Thermocapillary flows in a rotating float zone under microgravity

Abstract

A Galerkin finite‐element method is used to study the rotating, thermocapillary fluid flow in the cylindrical float zone configuration for crystal growth. Results are presented for a fluid of Prandtl number 1.0 in a zone of unit aspect ratio under microgravity conditions. In the absence of rotation, the thermocapillary flow is responsible for large radial non‐uniformities in the heat transfer, especially at the cold boundary. A sufficiently strong uniform corotation of the end rods leads to a rigid rotation of the fluid in the interior of the zone; in this case, the thermocapillary flows are considerably attenuated and confined to a region near the free surface of the zone. This provides a more uniform thermal environment over the bulk of the crystal‐melt boundary, which is a very desirable processing condition. When the end rods are counterrotated, inertially driven meridional flow cells appear in the zone. The interaction of the rotational forced convection with the thermocapillary flow causes the region of the local heat transfer minimum at the cold boundary to gradually shift away from the axis of the zone toward the meniscus. Copyright © 1989 American Institute of Chemical Engineers