An improved phase-field framework for simulating impacts of solidifying metal drops
Here, an improved phase-field method for simulating the impact dynamics of solidifying molten metal droplets is developed using targeted free-energy modifications. Conventional Cahn-Hilliard-Navier-Stokes (CHNS) formulations generally do not capture melt retraction over a solidified portion of the droplet, because the newly formed solid region is not treated as an actual internal boundary in a single-order-parameter diffuse-interface model. As a result, the formulation lacks an internal wetting condition or localized wall-energy mechanism capable of driving melt retraction over a solidified splat. To address this limitation, a diffuse-domain wall-energy term is added to the free energy, with a chemical-potential contribution that is active near the diffuse liquid-solidified-material-gas triple-line region, enabling the remaining melt to retract over a solidified splat. In addition, a solidification penalty term is introduced to immobilize the solidified splat formed during impact and suppress unphysical interface motion caused by residual Cahn-Hilliard diffusion inside the frozen region. The proposed formulation is validated against benchmark experiments on impacts of solidifying tin droplets. The results reveal that the localized wall-energy term captures post-maximum-spread melt retraction, while the penalty term effectively arrests motion of the solidified splat. Qualitative and quantitative comparisons with experiments, volume-of-fluid simulations, and standard phase-field predictions demonstrate that the proposed formulation captures post-maximum-spread melt retraction and provides an accurate estimate of the stabilized final splat diameter.