Effect of ultrasonic vibration on freezing of supercooled water

A method to actively control the supercooling of water is one of the critical issues for cold-energy storage systems utilizing ice slurry. The authors experimentally studied the use of ultrasonic water to ice. Figure A-1 shows a schematic of the experimental apparatus. A heat transfer plate made of copper was immersed in water and cooled by coolant from its upper side. The authors measured the maximum degree of supercooling in the absence of ultrasonic vibration (Exp. 1), and they examined the tendency for the supercooled water to freeze on the heat transfer surface when ultrasonic vibration was applied to the water (Exp. 2). Figure A-2 shows the probability of the freezing for pure water as a function of the degree of supercooling. A{sub e} represents the rate of surface erosion on an aluminum film attached to the heat transfer surface, which is an index of the cavitation intensity. Comparing the results of Exp. 1 and Exp. 2 shows that ultrasonic vibration is effective for promoting freezing. The results of Exp. 2 indicate that the probability of freezing on the heat transfer surface exposed to ultrasonic vibration increased as the surface erosion increased. Furthermore, the authors found that ultrasonic vibration ismore » effective not only for controlling the freezing temperature but also for making ice slurry.« less