An accurate numerical solution for the transient heating of an evaporating spherical droplet (Q547996)

The authors consider the time-dependent Stefan problem which is extended in such a way to be convenient for the study of transient heating of an evaporating spherical droplet. The mathematical model is reduced by means of corresponding variable transformations to the classical one-dimensional Fourier heat conduction equation together with corresponding boundary conditions. Since the problem is numerically analyzed, the form of the equations obtained, is feasible for the numrical study and the second-order accuracy in time and space is achieved. The authors demonstrate that a version of the Keller box finite-difference scheme, together with the boundary immobilization method can serve as a reliable vehicle for solving this kind of problems. The paper contains a very broad numerical study and demonstrates that the solutions obtained are highly accurate. The paper is written clearly and can be of use in many physical and engineering practical problems.