Strain-driven steady mush ($\mathbf{q}=\alpha (x,-z)$)

A uniform-permeability mushy layer on an impermeable eutectic floor, under the quadratic roof pressure $p_0-E^2{x}^2/2$, has Darcy flux $\mathbf{q}=\alpha (x,-z)$, where $\alpha =\Pi E^2/\mu$. With pulling velocity $-V{\mathbf{e}}_z$, pure primary crystals, solid fraction $\varphi$, liquid concentration $C$ and constant phase properties, its one-dimensional balances areThe solidification product at the eutectic floor retains bulk composition $C_s=(1-\varphi (0))C_E$. Integration gives $C_s=C_0-(\alpha /V){\int }_0^h(C-C_0)dz$: horizontal strain removes solute before the material freezes. A negative predicted $C_s$ is inadmissible, and diagnoses failure of the assumed steady branch rather than a negative-composition product.

Set $\delta =\sqrt{2\kappa /\alpha }$, $R=\alpha h/V$ and $S=L/[c_p(T_0-T_E)]$. In the regular limit $R\gg S\gg 1$, at fixed finite thermal strain number $\alpha h^2/\kappa$ and bounded phase fraction, the heat equation reduces to $\kappa T^{\prime \prime }+\alpha z{T}^{\prime }=0$. Integration gives the displayed error function profile. Matching the roof temperature gradient $G$ yieldsThe product composition is $C_s=C_0-\alpha (T_0-T_E)\delta [1-e^{-(h/\delta {)}^2}]/[mV\sqrt{\pi }\mathrm{erf}(h/\delta )]$. The asymptotic reduction requires admissible phase fractions. If the thermal strain number grows singularly with $R$, the two ordering inequalities alone do not control boundary-layer errors; the full strain-driven steady mush equations retain the latent-heat term.