Molecular dynamics simulation of high-speed solidification and crystal growth of gold (Au)

To study the microstructure and thermodynamics during the solidification process of liquid metals, the molecular dynamics simulation by using the embedded-atom method (EAM) was conducted to investigate the effects of the cooling rate and external pressure on the solidification process of liquid gold Au. The crystal growth process of liquid Au was simulated by using a two-layer solid-liquid configuration model. The simulation results show that the liquid Au is solidified into the amorphous solid at a high cooling rate and into crystal at a relatively lower cooling rate under the definite external pressure. Under a definite cooling rate, higher the pressure is, higher the crystallization temperature is. Using the lower cooling rate and higher external pressure, the crystallization process is shown to be more sufficient and the molecular structure is more stable.