Numerical simulation on the coupling of the elliptical particle motion and phase change

Abstract

The particle sedimentation and phase change in the mushy zone are accompanied by a variety of complex transfer processes involving momentum, heat, and mass. It is very important to investigate the coupling process of particle settling and melting in the mushy zone for revealing the mechanism of the solid-liquid phase change. In this paper, the motion process and heat transfer characteristics of an elliptic particle as well as two particle interactions in the vertical channel were solved by the finite element method with the consideration of coupling of the phase change and motion. The Arbitrary Lagrangian-Euler Method (ALE) was employed to track the interface of the moving particle and fluid. Results show that the elliptical particle settles along the channel's center line vertically under gravity and undergoes phase change simultaneously. Uneven velocity and temperature fields surrounding the particle are generated by sedimentation, resulting in the particle with an irregular shape. When the initial position of the particle deviates from the center line, the particle deflects during the sedimentation and shifts both left and right in the X-direction. The different initial angles of settling also affect the sedimentation velocity and melting rate. When two particles settle simultaneously, they will lead to complex movement and heat transfer due to the interaction between each other. If the arrangement is eccentric, both particles undergo complex deflections during sedimentation, leading to different melting rates for the two particles.