The effect of the shear flow on particle growth in the undercooled melt

• The growth of a particle in the undercooled melt with a shear flow is studied.
• The approximate solution is obtained by using the asymptotic expansion method.
• The shear effect of flow results in the distorted deformation of the interface.
• The result provides the prediction of the particle evolution in the shear flow.

We study the effect of the linear shear flow on particle growth in the undercooled melt by using the method of matched asymptotic expansion. The analytical result shows that the shear effect of flow results in the significant distorted deformation of the interface. Under the combined action of both shear flow and anisotropic surface tension, the lateral interface of the particle is further compressed but the upper interface and lower interface further grow during the early stage after nucleation to form the distorted ear-like shape formation. As a result, the minimum inner diameter decreases to less than two times the critical radius for nucleation and the strength of the particle becomes weaker, and then the particle will split or be broken into several more fine particles. The analytical result provides the prediction of the interface evolution of the particle under the influence of the linear shear flow.