Heat Transfer During Melting and Solidification of Metals

Recent advances in the understanding of melting and solidification heat transfer in metals and alloys are discussed. Since heat transfer is generally the rate-determining process, the emphasis in the paper is on fundamental heat transfer processes during solid–liquid phase transformation and comparison between mathematical-numerical model predictions with experimental data. After a brief discussion of theoretical considerations, unidirectional and multidirectional melting and solidification processes are reviewed. The important role played by buoyancy-driven fluid flow is discussed and problem areas needing research attention are identified.