Numerical simulation analysis on solute redistribution of In–1 wt% Sn alloy during multipass vertical zone refining process

•Vertical zone refining method was applied to produce 7 N-grade indium.•Physical fields during multipass vertical zone refining were simulated by finite volume method.•Voller-Beckerman model was introduced to deal with both back-diffusion and coarsening effect on solute microsegregation.•Dynamical interaction between melt flow and solute redistribution was discussed.•A high-efficiency refining routine for indium was suggested and experimentally proved. Horizontal zone refining has been widely used for the production of ultra-pure metals through solidification-induced microsegregation effect. Current research on vertical zone refining is limited, owing to the high-temperature cracking risk of crucible; however, it is highly potential for low-melting metals as demonstrated in this research. The present work comprehensively dealt with both back-diffusion and coarsening effect on the solute redistribution by adopting the Voller-Beckerman (V-B) model. Physical fields, including temperature, melt flow and solute distribution, were numerically simulated based on In–1 wt.%Sn binary alloy by means of finite volume method, and the dynamic interaction between melt-flow and solute distribution was clarified. A high-efficiency processing routine was suggested, and it was experimentally proved that the vertical zone refining was a promising method for producing ultra-pure 7 N-grade indium.