NUMERICAL SOLUTION OF SINGLE-PHASE STEFAN PROBLEM USING A FICTITIOUS MATERIAL

Abstract

A method to solve the single-phase Stefan problem with external heat flux imposed on the phase-change surface is investigated. The method is based on the fixed-grid enthalpy formulation, and uses a fictitious material with vanishingly small specific heat and anisotropic thermal conductivity. The viability of the method is demonstrated on the one-dimensional laser ablation problem with a uniform beam and the two-dimensional problem with a Gaussian beam.