Ice Premelting Layer Studied by Resonance Shear Measurement (RSM)

Area of Science:

• Geophysics
• Physical Chemistry
• Materials Science

Background:

• Ice premelting layers form at the interface between ice and other materials below 0°C.
• Understanding the properties of these layers is crucial for phenomena like friction and lubrication.
• Previous studies have explored confined water but less is known about ice premelting layers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the viscosity of ice premelting layers in contact with silica.
• To determine how temperature, sliding speed, normal load, and contact pressure affect this viscosity.
• To compare the behavior of ice premelting layers with typical confined liquids.

Main Methods:

• Resonance shear measurement (RSM) was employed to study the ice premelting layer.
• Experiments were conducted in the temperature range of -18 to -1 °C.
• Varying sliding speeds, normal loads, and contact pressures were applied.

Main Results:

• The viscosity of the ice premelting layer was found to be approximately 5 orders of magnitude greater than bulk liquid water.
• Viscosity continuously decreased with increasing sliding speed across the studied temperature range.
• Normal load and contact pressure did not significantly influence the viscosity of the premelting layer.

Conclusions:

• Ice premelting layers exhibit significantly higher viscosity than bulk water.
• The observed dependence of viscosity on sliding speed mirrors that of confined liquids.
• The lack of influence from normal load and contact pressure suggests unique properties of ice premelting layers compared to typical confined liquids.