The objective of the proposed research is to obtain an improved understanding of the transport phenomena occurring during solidification of multicomponent mixtures. The research is aimed at investigating the effects of buoyancy and solid/liquid density difference driven flow in the liquid phase on the heat and mass transfer and solidification processes. A consistent model that integrates the description of the transport phenomena occurring on a macroscopic level, such as momentum, energy, and species transfer due to convection and diffusion, as well as on a microscopic level, such as nucleation, interfacial transfer, and growth of the microstructures will be developed. The theoretical work will be supplemented by a comprehensive experimental program through which qualitative and quantitative information about the relevant transport phenomena can be obtained and which serves to validate the model predictions. The results obtained through the proposed research will contribute to improved understanding and control of a wide range of processes involving solidification and will lead to more realistic predictions and optimization of material properties. The work is pertinent to ingot solidification, shape casting, directional solidification, continuous casting, welding processes, rapid solidification, electroslag remelting, as well as coating, purification, crystal growth and polymer production.
