-230μm). In the hypoeutectic alloy studied (Ni-25wt%Sn), most particles showed a dendritic structure. These same particles, melted and resolidified in a glass medium using DTA (Differential Thermal Analysis), showed undercoolings up to 280K: the structures were dendritic at low undercoolings and non-dendritic at undercoolings above about 220K. It is concluded that (1) the gas atomized particles exhibited little or no undercooling before nucleation, (2) the solidification time of the undercooled emulsified droplets is substantially less than that of gas atomized droplets, and (3) the undercooling required to achieve non-dendritic structure depends on sample size.