Front tracking approach to modeling binary alloy solidification: Accuracy verification and the role of dendrite growth kinetics
International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow
ISSN: 0961-5539
Article publication date: 29 April 2014
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to endorse the idea of using a special post-calculating front tracking (FT) procedure, along with the enthalpy-porosity front tracking (EP-FT) single continuum model, in order to identify zones of different dendritic microstructures developing in the mushy zone during cooling and solidification of a binary alloy.
Design/methodology/approach
The 2D and 3D algorithms of the FT approach along with different crystal growth laws were implemented in macroscopic calculations of binary alloy solidification with the identification of different dendrite zones developing during the process.
Findings
Direct comparison of results predicted by the FT model with that based on the concept of the critical value of the solid volume fraction shows the sensitivity of the latter on an arbitrary assumed value of the dendrite coherency point (DCP). Moreover, for a carefully chosen DCP value the second model provides results that are close to those given by the FT-based approach. It is also observed that the macro-segregation pattern obtained by the proposed method is hardly influenced by chosen dendrite tip kinetics.
Originality/value
To the best authors’ knowledge, for the first time the 3D FT model has been used along with the enthalpy porosity approach to simulate the development of zones of different dendrite morphology during binary alloy solidification. And, a weak influence of assumed different dendrite tip kinetics on the macro-segregation pattern has been proved, what justifies this underlying assumption of the EP-FT method.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education for funding from its Grant No. N N512 457840. The first author acknowledges financial support from the European Union in the framework of the European Social Fund through the Warsaw University of Technology Development Programme.
Citation
Seredyński, M. and Banaszek, J. (2014), "Front tracking approach to modeling binary alloy solidification: Accuracy verification and the role of dendrite growth kinetics", International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, Vol. 24 No. 4, pp. 920-931. https://doi.org/10.1108/HFF-02-2013-0069
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited