Modeling of the time evolution of the solidification front in ice cubes

Abstract

The present work is aimed at putting forward a three-dimensional moving-boundary model to calculate the water solidification in ice trays subjected to operating conditions typically found in household appliances. To better understand the physical phenomena and validate the model, experiments were performed in a purpose-built closed-loop wind tunnel facility at -23 °C and air flow rate of 10 m³ h−1 using a single volume of 145 ml fed with distilled, mineral, and filtered tap water. The end of the solidification process was identified by monitoring the cooling curves with the aid of seven thermocouples placed within the ice cube. In the numerical front, the ice cube was modeled as a pyramid trunk and Stefan's formulation was applied to each of the domain boundaries so that the ice thickness could be calculated over time. Deviations within a ±10% error band were observed for all cases. A good agreement between the model predictions for the time evolution of the ice cube temperature and the experimental counterparts was also verified. In addition, literature data for the position of the solidification front and the remaining liquid fraction were fairly predicted by the model.