Crystal growth and dendritic solidification (Q1184617)

The moving boundary problems of crystal growth and unstable solidification have attracted considerable interest over the last few years. The authors present a numerical algorithm for computing the motion of complex solid/liquid interfaces in crystal growth. The model includes such physical effects as crystalline anisotropy, surface tension, molecular kinetics, and undercooling. The algorithm relies on a boundary integral formulation of the equations of motion coupled to a level set method for advancing the propagating interface. The method is able to follow the evolution of extremely intricate shapes, exhibiting complex behaviour such as fingering, tip splitting, and side branching, as well as topological changes. In addition, the numerical technique is shown to be highly robust, in that refinement of the numerical parameters produces a converged solution, even for the most complex interfaces.