Modeling the interaction of convex solidifying interfaces with spherical particles

AGALIOTIS, E. M.; MARIO ROBERTO ROSENBERGER; ARES, A.E.; SCHVEZOV, C. E.

RSC Advances

Royal Society of Chemistry, London

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2012 vol. 2 p. 12000 - 12006

2046-2069

The phenomenon of pushing during the solidification is modeled for the case of particles generating a convex interface. Thermal and fluid fields are calculated in a decoupled way determining in first place the shape of the interface and then, the two main forces acting during pushing; the drag and repulsion forces. The thermal and fluid flow fields were calculated using finite element methods.Both, the drag and repulsion forces are integrated at each step and compared until both are equal and the steady state of pushing is reached. The repulsion force is integrated using the Casimir-Lifshitz-Van der Waals interaction. It was found that the model predicts the equilibrium distance in a steady state of pushing for spherical particles and a convex solidifying interface. It is shown that the equilibrium separation distance for a convex interface results in a larger solidification velocity for trapping with respect to an ideal planar interface. The model results were in good agreement withexperimental results for the critical velocity reported in the literature