Research of 0001 crystal orientation for magnesium alloys solidified in a fashion of cellular crystals

The magnesium alloy grew in a fashion of cellular crystals during the process of unidirectional solidification, and the 0001 crystal face orientation in the cast ingot of the magnesium alloy was studied. The theoretical model and methodology were set up, and a corresponding experiment was carried out to verify the theoretical analysis results. The experimental results indicate that the 0001 crystal face of magnesium crystals parallels to the width direction for the thin-plate cast ingot when the magnesium grows in a manner of cellular crystals. The separation angle between the 0001 crystal face of magnesium crystals and the vertical axis line of the cast ingot is about 62° for the circular column cast ingot, which distributes in cone-type. The theoretical analysis results are basically in agreement with the experimental ones of previous literatures and this paper.