Nanomaterials (Apr 2021)

Formation of Fractal Dendrites by Laser-Induced Melting of Aluminum Alloys

  • Alexey Kucherik,
  • Vlad Samyshkin,
  • Evgeny Prusov,
  • Anton Osipov,
  • Alexey Panfilov,
  • Dmitry Buharov,
  • Sergey Arakelian,
  • Igor Skryabin,
  • Alexey Vitalievich Kavokin,
  • Stella Kutrovskaya

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11041043
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 4
p. 1043

Abstract

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We report on the fabrication of fractal dendrites using laser-induced melting of aluminum alloys. We target boron carbide (B4C), which is one of the most effective radiation-absorbing materials characterized by a low coefficient of thermal expansion. Due to the high fragility of B4C crystals, we were able to introduce its nanoparticles into a stabilization aluminum matrix of AA385.0. The high-intensity laser field action led to the formation of composite dendrite structures under the effect of local surface melting. Modelling the dendrite cluster growth confirms its fractal nature and sheds light on the pattern behavior of the resulting quasicrystal structure.

Keywords