Simulation of dendritic crystal growth

Prof. Alfred Schmidt

Department of Mathematics, University of Frieburg, Germany

We present finite element methods for the numerical simulation of dendritic crystal growth, both in a zero gravity environment and under gravity condition which results in thermal convection effects. The problem is modelled by the Stefan problem with Gibbs-Thomson condition and (smooth) anisotropic surface tension. For convection, this is coupled with the Navier-Stokes equations in the liquid phase. The numerical method consists of a parametric finite element method for the evolution of the interface, coupled with finite element Navier-Stokes and heat equation solvers. (partly joint work with Eberhard B\"ansch).