Electromagnetic levitation containerless processing of metallic materials in microgravity: rapid solidification.

Space levitation processing allows researchers to conduct benchmark tests in an effort to understand the physical phenomena involved in rapid solidification processing, including alloy thermodynamics, nucleation and growth, heat and mass transfer, solid/liquid interface dynamics, macro- and microstructural evolution, and defect formation. Supported by ground-based investigations, a major thrust is to develop and refine robust computational tools based on theoretical and applied approaches. This work is accomplished in conjunction with experiments designed for precise model validation with application to a broad range of industrial processes.