Dendritic needle network modeling of the Columnar-to-Equiaxed transition. Part I: two dimensional formulation and comparison with theory

The columnar-to-equiaxed transition is a technologically important phenomenon that controls the grain structure in the casting of alloys. Analytical and coarse-grained models, used to investigate this transition, rely on several assumptions concerning dendrite growth kinetics and grain structures. In the first part of this two part paper, we test these assumptions using a two-dimensional (2D) dendritic needle network model that describes both the transient growth dynamics of primary, secondary and higher order branches of the dendritic network within each grain and the solutal interactions between grains that can grow with arbitrary shapes. Our results provide novel insights into the columnar-to-equiaxed transition, distinguishing between abrupt and progressive transitions with different grain structures. Furthermore, they highlight the limitations of commonly used assumptions in analytical and coarse-grained numerical models of this transition. These results are extended to 3D in part II of the paper.