Motion of a Melting Particle

Abstract

The motion of a single melting spherical particle in its own melt is considered. A formula for the thrust appearing due to flow around the melting particle is derived. The self-similar melting problem is solved for a particle at rest in a quiescent melt to determine the radius of the particle. For a small Reynolds number, it is shown that there exists a critical temperature difference between the particle and the melt such that the accelerating and decelerating modes of motion are separated.