The kinetics of isothermal crystallization and melting are studied for elemental Ni employing non-equilibrium molecular-dynamics simulations based on interatomic potentials of the embedded-atom-method form. These simulations form the basis for calculations of the magnitude and crystalline anisotropy of the kinetic coefficient $\mu ,$ defined as the constant of proportionality between interface velocity and undercooling. We obtain highly symmetric rates for crystallization and melting, from which we extract the following values of $\mu$ for low index $\{100\},$ $\{110\},$ and $\{111\}$ interfaces: ${\mu }_{100}=35.8\mathrm{}\pm 22,$ ${\mu }_{110}=25.5\mathrm{}\pm 1.6,$ and ${\mu }_{111}=24.1\mathrm{}\pm 4.0$ in units of cm/s K. The results of the present study are discussed in the context of previous molecular-dynamics simulations for related systems, and kinetic models based upon transition-state and density-functional theories.

• Received 15 July 2003

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.69.024108