An experimental investigation of the melting process of an ice bead on the smooth and micro-grooved surfaces under a hot shear flow

Abstract

In the present study, we experimentally investigated the melting process of an ice bead on the smooth and micro-grooved surfaces under a hot shear flow. One smooth silicon surface and three micro-grooved silicon surfaces were fabricated and tested. A parameter study of the substrate surface temperature and the air flow speed was conducted. During the experiment, an ice bead was first formed from a freezing water droplet on a cold substrate surface. Then, the ice bead was exposed to a hot shear flow and its melting process was recorded by a CCD camera and an infrared camera simultaneously. As for the micro-grooved surfaces, the direction of the hot shear flow was parallel to the micro-grooves. The results showed that the melting process of the ice bead on the smooth and micro-grooved surfaces under a hot shear flow could be divided into three categories. The air flow speed, the surface temperature, and the type of the surface had a significant influence on which category the melting process of the ice bead belonged to. Besides, the presence of the micro-grooves was found to apparently affect the wetting length, the removable time, and the temperature along the centerline of the ice bead. In general, the micro-grooved surfaces were found to be more favorable for the ice bead melting process than the smooth surface.