Abstract: This paper briefly reviews the recent research on the near rapid directional solidification and microstructure superfining. The morphology transitions and the corresponding mechanical properties are presented. The critical velocities relevant to the morphology transitions are comprehensively given. Meanwhile the solidification characteristics near absolute stability limit are studied.It can be clearly seen that the superfine microstructures possess extremely better properties compared with the conventional microstructures.

Key words: near rapid directional solidification, superfine microstructure, morphology transition, mechanical property