Physical and Mathematical Modelling Involving Exothermic Mass Transfer in Liquid Metals

"Physical as well as mathematical modeling was carried out to investigate the exothermic mass transfer in liquid metal systems. In these systems, the exothermicity induces unique heat, mass and momentum transfer phenomena. Moreover, these phenomena are deeply coupled and they are further complicated by the presence of a moving boundary.In the physical model used, ice cylinders were immersed into sulfuric acid solutions, because the intermixing of ice with sulfuric acid is very exothermic. In this low temperature system, velocity and temperature measurements in the sulfuric acid were made as well as measurements of the ice melting in the sulfuric acid.The mathematical model developed solved simultaneously the heat, mass and momentum equations numerically, utilizing the control-volume finite difference approach. The enthalpy method was adopted to track the moving boundary. Predictions made by the mathematical model were in close agreement with the results obtained by the physical model.The results from the mathematical model were further validated with experiments involving high temperature liquid metals. Specifically, data were obtained in an experimental setup involving (a) dipping silicon cylinders into high carbon liquid iron and (b) dipping nickel cylinders into liquid aluminum. Results from these experimental studies supported the predictions of the mathematical model."