Numerical Modeling of Ice Crystal Dendritic Growth with Humidity by Using an Anisotropic Phase Field Model

Abstract

To study the growth characteristics of ice crystals under different humidities, the equation for the subcooling coefficient is fitted, and a phase-field method model based on the heat and mass transfer equation and the energy conservation equation is established. The effects of humidity, dimensionless latent heat, and anisotropic strength on the growth characteristics of ice crystals are analyzed. The results show that the radius of dendrites increases continuously when the relative humidity increases from 55% to 80%, which is 128% under the calculated conditions of this study. With the increase of dimensionless latent heat, the energy required for dendritic crystal crystallization increases and the hindrance of dendritic crystal growth becomes larger. The radius of the dendritic crystals, which increased with humidity, became smaller with increasing K, decreasing by ∼56.6%. The width of the main dendritic crystals decreases continuously with the increase of dimensionless latent heat and decreases with increases in the humidity. With the increase of anisotropic strength, the growth direction of the lateral and main branches becomes more and more anisotropic, and the radius of dendritic protrusions increases as the increase of anisotropic strength increases.