The physical mechanism of crystal growth was analyzed using heat and mass transfer equations

Navier-Stokes equations and growth dynamics in this paper. Cellular automata (CA) method was used to form a phase change model. The desublimation process of water vapor and CO2 in liquid methane is observed by computer simulation. Not only the two-dimensional simulation results of ice crystal growth

but also the two-dimensional and three-dimensional simulation results of CO2 crystal growth in liquid methane were obtained. Results show that this model could simulate water and CO2 crystallization under sub-cooled and supersaturated environment. The two-dimensional ice crystal result is very similar to the real ice crystal with topological structure. CO2 crystal has simpler structure and the simulation results confirm to the characters of authentic CO2 crystal. This model can be improved to analyze the water and CO2 crystallization in liquid natural gas (LNG) and may be used to improve the technology processes of storage

transportation and utilization of LNG.