HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER DURING CHEMICAL DEPOSITION OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS FROM THE GAS PHASE UNDER CONDITIONS OF FREE CONVECTION.

A numerical investigation is presented of heat and mass transfer during deposition of Zr carbide-graphite compositions from ZrCl//4 plus CH//4 plus H//2 mixtures in a chemical reactor of the displacement type. The distinguishing features of these reactors are that their height and diameter are comparable and the feed rates of the original reactants are low. As a result, heat and mass transfer in them proceed under conditions of natural convection, induced by the radial density gradient of the gas phase. Theoretical analysis of flows of this type in the general case encounters serious mathematical difficulties due to the necessity of solving Navier-Stokes equations.