A study of forced crystallization by the method of molecular dynamics

Forced crystallization of a liquid with a Lennard-Jones interparticle potential in the presence of a crystalline nucleus of a face-centered cubic phase was studied by molecular dynamics. The influence of the degree of supercooling and the size and shape of the nucleus on the rate of crystallization and the character of growth of various nucleus faces was examined. Various face growth types were observed, namely, plane-parallel and octahedral growth and successive transitions from one type to another. The interphase Gibbs energy at the liquid-solid interface was estimated at 4.3 +/- 0.4 mJ/m(2).