MODELING OF DIELECTRIC FLUID SOLIDIFICATION WITH CHARGED-PARTICLES INELECTRIC-FIELDS AND REDUCED GRAVITY

A mathematical model and an explicit finite-difference iterative integ ration algorithm for two-dimensional laminar steady flow and solidific ation of an incompressible, viscous, electrically conducting but neutr ally charged melt containing electrically charged particles and expose d to an externally applied electrostatic field were developed. The sys tem of governing electrohydrodynamic equations was derived from a comb ination of Maxwell's equations and the Navier-Stokes equations, includ ing thermally induced buoyancy, latent heat release, and Joule heating , while accounting for the mushy region. Physical properties were trea ted as arbitrarily temperature-dependent. Numerical results demonstrat e the existence of strong electrothermoconvective motion in the melt a nd quantify its influence on the amount of accrued solid, deposition p attern of the electrically charged particles inside the accrued solid, and the melt/solid interface shape.