Solidification of a ternary melt from a cooled boundary, or nonlinear dynamics of mushy layers

We present a mathematical model and its analytical solution describing directional solidification of a ternary (three-component) system cooled from below. We focus on the solidification theory in the presence of two distinct mushy layers: (1) solidification along a liquidus surface is characterized by a primary mushy layer, and (2) solidification along a cotectic line is characterized by a secondary (cotectic) mushy layer. We consider the case when the phase transition temperatures in two mushy layers represent arbitrary functions of the compositions. We obtain an exact analytical solution of the nonlinear set of equations and boundary conditions in the case of a self-similar solidification scenario. Model predictions are in good agreement with existing experimental data.