3D numerical simulation of melt flow in the presence of a rotating magnetic field

Being extensively used in metallurgy, rotating magnetic fields are also bec oming increasingly interesting for application in crystal growth, where the y are intended to act by stabilizing the melt flow. For this purpose, it is important to understand the basic interactions of the magnetically induced flow and other flow components like time-dependent buoyant convection. So a three-dimensional finite volume method was developed in order to numerica lly study the effect of a rotating magnetic field on convection in a cylind rical melt volume. The equations of mass, momentum, and heat transport are solved together with the potential equations describing the electromagnetic field. The numerical computation of the Lorenz force distribution is valid ated by comparison with an analytical solution. The effects of magnetic fie ld parameters in the temperature distributions and the flow patterns in the considered configurations are analysed.