Author(s)

Muhammad Musaddique Ali Rafique

Eastern Engineering Solutions LLC, Detroit, MI, USA.

Despite a wealth of experimental studies focused on determining and improving mechanical properties and development of fundamental understanding of underlying mechanisms behind nucleation and growth of ductile phase precipitates from melt in glassy matrix, still, there is dearth of knowledge about how these ductile phases nucleate during solidification. Various efforts have been made to address this problem such as experiments in microgravity, high resolution electron microscopy and observation in synchrotron light after levitation but none have proved out to be satisfactory. In this study, an effort has been made to address this problem by modelling and simulation. Current state of the art of development, manufacturing, characterisation and modelling and simulation of bulk metallic glass matrix composites is described in detail. Evolution of microstructure in bulk metallic glass matrix composites during solidification in additive manufacturing has been presented with the aim to address fundamental problem of evolution of solidification microstructure as a result of solute partitioning, diffusion and capillary action. An overview is also presented to explain the relation of microstructure evolution to hardness and fracture toughness. This is aimed at overcoming fundamental problem of lack of ductility and toughness in this diverse class of materials. Quantitative prediction of solidification microstructure is done with the help of advanced part scale modelling and simulation techniques. It has been systematically proposed that 2-dimensional cellular automaton (CA) method combined with finite element (for thermal modelling) tools (CA-FE) programmed on FORTRAN^? and parallel simulated on ABAQUS^? would best be able to describe this complicated multiphysics phenomenon in most efficient way. Focus is laid on quantification of methodology by which modelling and simulation can be adopted and applied to describe evolution of microstructure in this important class of materials. It is found that proposed methodology is meritorious.

Solidification, Modelling and Simulation, Cellular Automaton

Rafique, M. (2018) Modelling and Simulation of Solidification Phenomena during Additive Manufacturing of Bulk Metallic Glass Matrix Composites (BMGMC)—A Brief Review and Introduction of Technique. Journal of Encapsulation and Adsorption Sciences, 8, 67-116. doi: 10.4236/jeas.2018.82005.