Abstract
Synchrotron-based radiography allows high temporal resolution of dynamic events, such as metallic alloy solidification, and sequences of images of grain morphology and solute patterns in the liquid can now be readily obtained. While most studies contrive stable solidification conditions, there is interest in dynamic liquid effects on solidification relevant to castings, including the effect of external fields. However, challenges remain in reproducing reliably key solidification phenomena, and their quantification. This paper shows the interaction of a pulsed electromagnetic field on the solidification of grain refined and non-grain refined Al-Cu alloys under a range of conditions. Techniques for automated extraction of data are presented and these data are used to explain the effects of field interactions on dendrite fragmentation including new insights into the effects of solid fraction, as well as effects on solute patterns and clustering in equiaxed microstructures.

CV
Prof. Grant’s research takes place at the interface between advanced materials and manufacturing. Particular applications include electrodes for energy storage and advanced metallics for power generation. Many of his research projects are concerned with solidification behaviour in complex alloys, and/or the use of liquid metal, ceramic or polymer droplet and powder sprays to create unusual materials. The research makes use a combination of experimentation on large scale facilities, on-line process diagnostics and numerical simulation. All the research work involves close collaboration with industry.
Prof. Grant received a D.Phil in Materials from Oxford University in 1991 and after holding a Royal Society University Research Fellowship and then Lectureship in the Department of Materials, Oxford University, he became Vesuvius Professor of Materials in 2004. He is a Chartered Engineer (C.Eng), a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (FIMMM), and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2010.
From 1999 to 2004, he was Director of the Oxford Centre for Advanced Materials and Composites (OCAMAC) that helps to coordinate industrial materials related research across Oxford University, and was Director of the TSB-funded Faraday Advance transport network for materials from 2000 until 2007, and Executive Director of the Transport Node of the Materials KTN until 2014. He was one of the founding academics of the Begbroke Science Park at Oxford University, now a major regional and international hub for innovation and close industrial-university collaboration. He was Deputy Head of the Maths, Physical and Life Sciences Division at Oxford University 2012-14, and He is currently Associate Head for Innovation.
He was a member of 2008 Research Assessment Exercise panel for Metallurgy and Materials and a member of the UK Fusion Advisory Board 2007-12. He wrote evidence paper New and Advanced Materials for the UK Government Office of Science Foresight Report Future of Manufacturing (2013). He advises the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council through the Strategic Advisor Network and the Manufacturing the Future Strategic Advisory Team. He is a member of the Rolls-Royce Materials, Manufacture and Structures Advisory Board and the Constellium Scientific Council; He is a non-executive director of a UK-based academic journal publisher.