A 2D Numerical Simulation of Binary Alloy Solidification: Effect of Mesh Resolution on Formation of Channel Segregates

Mesh refinement is crucial for capturing the complex phenomena that governs the formation of channel segregates during binary alloy solidification. In this article, the influence of mesh size on the formation of channel segregates during the solidification of Sn-5wt%Pb alloy is numerically investigated. A solver is developed in OpenFOAM for solving the coupled transport equations of mass, momentum, energy and species. Subsequently, the simulations are performed for different mesh sizes to predict the flow field, temperature, species and solid fraction distribution including the morphology of channel segregates. From this study, it is observed that the mesh size significantly affects the morphology and the strength of channel segregates. For very fine mesh size, having sufficient number of grid point along their width, the formed channels are more continuous and the flow inside channels is resolved.