抄録
Effect of thermo-fluid convective flow on solidification process of a pure metal in a thin melt layer with free surface(s) is investigated by applying the phase-field method. Several kinds of boundary conditions are examined; a thin melt in a Couette shallow cavity that a surface is forced-driven at a constant velocity, and a thin melt with a single or double free surface(s) under Marangoni effect. The authors especially focus on the latter cases. The growth rate and resultant morphology of the dendritic crystal are discussed. The authors make a first comparison with an on-orbit scientific demonstration by Dr. Donald Pettit, a NASA astronaut, on the International Space Station in 2003 in the case of thin layer with double free surfaces.
