Incorporating Surface Diffusion into a Cellular Automata Model of Ice Growth from Water Vapor

TL;DR

This paper introduces a cellular automata model that incorporates surface and bulk diffusion to simulate faceted ice crystal growth from water vapor, enabling better understanding of complex growth patterns.

Contribution

The model uniquely combines surface admolecule diffusion with bulk diffusion in a cellular automata framework for ice crystal growth.

Findings

Reproduces ice growth behavior with reasonable accuracy

Captures complex faceted structures under various conditions

Applicable to other material systems

Abstract

We describe a numerical model of faceted crystal growth using a cellular automata method that incorporates admolecule diffusion on faceted surfaces in addition to bulk diffusion in the medium surrounding the crystal. The model was developed for investigating the diffusion-limited growth of ice crystals in air from water vapor, where the combination of bulk diffusion and strongly anisotropic molecular attachment kinetics yields complex faceted structures. We restricted the present model to cylindrically symmetric crystal growth with relatively simple growth morphologies, as this was sufficient for making quantitative comparisons between theoretical models and ice growth experiments. Overall this numerical model reproduces ice growth behavior with reasonable fidelity over a wide range of conditions, albeit with some limitations. The model could easily be adapted for other material systems, and the cellular automata technique appears well suited for investigating crystal growth dynamics when strongly anisotropic surface attachment kinetics cause faceted growth morphologies.