The manufacturing of multi-component single crystals with uniform material properties is frequently hampered by the presence of morphological instabilities during the solidification. We discuss the influence of shear flows on the linear and nonlinear stability of the solid/liquid interface during the directional solidification of binary alloys. The flows are generated by nonplanar harmonic translations of the crystal parallel to the mean interface position. Oscillations with physically realizable amplitudes and frequencies are found to be useful for stabilization purposes.
Davis, S.H., Schulze, T.P., Shear Stabilization of a Solidifying Front, 3rd Microgravity Fluid Physics Conference, NASA Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, OH, CP 3338, pp. 351-356, June 13, 1996.