The flow and crystallization processes in a thin layer of liquid metal are investigated. The laboratory model used in the experiments is constructed in the form of a rectangular cuvette, in which two opposite walls are made of acrylic plastic and the other two walls represent brass heat exchangers. The plexiglass walls and the bottom of the cuvette are thermally insulated. The cuvette is filled with liquid gallium alloy. In the isothermal case, cooling of the layer at one of its sides to a temperature lower than the melting point of the alloy triggers the process of layer crystallization near the cooled wall, which proceeds in such away that the crystallization front propagates in the layer plane. The purpose of this work is to study the process of crystallization in the layer of liquid metal in the presence of a vortex flow and to determine the optimal conditions of effective metal stirring. The investigation was carried out with the ultrasonic Doppler anemometer, which was used to measure the flow velocity profiles and to determine the crystallization boundary from the echo profiles. The characteristics of the process evolution for various parameters were obtained.
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