The effect of density changes on crystallization with a mushy layer.

A nonlinear problem with two moving boundaries of the phase transition, which describes the process of directional crystallization in the presence of a quasi-equilibrium two-phase layer, is solved analytically for the steady-state process. The exact analytical solution in a two-phase layer is found in a parametric form (the solid phase fraction plays the role of this parameter) with allowance for possible changes in the density of the liquid phase accordingly to a linearized equation of state and arbitrary value of the solid fraction at the boundary between the two-phase and solid layers. Namely, the solute concentration, temperature, solid fraction in the mushy layer, liquid and solid phases, mushy layer thickness and its velocity are found analytically. The theory under consideration is in good agreement with experimental data. The obtained solutions have great potential applications in analysing similar processes with a two-phase layer met in materials science, geophysics, biophysics and medical physics, where the directional crystallization processes with a quasi-equilibrium mushy layer can occur. This article is part of the theme issue 'Patterns in soft and biological matters'.