NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF SOLIDIFICATION AND

MELTING PROBLEMS USING ANSYS FLUENT 16.2

BY
SHUBHAM PAUL (10300712142)
DEBORIT DE BISWAS(10300712109)
WASIM SAJJAD(10300712153)
RAKESH KUMAR JHA(10300612037)

Under the Supervision of

Astt. Prof. Debraj Das

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

HALDIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
HALDIA-721657
MAY, 2016

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the work contained in the thesis entitled Numerical Simulation of
Solidification and Melting Problems using Ansys Fluent 16.2 by Shubham Paul
(University Roll no. 10300712142), Deborit De Biswas (University Roll no .
10300712109), Wasim Sajjad (University Roll no. 10300712153), Rakesh Kumar Jha
(University Roll no. 10300612037) of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Haldia
Institute of Technology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Bachelor
of Technology Degree in Mechanical Engineering during the academic session 2012-2016
is a bonafide record of thesis work carried out by them under my supervision and guidance.
Neither of this report nor any part of it has been submitted for any degree or any academic
award elsewhere.

..
Counter signed by Head of the Department

.
Mr. Debraj Das
(Thesis Advisor)

Acknowledgement
We would like to take this golden opportunity to convey our sincere gratitude to Asst. Prof.
Debraj Das who helped us in carrying our project on COMPUTATIONAL FLUID
DYNAMICS and provided useful guidance without which it would be really tough to complete
this project. He was there in each and every stage to assist and motivate us, so that we could
come up with a good work, and due to his faith and trust upon us, we were able to do this project
work.
This project also made us to know about the difference scope of CFD and the different governing
equations and its link with physical problems of solidification and melting of a material.
At last we would like to thank our Head of Department Prof. Tarun Kanti Jana who has given
us this opportunity to work with Sir. Debraj Das, and get an experience of his expertise in CFD.

Abstract
In this study, basically we have dealt with Solidification and Melting problem, which is a moving
boundary problem in which we track the solid- liquid interface which moves with time. Natural
Convection and Conduction are the mechanism behind the physics of these problems. We have
solved Navier-strokes equation along with continuity and energy equation, both in solid and
liquid region using structured grid. In order to make zero velocity condition in solid domain
special care has been taken. We have used enthalpy method to track the solid-liquid interface
with respect to time. A fully coupled implicit method is used to solve the momentum and energy
equation. A diffusion phase change, isothermal with convection along with continuous casting
problem are present in the present study, and is validated with analytical and numerical results
available. First, the two and three dimensional diffusion problem has been solved followed by
gallium melting and mushy zone problem. Lastly, application problem on continuous casting has
been solved and verified.

Contents
1

Introduction

1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4

2
4
7
7

Mathematical Modeling and Finite Volume Method

2.1
2.2

8
9
9
9
10
11
11
11

2.3

Methods needed for solving phase change problems

Literature Survey
Objectives
Thesis Organization
Assumptions
Governing Equations
2.2.1 Continuity Equation
2.2.2 Momentum Equation
2.2.3 Energy Equation
Initial and Boundary Conditions
2.3.1 Initial Conditions
2.3.2 Boundary Conditions

Results and Discussion

12

3.1

Diffusion Problem (Isothermal Case)

3.1.1 Two Dimensional Problem
3.1.2 Three Dimensional Problem
3.2 Isothermal Phase Change With And Without Convection
3.2.1 Gallium Melting with Convection
3.2.2 Gallium Melting without Convection(Diffusion)
3.3 Mushy Zone Problem
3.3.1 Two Dimensional Problem
3.4 Practical Application(Continuous Casting Process)

12
12
15
16
16
19
21
21
25

Conclusions And Scope For Future Work

31

4.1
4.2

31
31

Conclusions
Scope For Future Work

References

32

List of Figures
3.1

Square Cavity Problem without Convection

12

3.2

Square Cavity Problem without Convection

13

3.3

Temperature distribution for square cavity problem (Case-1)

(a)10 sec; (b)20 sec; (c)30 sec.

3.4

Position of interface in two dimensional problem (Case 2)

(a) 41 sec; (b) 61sec; (c) 81sec.

3.5

14

14

Position of Interface (a) t= 0.60 sec, (b) t = 0.75 sec at z = 2 plane,

(c) temperature contours at t = 0.75 sec at z

15
17
17
18
18
19
20
20
22

3.17
3.18
3.19

Melting of Gallium Problem

Streamlines for Gallium melting (a) 6 min, (b) 9 min.
Temperature Contours for Gallium Melting (a) 6 min, (b) 9 min
Interface position at different times
Melting of Gallium Problem
Streamlines for Gallium melting (a) 6 min, (b) 9 min.
Temperature Contours for Gallium Melting (a) 6 min, (b) 9 min
Mushy region two dimensional problem
Vector plot and mushy region for =0.1 (a) t=100 sec,
(b) t=600 sec, (c) t=1000 sec
Comparision of (a) u velocity at t = 500 sec,
(b) solidus and liquidus line at t =1000
Temperature contours for two dimensional mushy region problem
(a) t=600 sec, (b) t=1000 sec.
Solidification in Czochralski Model
Shows the temperature contours for steady conduction solution
Shows Contours of Static Temperature (Mushy Zone) in steady State

3.20
3.21
3.22
3.23
3.24
3.25

Shows the Static temperature contour in transient state

Contours for Stream function at t = 0.2 sec.
Contours for liquid fraction
Contours of temperature t = 5 sec
Stream function Contours at t=5 sec
Contours of liquid fraction at t= 5sec

27
28
28
29
29
30

3.6
3.7
3.8
3.9
3.10
3.11
3.12
3.13
3.14
3.15
3.16

23
23
24
26
26
27

Nomenclature
A

Porosity function for the momentum equations (kg/m3s)

Constant

Constant

Total Enthalpy (J/kg)

Acceleration due to gravity (m/s2)

Thermal conductivity (W/mK)

Pressure (N/m2)

Time (s)

u, v, w

Velocity Component in x, y, z directions, respectively

cp

Specific heat at constant pressure (J/kgK)

eT

Sensible Enthalpy (J/kg)

eL

Latent Enthalpy (J/kg)

fl

Liquid fraction

Greek Letters

Molecular Viscosity (kg/m-s)

Diffusion Coefficient of the variable

Latent heat (J/kg)

Chapter 1
1. Introduction
Now-a-days, the phenomenon of solidification and melting is of great importance in basic
manufacturing processes like casting, welding etc. They have a great impact on many industrial
applications. In earlier days, only analytical solutions were available, which did not give a clear idea
about the process. Moreover, some effects (like convection) were also neglected in those days. So,
implementation of numerical techniques for this kind of problems gathers attention for both present
and future research. Solidification and melting problems are phase change problems, in which a solidliquid interface is moving with time and it has to be observed and tracked. One extra condition is
required for solving general governing equations of this kind of problems. This condition is called
Stefan condition and has to be applied at the solid-liquid interface. The Navier-Stokes equations
coupled with the energy equation are solved in the problem domain.
The problems can be solved numerically using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). In the present
study, finite volume method (FVM) is used with structured meshes which can be easily applied in any
arbitrary geometry. Ansys Fluent has been used as a tool to implement CFD, in the following thesis.

1.1 Methods needed for solving phase change problems

There are many methods for solving the solidification and melting problems. As interface moves with
time, they are classified according to the choice of domain.
1. Variable domain method: Here ,in this method, the governing equations are solved separately
in both domains. Here the domain changes with time because the interface moves with time.
For this reason it is called variable domain method. The Stefans condition is applied to track
the interface. So, this method requires adaptive grid generation and we have to track the
interface. Two separate sets of equation for solid and liquid are required.
2. Fixed domain method: Here, the domain does not changes with time. Governing equations are
to be solved in the domain. The main disadvantage regarding this method is that it sometimes
breaks down when interface moves a distance larger than a space increment in a time step.
However, it can be easily solved using variable domain method. Again for solving multidimensional problems, variable domain method is not applicable.

There are number of techniques available for solving these problems and these can be found in
Hu et al. [1]. These techniques are described below.
(i). Strong solution method: In this method , for getting the interface for the new time step ,
the Stefan,s condition is applied directly and then governing equations are solved. This method
requires large computation time in 3-D problems. Some methods under this category are of fixed
grid method, level set method etc.
(ii). Weak solution method: In this method, we do not use Stefans condition directly instead
we use Stefan condition is implicitly incorporated in a new form of equations . These are also
called as latent heat evolution methods. The main advantages of this method is that the explicit
attention on the moving boundary is not required . There are different types of methods under this
category, some of them are described below.
a. Apparent heat capacity method: In this method, latent heat is accounted for by increasing
the heat capacity of the material in the phase change temperature range. This method was first invented by Hashemi and Sliepcevich [2]. They used a finite volume formulation and CrankNicolson for time integration. Apparent heat capacity is defined in three distinct region (like
solid, liquid and mushy) depending upon the temperature. Although this method is
computationally simple, it did not perform well compared to the other methods. For solving
governing equation in case of a pure metal, we have to assume an artificial phase change
temperature range which is a big disadvantage.
b. Effective heat capacity method:
This method was proposed by Poirier and Salcudean [3]
to eliminate the disadvantage regarding apparent heat capacity. In this case, a temperature profile
is assumed in the interior nodes rather than calculating apparent heat capacity directly. The finite
volume integration method is used to calculate the Effective heat capacity . The disadvantage of
this metod is that it is difficult to implement and costly.
c. Enthalpy method: In this case, the energy equation is transformed in the form of enthalpy.
This transformed form of the energy equation i.e. enthalpy form is to be solved directly.
Temperature of each cell is calculated from the enthalpy. For solving the phase change problem,
it is the most efficient method and latent heat is incorporated through latent heat enthalpy term.
Actually, total enthalpy is divided into two parts namely sensible and latent enthalpy. Governing
equation can be solved for sensible enthalpy with latent heat source term. Here, the relationship
between enthalpy and temperature is important.

Generally, two types of phase change occur in metals and alloys.

3

Isothermal phase change:

In this case, phase change occurs at a distinct temperature,

enthalpy change is a steep change at melting temperature. This happens in case of pure metal i.e.,
Tin, Gallium etc.
Mushy region phase change:

In this case, phase change occurs over a temperature range i.e.,

enthalpy becomes a continuous function of temperature. These problems are referred to mushy
region phase change problems. The relationship between enthalpy and temperature can be any
type linear, exponential. Here only linear relationship is considered. Binary alloys and all
mixtures follow this relationship.

1.2 Literature Survey

Earlier work related to solidification and melting problems is based on diffusion problems only
and convection effects were not so dominant. A brief review regarding the modeling of
solidification and melting problems can be found in Basu et al. [4] and Hu et al. [1]. Basu et al.
[4] have described different types of methods such as fixed domain method, variable domain
method for solving solidification and melting problems. They have formulated the governing
equations for convection-diffusion phase change problems (isothermal as well as mushy region
phase change case). Hu et al. [1] have formulated the governing equations through streamfunction-vorticity formulation as well as primitive variable formulation.
Lazaridis [5] solved multi-dimensional diffusion problems by directly applying Stefan
condition coupled with the energy equation. They solved four kind of diffusion problems. The
discretization scheme for the cells surrounding the interface is different from that for the interior
cells. They used both explicit and implicit time integration scheme. Voller and Cross [6] solved
moving boundary problems using enthalpy methods. They used finite difference scheme for
spatial and for time discretization both implicit and explicit methods are used. They solved two
region problem and two-dimensional problem and compared the result with analytical and
numerical result. Voller [7] developed implicit enthalpy formulation for binary alloy
solidification without taking convection into account and used node jumping scheme for tracking
solid-liquid interface. Crowley [8] extended multidimensional Stefan problems and he solved
solidification of a square cylinder of fluid using enthalpy method when surface temperature is
lowered at a constant rate.

Gau and Viskanta [9] first took the natural convection phenomenon in solidification and
melting problems. They conducted an experiment for studying the buoyancy-induced flow in the
melt and its effect on the solid-liquid interface position and heat transfer rate during the process
of melt-ing and solidification of a pure metal (Gallium) from a vertical wall. They compared the
solution with Neumann problem and concluded that convection effect can be neglected during
phase change problems. Morgan [10] solved phase change problems taking convection into
account. He used ex-plicit finite element method to solve freezing problem in a thermal cavity.
The basic enthalpy formulation of the governing equation was done by Voller et al. [11]. The
enthalpy formulation is a weak solution method. They divided total enthalpy into sensible and
latent enthalpy. They derived an equation for sensible enthalpy, in which latent enthalpy
appeared as a source term. They solved the equation for sensible enthalpy and from that they
calculated temperature. They used FVM for discretization. They solved a problem considering
the effect of natural convection on isothermal solidification in a square cavity. They used
different technique to make the velocity in solid region zero. They used variable viscosity
method, Darcy source based method and switch-off technique as techniques for making zero
velocity in solid domain. This approach was called enthalpy-porosity technique. Voller and
Prakash [12] modelled a methodology for mushy region phase change problem by taking
convection into account. They used enthalpy-porosity tech-nique as mentioned in Voller et al.
[11] for formulation of governing equations. In mushy region, fluid velocity is not zero and
therefore mushy region contributes to some convection, they assumed that in mushy region flow
occurs through a porous media. They defined permeability to model the flow and they took
same governing equation which relates fluid velocity and pressure, derived from the Darcy law.
=

( )

(1.1)

where is the permeability of the porous medium. Voller et al. [11] neglected convective latent
enthalpy source term for isothermal phase change case. Voller and Prakash [12] did not neglect
the convective term of latent enthalpy source term as it is not zero in case of mushy region phase
change problem. They derived general formulae for both temporal and convective latent enthalpy
source term. Brent et al. [13] applied the formulation proposed by Voller and Prakash [12], to the
problem of the melting of Gallium in a rectangular cavity. They considered isothermal case and
convection was taken into account. They plotted isotherms and streamlines at different times and
compared their results with the experimental results obtained by Gau and Viskanta [9]. Wolff et
5

al. [14] solved problem regarding the solidification of Tin in a square cavity by using numerical
as well as experimentally.
The two sides of the cavity were at a fixed temperature and remaining two were insulated. At last
they compared the numerical result with experimental result. For numerical technique they used
enthalpy method. Rady and Mohanty [15] used enthalpy-porosity technique to solve melting of
Gallium .
They validated their result with Wolf et al. [14]. They plotted isotherms and streamlines at
different times in case of melting of Gallium problem. They also plotted the interface position at
different times. Stella and Giangi [16] studied the melting of pure Gallium in a bi-dimensional
rectangular cavity with aspect ratio 1.4. They plotted solid-liquid interface and streamlines at
different times and shown a multi-cellular flow structure built in the process of melting.
Redy et al. [17] studied about the effects of liquid superheat during solidification of pure
metals. They also used the enthalpy-porosity technique. They obtained steady state very early for
higher Rayleigh numbers. They plotted Nusselt number variations and temperature profiles for
different Rayleigh numbers. Ghasemi and Molki [18] studied isothermal melting of a pure metal
enclosed in a square cavity having Drichlet boundary conditions in each side. They continued their
8

computations for Rayleigh number 0 to 10 and Archimedes number 0 10 . They plotted liquid
fraction variation with time, falling velocity of solid phase and shape of the solid-liquid interface.
They found that for low Rayleigh and Archimedes number, both melting rate and solid velocity are
low and melting is almost symmetrical. Melting rate enhances with the higher value of Rayleigh and
Archimedes number.
Gong and Mujumder [19] studied melting of a pure phase change material in a rectangular

con-tainer heated from below. They used Streamline Upwind/Petrov Galerkin finite element
method in combination with fixed grid primitive variable method. Flow patterns for different
Rayleigh numbers were used. They also studied the instability of free convection flow at higher
Rayleigh numbers.
Bertrand et al. [20] reviewed the methods to solve the solidification problems and
compared the results. They gave the results for high as well as low Prandtl number fluids. Hwang
et al. [21] considered the effect of density variation with phase change when tin solidifies in a
square cavity. They used multi-domain method to cope up with abnormal variations of front
position due to shrinkage.

1.3 Objectives
The objective is to solve Three and Two Dimensional Solidification and Melting Problem
using Ansys Fluent 16.2 for both Isothermal and mushy region phase change and validate
the simulation results with numerical, experimental and analytical solutions available in
the literature.

1.4 Thesis Organization

A brief introduction along with literature review is presented in chapter 1. Mathematical
modeling, Governing equations and initial and boundary conditions are described in
chapter 2. Problem solving using Ansys Fluent on Solidification and Melting is shown in
chapter 3. At last Conclusion and scope for future works are listed.

Chapter 2
2. Mathematical Modeling and Finite Volume Method
Nowa-days, Navier-Stokes equations and energy equation in solidification and melting
problems are solved using the fixed domain method. Because of versatility of Fixed domain
enthalpy method ,it can be used for both isothermal and mushy region phase change problems. In
this case, as the position of the interface is obtained as part of the solution, explicit information
about the interface is not required. While solving Navier-Stokes equation in the solid domain,
attention must be taken to make zero velocity condition in that domain. Therefore, the fixed
domain enthalpy method demands some techniques to do that, which is described in the next. As
convective effect is not neglected so the Navier-Stokes equations and the energy equation are
coupled in these problems . In the present formulation, the governing equations have been
considered in Cartesian coordinates system.

2.1 Assumptions
1. The flow is considered to be incompressible, Newtonian and laminar.
2. Properties like thermal conductivity, specific heat are assumed to vary linearly with liquid
fraction.
3. The density variation due to phase change is neglected for closed domain problems (like
square cavity problem). The density variation due to temperature in the liquid domain is
incorporated through Boussinesq approximation. Variable density formulation is to be used in
case of external flow. However, the variable density formulation cannot handle shrinkage effect
during solidification. This needs some special treatment [21].
4. Species transport equation is not solved, so solute buoyancy is not included. Only thermal
buoyancy is considered in the present study.
5. Viscous dissipation effect is neglected.

2.2 Governing Equations

The governing equations are as follows based on above assumption are written below.

2.2.1 Continuity Equation

. () = 0

(. )

2.2.2 Momentum Equation

The Navier-Strokes equation (in vector form) for laminar, incompressible flow of
Newtonian fluid can be written as follows

() + . = p + . +

(. )

To make velocities equal to zero in the solid domain, a large negative source term is added to the
above equation. The source term becomes zero when it is liquid domain. So, the equation then
becomes

()

t + . = p + . + + A

(. )

The second source term takes very high value for making the velocities very close to zero in the
solid domain and in the liquid domain, it is simply zero. The equation for A is [13]

(1 )2

(. )

3 +

Where fl is the liquid fraction ,which is defined as the ratio of volume of the liquid present in any
particular cell to the total volume of the cell.

(. )

C and b arre prescribed constants. The equation for A makes the momentum equation to
follow the Carman-Kozeny equation in the mushy region. In mushy region both solid and liquid
phase are present and therefore fl always takes the value like 0< ff <1. Therefore, it is assumed
that the flow occurs through a porous media [13]. Both A and C have dimension to satisfy

momentum equations and C has a very high value (106 3 ) and b is assigned a value 0.001

to avoid division by zero. The value of both C and b makes very high value of A in the solid
region and fluid velocity becomes close to zero as fl =0. But in liquid region fl=1 and therefore
the entire source term becomes zero.
9

2.2.3 Energy Equation

The general form of energy equation after neglecting viscous dissipation term is
Eqn 2.6
The direct form of enthalpy equation is used in the present work. Enthalpy is split into two parts
i.e.,

= +

(. )

Where eT is sensible enthalpy and eL is latent enthalpy per unit mass.

(. )

eL=0 in the solid region, eL =L in the liquid region and eL varies between 0 and L for the cells
undergoing phase change. Substituting e in the energy equation,
( + )
+ . + = .
(. )

After simplifying the equation becomes

( )
( )
+ . = .
.

(. )

Now, as the right hand side of the above equation is in terms of temperature, its contribution to
the diagonal term coefficient is zero. So the equation becomes similar to one of pure convective
equation with the source term, which is less stable during numerical solution. To improve
convergence rate and stability of the above equation, temperature in diffusion is replaced by eT.
Then the equation becomes

( )
+ .

= .

(. )

Latent enthalpy term in the right hand side can be considered as source terms. Detailed updation
procedure can be found in [12].

10

2.3 Initial and Boundary Conditions

2.3.1 Initial Conditions
Initial conditions combined with the boundary conditions will determine whether the given
problem is a phase change problem or not. As phase change problems are unsteady problems, the
initial conditions play a major role in the solution. For solidification, initially some part of the
domain has to be liquid. According to the types of problems parameters are to be initialized. While
solving energy equation, all initial and boundary conditions have to be in terms of sensible
enthalpy.

2.3.2 Boundary Conditions

Boundary conditions needed for the solidification and melting problems can be Dirichlet, Neumann or Robin. The boundary condition is to be implemented as follows. For Neumann boundary
condition is implemented as,

(. )

For solid walls no-slip boundary conditions are used. For pressure, the homogeneous Neumann
boundary condition is used for velocity specified boundaries. For other boundaries, appropriate
boundary conditions should be specified to the physics of the problem.

11

Chapter 3
3. Results and Discussion
In this chapter, problems related to solidification and melting are discussed and verified with
the numerical and analytical solution. Firstly, diffusion phase change problems without convection
effect (Isothermal case only) and then both isothermal and mushy region convection-diffusion
phase change problems are discussed. For solving, phase change problems with convection, a
suitable source term are added in the momentum equations to get zero velocity in the solid domain.
The sensible enthalpy form of the energy equation is solved with the appropriate source terms.
Lastly, a problem on continuous casting has been also discussed in the given thesis, which portrays
the application part of this solidification and melting problem.

3.1 Diffusion Problem

We have solved two benchmark problems on solidification and melting to corroborate the
simulation done through Ansys Fluent, with the numerical and Analytical solution from the
literature. The first question being a 2D problem and the other next one is the 3D problem. Efforts
have been made to simulate and bring the result in accordance with the literature. The properties
taken in such a way that they matches with some non-dimensional quantities (e.g. Stefan number
or some parameter defined in the literature).

3.1.1 Two- dimensional problem

This is a two dimensional problem in which solid is melted in a square cavity having same wall
temperature. There are two cases for solving this problem.
Case 1:-Cavity wall temperature is 1oC.

Figure 3.1:- Square Cavity Problem without Convection

12

Case 2:- Cavity wall temperature is 0.5o C

Figure 3.2:- Square Cavity Problem without Convection

For solving this problem we have to take a square cavity having 1x1 dimension. Here four
interfaces are formed i.e. four solid walls and these are joined to form a single interface. In both
cases, initially the solid is kept inside the cavity at its melting point i.e. Tm= 00C. After that the
temperature of all the boundary walls are increased suddenly. Different physical properties taken
for this square cavity problem are as follows:-

Table 3.1:-Physical properties taken for square cavity problem

k

Cp

(W/m-K)

(J/kg-K)

(kgm-3)

(J/kg)

(kg/m-s)

(1/K)

Solid

1.0

100.0

1.0

0.0

Liquid

1.0

100.0

1.0

1000.0

0.1

0.01

Now for computation purpose, we have to choose a 81 x 81 grid mesh. And the above given
physical properties chosen such that these match with non-dimensional parameters like Ra = 104 ,
St=0.1 ,Pr =10.

13

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

Figure 3.3:- Temperature distribution for square cavity problem (Case-1)(a)10 sec; (b)20 sec; (c)30 sec.

(d)40 sec

(a)

(b)

(c)

Figure 3.4:- Position of interface in two dimensional problem (Case 2) (a) 41 sec; (b) 61sec; (c) 81sec
14

The solution graph shows interface position at different time inside the cavity. It also shows that
Temperature/ Contour lines are axis-symmetry as the boundary conditions of each faces is same
and the geometry is symmetric. Here the intensity of convection is less as Raleigh number is less
I.e Ra =104, and as we know that as Rayleigh number increases, the tendency of pushing the solid
increases. And here, Rayleigh number is less so liquid does not have enough potential to push the
solid. So in this case conduction i.e diffusion of heat dominants over natural convection as
Rayleigh number is less. so , convection is neglected in this problem .

3.1.2 Three-dimensional problem

As we have discussed about the 2-dimensional solidification melting problem previously,
now we are getting interest to study about the simulation of the solidification-melting problem of a
3-dimensional cavity having dimensions (4x4x4). This benchmark problem is taken from the thesis
Lazaridis [5] .Initially in this problem the liquid metal having melting point 00C is kept in the
cavity. Suddenly, the temperature of the of the left and bottom wall is reduced to -3.240C that
means Dirichilet condition is applied and the other four boundaries having Neumann boundary
conditions which means they are adiabatic in nature. Now we will track the position of the liquid
solid interface at a constant plane that is Z=2 at different times and will compare with the thesis of
Lazaridis [5]. During the simulation a time step of .01 is chosen. The properties of the metal are
taken by using some non-dimensional number according to Lazaridis [5]. The properties are given
in the Table 3.2.
Table 3.2:- Properties for 3D problem
k
Cp

(W/m-K)
(J/kg-K)
(Kgm-3)

Solid
Liquid

(a)

1
1

1
1

(b)

1
1

(J/kg)

0
5

(c)

Figure 3.5-: Position of Interface (a) t= 0.60 sec, (b) t = 0.75 sec at z = 2 plane, (c) temperature
contours at t = 0.75 sec at z = 2 plane.

15

Figure 3.5(a) and (b) is the comparison of the interface of our simulation with the thesis of
Lazaridis [5] at different timings. Figure 3.5(c) is showing the temperature contours at Z=2 and
t=0.75 sec. Here the effects of conduction are much higher than the effect of convection so we
consider only the effect of conduction.
Here we observe that the wall having lower temperature converted to solid very quickly then the
position interface progress in such a way showed the Figure 3.5. The interface is looking like a
parabola.

Table 3.3-:Physical Properties of Gallium

k
Cp

-3
(W/m-K)
(J/kg-K)
(Kgm )
(J/kg)
(kg/m-s)

Solid
Liquid

32.0
32.0

381.5
381.5

6095.0
6095.0

0.0
80160.0

1.81x10-3

(1/K)

1.2x10-4

3.2 Isothermal phase change with and without convection

The phase change problems solved till now, only deals with diffusion. Since, the research says
that convection effect cannot be neglected [9], therefore the problems now dealt with are solved
with convection effect considered and variation obtained is studied and analyzed.

3.2.1 Gallium Melting with Convection

As we know Gallium melting, being a benchmark problem for isothermal phase change problems,
convection effect was considered and the simulation was validated using Ansys Fluent.
A problem from Brent et al. [13] is taken to evaluate the simulation obtained. The problem is
defines as stated below:
A rectangular cavity of 0.0889 m in length and 0.0635 m in height is taken in which pure solid

Gallium is initially kept at 28.3 C. Suddenly, left wall temperature is increased to 38 C which is
higher than the melting point temperature (Tm= 29C) of Gallium and the right wall is kept at the
initial temperature of the solid Gallium. Other two boundaries are insulated. A 42 x 32 grid is
chosen for the simulation. Figure 3.6 shows the computation domain with the necessary boundary
conditions. The physical properties are taken from Brent et al [13]. The properties are shown in the
table 3.3. For the present simulation, A=106 and b=0.001 are taken. A time step of 0.01 is used.

16

Figure 3.6: Melting of Gallium Problem

(a)

(b)

Figure 3.7: Streamlines for Gallium melting (a) 6 min, (b) 9 min
Figure 3.7 shows streamlines at different times. Melting of Solid Gallium takes place due to the
heated wall and a solid-liquid interface moving in the right hand side of the cavity and therefore,
density of the liquid Gallium changes with temperature in the area adjacent to the heated wall. The
liquid Gallium rises up having less density and heavier liquid stays at the bottom. As a result, a
convection current due to density difference in liquid Gallium is set up inside the cavity, which is
called as natural circulation, and this enhances the melting.
Figure 3.8 shows temperature contours at different times. Initially, the contours are straight which
indicates that heat transfer occurs mainly due to conduction. But as the time progresses, convection
phenomena becomes dominant and a slight curvature in the contour plot is observed.

17

Figure 3.9 shows interface comparison with Brent et al. [13] at different times. Front position
comparison obtained is satisfactory. To plot the interface position, fl =0.5 contour is used. At any
particular time, the interface divides the cavity area into two distinct phases.
With the passage of time, front moves rapidly in the top but the movement is very slow in the
bottom. This signifies that the convection is more prevalent in the upper portion. Hot liquid
impinges on the solid Gallium in the top of the cavity and therefore melting rate is more in the top
as compared to

(a)

(b)

Figure 3.8:-Temperature Contours for Gallium Melting (a) 6 min, (b) 9 min

Figure 3.9: Interface position at different times

18

the bottom portion.

However, melting of Gallium is a controversial problem in the literature [26]. There is a
controversy between multi-cellular and mono-cellular liquid flow of Gallium, first pointed out by
Dantzig [27]. In the present study, mono-cellular liquid flow is assumed. A great effort has been
made by Hannoun et al. [26] to solve the controversy.
However, the interface position does not match well with the literature. It overestimates the result
given in Brent et al, the reason could be time step used and discretization techniques. Due to
controversial effect discussed in the previous paragraph, may also play an important role in the
estimation of the interface position at different times.

3.2.2 Gallium Melting Without Convection

Gallium melting as already stated, being a benchmark problem for isothermal phase change
problems, in which now the convection effect earlier considered and was neglected and the suitable
data value are obtained and studied.
Again the same problem from Brent et al. [13] is dealt with convection effect neglected. For the
convenience to reader again the problem is defined in the same manner as it was done in the
previous problem.

Figure 3.10:- Melting of Gallium Problem

Similar post processing is done as in Gallium melting with convection problem, with the aim to
correlate both the problems deduce the dominating factor prevalent in the problems.

19

(a)

(b)

Figure 3.11:Interface for Gallium melting (a) 6 min, (b) 9 min

Figure 3.11 shows interface at different times. Melting of Solid Gallium takes place due to the
heated wall and a solid-liquid interface moves in the right hand side of the cavity. Density of the
liquid Gallium changes with temperature in the area adjacent to the heated wall. Since the
convection effect is neglected no circulation phenomenon is developed.
Figure 3.12 shows temperature contours at different times. All through the simulation period,
contours are straight which indicates that heat transfer occurs mainly due to conduction. Since,
only convection predominates only straight contours are observed, with negligible streamlines.

(a)

(b)

Figure 3.12: Temperature Contours for Gallium Melting (a) 6 min, (b) 9 min

20

3.3 Mushy region problem

Till now, we have dealt with isothermal phase change problems with and without natural
convection. In case of isothermal phase change, phase change occurs at distinct temperature. But,
in case of mushy region, phase change occurs over a temperature range. Therefore, latent heat is
dependent upon the temperature. Several relationships between latent heat and temperature can be
possible. A linear relationship is mostly used in literature due to its simplicity. In the present case,
both linear and non linear relationships are taken. In isothermal phase change, we have neglected
the convective term of the latent heat, but it is included in mushy region [12].
Both two and three dimensional problem are presented here.
The linear relationship can be obtained as follows:

= +

(3.1)

Where a and c are constants. Now, the value of the constants can be determined by applying
suitable conditions. At T=Ts, eL =0 and at T=TL, eL=. By applying these condition the following
relationship is obtained
= ( ( ) ;

(3.2)

A more general relation is

= (

) ;

(3.3)

Where n is the index value. Generally, 2 n 5 is accepted. When n=1, the relationship becomes
linear. Otherwise, it is non-linear.

3.3.1 Two-dimensional problem

A two dimensional mushy region phase change problem is taken from Vollar and Prakash [12].
However, it has been reported in [24] that for high Prandtl number (Pr=1000) liquid, the
requirement of computational time is more. Therefore, to reduce the computation time, low Prandtl
number (Pr = 10) is taken by Debraj Das [24].
We have also taken Pr=10 in the simulation. The computational domain is shown in Fig.
3.13. A 40 X 40 uniform hexahedral grid is taken in 1 x 1 domain. Initially, cavity is filled with
liquid having initial temperature 0.5C. Suddenly, left wall temperature is reduced to -0.5C and
right wall is kept as the initial temperature 0.5C. Suddenly, left wall temperature is reduced to 21

0.5C and right wall is kept as the initial temperature. Other two boundaries are kept insulated. The
problem is solved with different values of .The value of the liquid properties shown in Table 3.4
are calculated keeping the non- dimensional number same (Ra=104, Pr=10, St =5.0) [24]. In the
present computation, the value of constant A and b is taken as 103 and 0.01. Figure 3.14 shows

Figure 3.13:-Mushy region two dimensional problem

Table 3.4:-Physical Properties taken for two dimensional mushy region problem
k
Cp

-3
(W/m-K)
(J/kg-K)
(Kgm )
(J/kg)
(kg/m-s)
(1/K)

Solid
Liquid

0.001
0.001

1.0
1.0

1.0
1.0

0.0
5.0

0.01

0.01

Tf
(K)

0.0

Vector plot along with the position of mushy region at different times. For simulation validation
the value of is taken as 0.1. The mushy zone is the region bounded by the solidus and liquidus
lines. Therefore, region bounded by TL = and TS = - is the mushy zone as = (TL- TS)/2. It is
seen from the vector plot that fluid velocity is not zero inside the mushy zone, so the mushy zone
contributes some convection which is expected.
As time progresses mushy zone moves towards the right wall and the solidification rate is
increased. However, in solidification there can exist a steady state [24]. In this problem, it is seen
that mushy zone does not move very much with time after t = 1000 sec. So, the problem reaches
steady state. In the present section, unsteady results

22

(a)

(b)

(c)

Figure 3.14:- Vector plot and mushy region for =0.1 (a) t=100 sec, (b) t=600 sec, (c) t=1000 sec
are presented only.
Comparison of u velocity at different horizontal sections at t = 500 sec is shown in Figure 3.14(a).
Figure 3.14(b) shows the comparison of solidus and liquidus line at t =1000sec. The comparison is
good. The velocity variations are sinusoidal in nature. Small Variation in results is found due to
difference in grid.
Figure 3.16 shows the temperature contours at different times. Near to the left wall contours are
straight which indicates that the heat transfer mainly occurs due to conduction only.
Figure 3.15(b) shows the effect of half mushy range () on the width of the mushy region at t =
1000 sec.

(a)
(b)
Figure 3.15:- Comparision of (a) u velocity at t = 500 sec, (b) solidus and liquidus line at t =1000

23

(a)

(b)

Figure 3.16:-Temperature contours for two dimensional mushy region problem (a) t=600 sec, (b)
t=1000 sec
The problem has been solved by assuming a linear relationship between latent enthalpy and
temperature.

24

3.4 Practical Application (Continuous casting process)

Continuous casting process is now-days, a backbone manufacturing process for almost all the
manufacturing firms, especially the steel plants. With advancement in technology, we have seen
the use of enhanced and improved manufacturing methods, to eliminate earlier defects like
porosity, blow holes, air inclusion, slag entrapment and many more. Here, therefore we have
implemented Ansys Fluent to simulate the real life problem virtually, to effectively study the
outcomes in order to draw conclusions and eradicate the problems faced in manufacturing
industries.
Here, we are solving a benchmark problem on Solidification and melting commonly known as
Solidification in Czochralski Model, which takes place in Continuous Casting Process and is
directly taken from Ansys Fluent tutorial, defined as a solidification problem which involve fluid
flow and heat transfer problem. A 2D axis symmetric bowl has been considered as geometry as
shown in the Figure 3.17 which contain the liquid, the boundary conditions have been mentioned
on the figure itself. The bottom and the sides of the bowl are heated above the liquidus
temperature, as it is the free surface of the liquid. The liquid is solidified by heat loss from the
crystal and the solid is pulled out of the domain at a rate of 0.001 m/s and a temperature of 500 K.
A steady injection of liquid is maintained at the bottom of the bowl with a velocity of 1.01 x 10 -3
m/s and a temperature of 1300 K. Material properties. Initially, steady solution is computed and
then the fluid flow is enabled to investigate the effect of natural and Marangoni Convection in a
transient fashion.
As in continuous casting the material is pulled out continuously so, pull velocity is enabled.
A plot of temperature contours is shown in Figure 3.18, in accordance with the literature present
in Ansys Fluent Tutorial [23].
Contours of temperature (Mushy zone) is shown in Figure 3.19-: in steady state solution,

25

Figure 3.17: Solidification in Czochralski Model

Case 1: Steady State Solution
In steady state solution we would specify the type of discretization form, and would restrict the
calculation of flow and swirl velocity equation on temporary basis, in order to calculate
conduction only.

Figure 3.18:-Shows the temperature contours for steady conduction solution.

26

Figure 3.19:- Shows Contours of Static Temperature (Mushy Zone) in steady State.
Case 2: Transient State Solution
The previous steady state solution was taken as the initial condition for transient state solution.
In this flow and swirl velocity equation is being calculated.
Now, for transient state solution numerous plots have been plotted in various parameters to
validate the problem with the thesis [23].

Figure 3.20:- Shows the Static temperature contour in transient state

27

Figure 3.21:- Contours for Stream function at t = 0.2 sec

In the Figure 3.21 , the contour obtained for Stream function is due to Natural convection and
Marangoni convection on the free surface.

Figure 3.22-:Contours for liquid fraction

Figure 3.22, here the current position of melt front is being displayed here. The Mushy zone
divides the liquid and solid regions roughly into half.
Further simulation is done for 48 more number of time steps in all total of 50 time steps. And the
plots obtained us somewhat like this. In Continuous Casting, it is very important to know when to
pull the material out. If it is pulled earlier it wont get solidified (still in mushy zone), and if
pulled late it will be solidified and wont be pulled out in a desired shape. By proper study of the
solidus and liquidius temperature contour, the optimal pull rate can be easily calculated.
28

Figure 3.23:- Contours of temperature t = 5 sec

The Figure 3.23, shows that the temperature contour is fairly uniform along the melt zone and
solid material, and due to recirculating liquid the distortion obtained in the temperature is clearly
visible.
After 5sec the flow is mainly dominated by Natural convection and Marangoni stress as seen
from Figure 3.24.

Figure 3.24: Stream function Contours at t=5 sec

29

Figure 3.25:- Contours of liquid fraction at t= 5sec

30

4. Conclusions and scope for future work

4.1 Conclusion
The following study entrails the simulation done through Ansys Fluent, on few
benchmark solidification and melting problems which include 2D and 3D isothermal problem,
Gallium melting with and without convection, a Mushy region and problem and in the last a
application problem on Continuous casting problem named as Solidification in Czochralski
Model, and has been validated with the numerical and analytical data present in the literature.
In the first two problems for isothermal case (diffusion problem) has been solved, followed by
mushy region problem.
In Gallium melting with and without convection has been tried to solve to show that convection
plays a vital role in enhancing the rate of melting. Many Plots on temperature, streamlines and
interface has been plot to show the variation obtained. Natural Convection pattern has been
shown using the streamline plot.
In the last problem, on continuous casting, both steady state and transient state solution has been
shown.

4.2 Scope for Future Work

We have neglected Density Change in the present thesis. With rapid void and Shrinkage
formation because of Density change the flow field changes to shrinkage-induced flow. In the
present study species equation has not been solved. So, one could add with Navier-Strokes and
Energy equation for determining the composition in each phase in the multi-component alloy
solidification process. Only thermal buoyancy has been considered. However, due to nonuniform cooling solutal buoyancy effect may arise. The flow has been considered as laminar.
Models related to turbulent flow can also be added to phase change problems. The Ansys
Simulation results has been verified with the literature data.

31

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34