Ice Layer Spreading along a Solid Substrate during Solidification of Supercooled Water: Experiments and Modeling.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Physics of Freezing
• Surface Phenomena

Background:

• Understanding the thermal influence of substrates is crucial for controlling ice formation.
• Sessile supercooled water drops present a unique system for studying solidification dynamics.
• Existing models may not fully capture the complexities of ice propagation on various surfaces.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally investigate the thermal effect of solid walls on supercooled water drop solidification.
• To determine the velocity of the initial ice layer propagation.
• To develop and validate a predictive model for ice layer velocity.

Main Methods:

• High-speed video recording to capture ice layer propagation.
• Experiments conducted with varying substrate materials and supercooling levels.
• Development of a semi-empirical model based on the Stefan problem solution.

Main Results:

• Metallic substrates showed weak influence of thermal properties on ice layer velocity, contrary to some prior studies.
• A developed semi-empirical model accurately described experimental data across diffusion-limited solidification regimes.
• The model's overestimation at higher supercooling indicated the importance of kinetic effects.

Conclusions:

• Substrate thermal properties have a limited effect on initial ice layer velocity for metallic substrates.
• The developed model provides a robust framework for predicting freezing velocity under specific conditions.
• Findings offer insights for designing more effective anti-icing surfaces and technologies.