Computer study of the solidification and fusion of an alloy in a porous cubic matrix

A computer study is presented of the solidification and fusion of a metal, that is non reactively infiltrated in a cubic porous matrix. The entire porous cubic cavity is saturated with the metal and has four adiabatic and two opposing vertical walls at different temperatures. The modeling is based on continuity, Navier Stokes and energy equations. The Darcy-Brinkman-Forchheimer model is used for the description of the porous medium. The discreet equations, with finite volumes, are resolved by using the SIMPLE algorithm. The aim is to study the phase change, solidification and fusion in the porous medium of the cubic cavity, considering natural convection in the liquid phase, constant porosity of the matrix and variable porosity in the soft zone. A one dimensional model is built, the distributions of speed, U.V.W. and temperature θ are determined, as well as the phase change fronts over time. The validation used data that is available in the literature for 2D and experimental models (Beckermann, 1988) (CW)