PENETRATION INTO A MELTING MISCIBLE SUBSTRATE

THIS PROPOSEAL OUTLINES A RESEARCH PROGRAM DESIGNED TO POINTTHE WAY TOWARD OBTAINING A USEFUL MATHEMATICAL MODEL AND/OR PHYSICALLY BASED CORRELATION OF THE RATE OF PENETRATION OF AMOLTEN POOL INTO A LESS DENSE MELTING SUBSTRATE WHEN THE POOL AND SUBSTRATE MATERIALS ARE MISCIBLE. OUR ANALYSIS OF THIS DENSITY-DRIVEN PHASE-CHANGE PROCESS HAS SHOWN THAT, IF THE STREAMIMG FINGERS OF MELT MATERIAL OBSERVED TO RISE FROM THE SUBSTRATE MELT LAYER ARE PLACED A TAYLOR WAVELENGTHAPART, THE MELT FINGERS CONTROL THE POOL PENETRATION PROCESS. THEREFORE, AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF THE TAYLOR INSTABILITY WAVELENGTH PATTERN IN THE MOLTEN POOL JUST ABOVETHE MELTING SUBSTRATE IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE PROGRAM; IT INVOLVES PHOTOGRAPHIC DETERMINATION OF THE THICKNESS OF THE MELT LAYER THAT SEPARATES THE FROZEN SUBSTRATE FROM THE HOT POOL AND PHOTOGRAPHIC DETERMINATION OF THE SPACING OF MELT FINGERS. A LABORATORY STUDY TO OBTAIN NECESSARY DATA ONPOOL PENETRATION RATES IS ALSO PROPOSED. INTERPRETATION OF THE PENETRATION DATA IN TERMS OF THE QUALITATIVE THEORY ALREADY DEVELOPED A FAUSKE & ASSOCIATES, INC., (FAI) AND DESCRIBED HEREIN SHOULD REVEAL FOR THE FIRST TIME A CLEAR "RESEARCH PATH " FOR DEALING WITH THIS COMPLEX, BUT RATHER IMPORTANT, PROBLEM.