Freezing and ice aging dynamics in saline water under natural convection
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arXiv
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| Autores principales: | , , , , |
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| Formato: | Preprint |
| Publicado: |
2025
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| _version_ | 1866915732010303488 |
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| author | Wang, Feng Du, Yihong Xie, Xueyi Calzavarini, Enrico Sun, Chao |
| author_facet | Wang, Feng Du, Yihong Xie, Xueyi Calzavarini, Enrico Sun, Chao |
| contents | Understanding the coupled dynamics of liquid-solid phase change and fluid flows is crucial in a wide range of geophysical and industrial applications. When freezing occurs in saline water, the newly formed ice is mushy, with a porous structure that traps the brine within the ice. In this work, which combines experiments and theoretical analyses, we investigate the long-term evolution of saline ice, comprehensively accounting for the coupled dynamics of multiscale fluid flow, heat and mass transfer, and phase change. We show that in a closed convective system the rapid formation of a mushy ice layer is followed by desalination (i.e, the expulsion of salt from the ice) processes that might lead to a slow asymptotic decrease of the ice thickness. Desalination of mushy ice reduces its porosity, which alters the dynamic thermal equilibrium and ice thickness by weakening buoyancy-driven convection within the mushy layer. In turn, changes in brine convection and ice thickness affect the further desalination of the ice. The long-term dynamics of the system can be accurately predicted by a one-dimensional model based on appropriate parameterizations of global heat and mass transfer properties. Furthermore, within the same theoretical model we explore the ice dynamics across a broader parameter space. Our findings advance the understanding of the coupled phase-change physics of saline solutions in the presence of convective fluid flows and provide a basis for explaining and predicting real-world phenomena such as the aging of sea ice. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_06809 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Freezing and ice aging dynamics in saline water under natural convection Wang, Feng Du, Yihong Xie, Xueyi Calzavarini, Enrico Sun, Chao Fluid Dynamics Understanding the coupled dynamics of liquid-solid phase change and fluid flows is crucial in a wide range of geophysical and industrial applications. When freezing occurs in saline water, the newly formed ice is mushy, with a porous structure that traps the brine within the ice. In this work, which combines experiments and theoretical analyses, we investigate the long-term evolution of saline ice, comprehensively accounting for the coupled dynamics of multiscale fluid flow, heat and mass transfer, and phase change. We show that in a closed convective system the rapid formation of a mushy ice layer is followed by desalination (i.e, the expulsion of salt from the ice) processes that might lead to a slow asymptotic decrease of the ice thickness. Desalination of mushy ice reduces its porosity, which alters the dynamic thermal equilibrium and ice thickness by weakening buoyancy-driven convection within the mushy layer. In turn, changes in brine convection and ice thickness affect the further desalination of the ice. The long-term dynamics of the system can be accurately predicted by a one-dimensional model based on appropriate parameterizations of global heat and mass transfer properties. Furthermore, within the same theoretical model we explore the ice dynamics across a broader parameter space. Our findings advance the understanding of the coupled phase-change physics of saline solutions in the presence of convective fluid flows and provide a basis for explaining and predicting real-world phenomena such as the aging of sea ice. |
| title | Freezing and ice aging dynamics in saline water under natural convection |
| topic | Fluid Dynamics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.06809 |