Experiments on the undercooling of Al-based alloys show a dependence of the
maximum undercooling on the structure of the primarily nucleating phase. T
o model the interfacial energy of the different phases a numerical method w
as employed, which is based on a model originally developed to estimate the
interfacial energy between a melt and cubic phases. Here, it is extended t
o the polytetrahedral phases Al13Fe4, Al5Fe2 and to the icosahedral quasicr
ystalline I-phase in Al-Pd-Mn. The numerically estimated solid-liquid inter
facial energies are in agreement with experimental results as inferred from
undercooling data. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.