AN ARBITRARY LAGRANGIAN-EULERIAN FINITE-ELEMENT MODEL FOR HEAT-TRANSFER ANALYSIS OF SOLIDIFICATION PROCESSES

A heat transfer analysis for solidification problems has been conducted to evaluate the temperature field and the location of the phase-change interface. An arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian kinematic description has been utilized in the finite-element formulation to impart flexibility to the motion of the nodes. By detaching the nodal points from the underlying material, nodes can be monitored to follow the evolving front, while maintaining shapes of the elements. Special numerical techniques to smoothen the deforming front and to avoid continuous remeshing have been introduced. Numerical examples have been solved to establish the validity of the present model and its strength.