Crystal growth from a supersaturated melt: relaxation of the solid-liquid dynamic stiffness

Crystal growth of bcc titanium from the melt and interfacial properties: A molecular dynamics simulation study

The crystal growth kinetics and interfacial properties of titanium (Ti) are studied using molecular dynamics computer simulation. The interactions between the Ti atoms are modeled via an embedded atom method potential. First, the free solidification method (FSM) is used to determine the melting temperature T_m at zero pressure where the transition from liquid to body-centered cubic crystal occurs. From the simulations with the FSM, the kinetic growth coefficients are also determined for different orientations of the crystal, analyzing how the coupling to the thermostat affects the estimates of the growth coefficients. At T_m, anisotropic interfacial stiffnesses and free energies as well as kinetic growth coefficients are determined from capillary wave fluctuations. The so-obtained growth coefficients from equilibrium fluctuations and without the coupling of the system to a thermostat agree well with those extracted from the FSM calculations.

Crystal growth kinetics in Lennard-Jones and Weeks-Chandler-Andersen systems along the solid-liquid coexistence line

Kinetics of crystal-growth is investigated along the solid-liquid coexistence line for the (100), (110), and (111) orientations of the Lennard-Jones (LJ) and Weeks-Chandler-Andersen (WCA) fcc crystal-liquid interface, using non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations. A slowing down of the growth kinetics along the coexistence line is observed, which is due to the decrease of the melting enthalpy with increasing coexistence temperature and pressure. Other quantities such as the melting pressure and liquid self-diffusion coefficient have a comparatively lesser impact on the kinetic growth coefficient. Growth kinetics of the LJ and WCA potentials become similar at large values of the melting temperature and pressure, when both resemble a purely repulsive soft-sphere potential. Classical models of crystallization from the melt are in reasonable qualitative agreement with our simulation data. Finally, several one-phase empirical melting/freezing rules are studied with respect to their validity along the coexistence line.