Numerical simulations are performed to study the interaction of a solidification front with an embedded particle. A sharp-interface method is used to track both the phase boundary and the particle. The solidification front dynamics is fully coupled with particle motion. The main objective of the paper is to distinguish the role played by the premelted layer between the solidification front and the particle in determining conditions for particle engulfment. Results are obtained by assuming a premelted layer exists in the gap between the particle and the solidification front and compared to those assuming no premelted layer. In the absence of a premelted layer, arbitrary cut-off values for particle-front gap thickness need to be invoked in order to define the critical velocity for which the pushing-engulfment transition occurs. When a premelted layer is assumed to exist, the prediction of the critical velocity is determined solely from the dynamics of the coupled front-particle interaction. In addition, model predictions for the critical velocity based on a steady-state heat transfer analysis are shown to differ from that when the full dynamics of the phase boundary are taken into account. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.