Abstract
Containerless solidification, in which the melt is confined by its own surface tension, is an important technique by which very pure materials can be produced. The form of the solidified product is sensitive to conditions at the tri-junction between the solid, the melt and the surrounding vapor. An understanding of the dynamics of tri-junctions is therefore crucial to the modelling and prediction of containerless solidification systems. We consider experimentally and analytically the simple system of a liquid droplet solidifying on a cold plate. Our experimental results provide a simple test of tri-junction conditions which can be used in theoretical analyses of more complicated systems. A new dynamical boundary condition at the tri-junction is introduced here and explains the surprising features of solidified water droplets on a cold surface.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 329-338 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Journal of Crystal Growth |
| Volume | 163 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 1996 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
This work was supported by grants from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration through the Microgravity Science and Applications Division and from the Natural Environment Research Council. We are grateful to M. Elliott for assistance with the experiments, S. Dalziel for access to DigImage, used to gain profiles of the droplets, and to H.E. Huppert and B.J. Spencer for helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper. We also wish to thank the referees for bringing to our attention a number of issues related to the nature of crystallisation.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Inorganic Chemistry
- Materials Chemistry