Numerical investigation of convection/diffusion phase change of a metal with temperature‐dependent viscosity

Abstract

SUMMARYHeat and mass transfer during crystallization in a square cavity, involving natural laminary convection of liquid metal with temperature-dependent viscosity, are investigated numerically on a grid with 5 1 x 51 nodes. A brief survey of existing techniques for convection/diffusion phase change problems is given. A fixed grid numerical methodology, based on the fictitious regions method, is used for solving the 2-D Stefan problem coupled with the Navier-Stokes equations in the Boussinesq approximation. The viscosity variation is modelled by an exponential form, Y/YO = exp ( -a(T-1)). The influence of the Grashof number and of the parameter o on heat and mass transfer are investigated.