A deforming finite element method for analysis of alloy solidification problems (Q1261560)

A deforming finite element method for alloy solidification is developed. In this method, the velocities of the solid/mush and mush/liquid interfaces are primary variables. Special procedures are developed to calculate these interface velocities. Therefore, both solid/mush and mush/liquid interfaces can be tracked continuously. This method assumes complete solute mixing with no mass diffusion and requires knowledge of the relationship between the solid fraction and the temperature in the mushy region. In the example problems of solidification of binary alloys, Scheil's equation and the lever rule are used to calculate the solid fraction in the mushy region.