Title: A numerical study of solid-liquid phase change with Marangoni effects using a multiphase approach

Authors: L.H. Tan, S.S. Leong, E. Leonardi, T.J. Barber

Addresses: School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia. ' School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia. ' School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia. ' School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia

Abstract: Numerical simulations of the solid-liquid phase change of bismuth with a free surface are carried out under different gravity conditions. A multiphase approach using the Volume Of Fluid (VOF) method over a fixed grid is used to solve the thermocapillary induced flow of the melt and gas phases. The dynamics of the gas phase affects heat transfer from the free surface and consequently the position and shape of the growth front. Higher temperature gradients lead to stronger melt thermocapillary flow and more deformed crystal interfaces. Under normal gravity, buoyancy and thermocapillarity combine to add to the concavity of the interfaces.

Keywords: solidification; free surfaces; Marangoni convection; volume of fluid; VOF; solid-liquid phase change; numerical simulation; gas phase; melt phase; heat transfer; thermocapillary flow; deformation; crystal interfaces; buoyancy; concavity; thermocapillary convection; crystal growth melts; CFD; computational fluid dynamics.

DOI: 10.1504/PCFD.2006.010770

Progress in Computational Fluid Dynamics, An International Journal, 2006 Vol.6 No.6, pp.304 - 313

Published online: 30 Aug 2006 *

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