Solution of the Stefan problem with general time-dependent boundary conditions using a random walk method

Abstract: This work deals with the one-dimensional Stefan problem with a general time- dependent boundary condition at the fixed boundary. The solution will be obtained using a discrete random walk method and the results will be compared qualitatively with analytical- and finite difference method solutions. A critical part has been to model the moving boundary with the random walk method. The results show that the random walk method is competitive in relation to the finite difference method and has its advantages in generality and low effort to implement. The finite difference method has, on the other hand, higher accuracy for the same computational time with the here chosen step lengths. For the random walk method to increase the accuracy, longer execution times are required, but since the method is generally easily adapted for parallel computing, it is possible to speed up. Regarding applications for the Stefan problem, there are a large range of examples such as climate models, the diffusion of lithium-ions in lithium-ion batteries and modelling steam chambers for oil extraction using steam assisted gravity drainage.