IDGE - A test of dendritic growth theory using space flight

The isothermal Dendritic Growth Experiment (IDGE), to be performed on three of the United States Microgravity Payload (USMP) flights, starting with USMP-2, is designed to provide microgravity data on dendritic growth for a critical test of theory. Ground based test data using succinonitrile (SCN), from both a flight growth chamber and a laboratory growth chamber, are compared to theoretical calculations of dendritic tip velocities and radii. The comparison shows that the data from the flight chamber are consistent with the historical data and that dendritic growth in a microgravity environment should exhibit significant differences from the dendritic growth of SCN at g sub 0.