Liquid bridge solidification between two rods with curved caps

Liquid bridge solidification is a key process in many engineering problems. To advance its applications, we present a numerical investigation of the solidification of a bridge vertically connecting two rods with curved ends. The rod ends are spherical caps to which the bridge interface is pinned. The bridge begins to solidify from its stable vase -like shape. Owing to gravity, when the solid is less dense than the liquid, a ring is formed around the bridge and shifted a certain distance above the bridge midplane. Changing the rod cap from concave to convex enlarges the size of the ring but reduces the ring shift and the solidification time. Increasing the initial liquid volume of the bridge reduces the ring asymmetry but increases the solidification time. The effects of the solid density relative to the liquid, the length of the bridge, and gravity are also revealed in detail.