The three-dimensional numerical simulation of detached solidification

In this paper, we studied the three-dimensional thermocapillary flow of CdZnTe melt in detached solidification under microgravity. From the results: (1) The flow is steady with a small Marangoni number, as the Marangoni number exceeds a threshold value, the steady flow converts into the unstable convection. (2) With the increase of the gap width, the flow is more likely to develop into the unstable thermocapillary convection. (3) As the aspect ratio increase, the flow area near the lower free surface increases.