Large Temperature Interval Research Articles

Electron-impact ionization of Si IV-VIII in hot plasmas

Abstract In this work, we investigate the ionization of silicon by electron impacts in hot plasmas. Our calculations of the cross sections and rates rely on the Coulomb-Born-Exchange, Binary-Encounter-Dipole and Distorted-Wave methods implemented in the Flexible Atomic Code (FAC), and are compared with measurements and other theoretical values. We use a semi-empirical formula for the cross section, which involves a small set of adjustable parameters. The rate coefficient is then expressed in terms of these parameters and is represented in a large temperature interval, up to 108 K. As expected, the agreement with measurements improves for increasing ion charges, confirming the applicability of our approach to hot plasma studies such as inertialconfinement fusion, and its reliability. Configuration interaction is taken into account and is shown to affect the cross section at low energy, in particular for Si3+.

Comparative studies on the nature and kinetics of phase transitions in plastic crystals: Hydrogen-bonded adamantane derivatives

In this paper, the results of thermal, structural, and spectroscopic studies on 3-amino-1-adamantanol (3-NH2-1-OH-ADM) were discussed with those recently published for 1-hydroxyl and 1-amine derivatives of adamantane (1-OH-ADM, 1-NH2-ADM). Calorimetric measurements showed that the examined compound, like 1-NH2-ADM, is characterized by multiple thermal events in the thermogram measured on heating and cooling. Further X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared, and Raman spectroscopy investigations suggested that two of them correspond to the transition from the ordinary crystal (OC) to the plastic crystal (PC) phase I and the transition between two PC phases (PC(I) and PC(II)), while the third subtle one is rather not related to a phase transition. Interestingly, ambient pressure dielectric studies performed during heating and cooling cycles revealed changes in the imaginary and real parts of the complex dielectric permittivity at temperatures close to the temperatures of phase transitions detected by the calorimetry. Such behavior resembled that reported for 1-NH2-ADM. Finally, isothermal time-dependent dielectric and infrared studies, supported by the analysis of asynchronous 2D-IR correlation spectra, indicated that the first endothermic peak, visible in the thermogram of 3-NH2-1-OH-ADM over an enormously large temperature interval and related to the OC-PC(I) phase transition, similarly to the one, assigned to the PC(I)-PC(II) transition in 1-NH2-ADM, has a character of the kinetic process. Importantly, during the annealing of 3-NH2-1-OH-ADM at T = 328–343 K, we observed a clear change in the dc-conductivity as well as intramolecular dynamics related to the vibrations of CH, NH2, and OH moieties that occur at different rates.

Effects of Si addition on crystallization process and soft magnetic properties of high-Fe and high-Cu-content Fe–Si–B–P–Cu nanocrystalline alloys

In this study, the effects of Si content on the glass-forming ability (GFA), thermal stability, annealing window, nanocrystallization process, and soft magnetic properties (SMPs) of Fe86.3-xSixB10P2Cu1.7 (x = 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4, denoted as Si0, Si1, Si2, Si3, and Si4, respectively) alloys with high Fe and Cu contents were investigated. Moderate addition of Si (x = 1, 2, and 3) enhanced the GFA and suppressed the precipitation of compound phases, thus leading to a large crystallization temperature interval (ΔTx) exceeding 185 °C for the alloys. Appropriate addition of Si also resulted in the formation of high-density and fine pre-existing α-Fe nanocrystals in as-spun ribbons and a high growth active energy of α-Fe crystals during the subsequent nanocrystallization process for the Si1, Si2, and Si3 alloys, enhancing competitive growth between α-Fe crystals and resulting in fine nanostructure and excellent SMPs of the nanocrystalline alloys (NAs). As a result, the Si1, Si2, and Si3 NAs obtained by annealing at 420 °C for 30 min exhibited excellent SMPs with saturation magnetic flux density (Bs) up to 1.84 T and a low coercivity (Hc) of approximately 10 A/m. In addition, statistical analysis of the relationship between the average grain size (D) of α-Fe crystals and Hc values of the NAs indicated that an Hc α D3 dependence is observed when the D is less than approximately 30 nm, while this dependence follows the well-known Hc α D6 relationship when the D is above 30 nm. The dependency relationship between D and Hc of NAs can guide the selection of an appropriate annealing process to optimize their SMPs.

Low temperature vaporisation of Cr from fluoride flux reacted at 1350 °C with Al–Cr–Fe powder: Thermochemical analysis of gas phase reactions and nano-strand formation

The submerged arc welding (SAW) process is complex because multi-phase reactions occur simultaneously across a large temperature interval from 2500 °C in the arc cavity, down to the weld pool liquidus temperare at the slag-weld pool interface. This complexity hinders research on specific process metallurgy aspects, such as gas formation from the oxy-fluoride slag. The main objective of this work is to illustrate a low temperature experimental technique as an accurate reaction simulation experiment of SAW flux oxy-fluoride slag behaviour in terms of gas formation and metal powder assimilation reaction mechanisms as observed in the SAW process. The oxy-fluoride slag behaviour was confirmed by identification and analyses of nano-strand formation in the reacted slag formed from the reaction of welding flux with Al-Fe-Cr metal powders at 1350 °C. The observed nano-strand formation agrees with similar observations in SAW post-weld slags used to confirm of oxy-fluoride vaporisation and re-condensation. Element distribution from energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) maps and thermochemical calculations were used to gain insights into the reactions in nano-strand formation. The nano-strands contained chromium patches and spots of less than 1 μm in scale, confirming that added Cr metal powder assimilated via the gas phase. Cr-fluoride formed part of the oxy-fluoride slag and likely formed Cr-fluoride gas. Cr was recovered via re-condensation of Cr vapour formed from the reaction of Cr-fluoride with Al gas. This work presents an accurate low temperature simulation method of gas formation and metal powder assimilation reactions in oxy-fluoride slags as in the SAW process.

An organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite material [Me3NCMe3]GaCl4 exhibits a two-step off-on-off SHG response with a large temperature interval.

Reaction of a quaternary ammonium salt with GaCl3 in concentrated HCl aqueous solution led to an organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite material [Me3NCMe3][GaCl4] (1), which shows a two-step off-on-off second harmonic generation (SHG) response with a rapid and large temperature interval.

Dimensionally Stable Delignified Bamboo Matrix Phase-Change Composite under Ambient Temperature for Indoor Thermal Regulation.

Energy storage materials to modulate indoor microclimates are needed to improve energy efficiency and for human comfort. Of these, phase-change material (PCM) is considered a very useful material because of its excellent latent heat energy storage. For application, some synthetic porous materials for supporting PCM are usually not friendly enough for people and housing environments due to their non-degradation characteristics. Hence, to develop an eco-friendly porous material is needed in order to encapsulate PCM composites that are always expected in indoor applications. In this work, heat-treated bamboo bricks were delignified to provide a delignified bamboo (DB) matrix. A phase-change composite was then fabricated by impregnating DB with polyethylene glycol (PEG) polymer. Impregnation was carried out under wet conditions to ensure the regular arrangement of the DB structure so as to achieve dimensional stability. The final DB/PEG composite was investigated for dimensional stability, load rate, latent heat, and phase-change temperature. Results showed that the DB matrix could be easily impregnated with PEG polymer under wet conditions, and the DB/PEG composite was found to have high enthalpy and a large phase-change temperature interval. Moreover, the composite was found to be a good regulator of indoor temperature and a stable dimension with a snow-white appearance. In summary, this DB/PEG composite is an energy storage material with the potential to modulate ambient indoor temperature and reduce building energy consumption.

Thermal stability and crystallization behavior of Al86Ni9Y5 amorphous alloys with different Si addition

In this paper, a series of (Al 86 Ni 9 Y 5 ) 100- x Si x ( x = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) amorphous ribbons were prepared to study the effect of Si addition on the crystallization behavior. The amorphous microstructure of Al 86 Ni 9 Y 5 base alloy is essentially heterogeneous. When it is subjected to annealing, primary α-Al nanocrystals first precipitate in the Al-rich regions and then regrow in the residual amorphous matrix at a far higher temperature, resulting in two separate primary crystallization events, called as abnormal crystallization. Addition of Si to the base alloy principally enhances the chemical heterogeneity, due to which more α-Al crystals precipitates with a lower onset temperature and crystallization activation energy. Meanwhile this abnormal crystallization of α-Al is promoted when x ≤ 3. The largest temperature interval between two crystallization peaks of α-Al is up to 154 K. As more Si is added, however, the crystallization of Al 3 Ni and Al 3 Y is advanced, causing the vanishment of the abnormal crystallization. The strong interaction between different species of solute atoms and the existence of free Al atoms are responsible for the occurrence of the abnormal crystallization. • Abnormal crystallization of α-Al occurs in Al 86 Ni 9 Y 5 but not in Al 86 Ni 9 La 5 amorphous alloy. • Addition of 1–3 at.% Si enhances the abnormal crystallization in Al 86 Ni 9 Y 5 amorphous alloy. • Severe chemical heterogeneity is essential for the abnormal crystallization. • Strong interaction between solute atoms promotes the abnormal crystallization.

Widom line of supercritical CO2 calculated by equations of state and molecular dynamics simulation

Supercritical CO2 has been widely applied in power cycle owing to the exceptional physical property in the supercritical region. The Widom line is very important to reveal the pseudo-boiling mechanism of supercritical CO2 which plays significant influence on design and optimization of power cycle. In this paper, the Widom lines for supercritical CO2 in terms of thermodynamic response functions are constructed using equation of state (EoS) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Different equations of state and CO2 models are proposed and applied to predict the various thermodynamic properties. The results show that the Peng-Robinson (PR) series equations of state play better performance in predicting the thermodynamic properties and the average absolute relative deviation is around 5.7 % compared to the NIST database. The TraPPE model could represent a very good agreement with the experimental values at different pressures with about 1~6 % deviation. Owing to large temperature interval for molecular dynamics, the simulated values could not capture the dramatic change of thermodynamic properties at low temperature region (295 ℃< T < 310 ℃), resulting in that the simulated thermodynamic properties by molecular dynamics are generally lower than that calculated by Peng-Robinson equation of state. When the temperature is larger 335 K, the deviation of Widom lines between the NIST and PR EoS decreases gradually with the temperature. Nonetheless, all the Widom lines could fall into the coexistence zone of liquid-like and gas-like phase which is surrounded by the isobaric temperature boundaries.

Linking the effect of temperature on adsorption from aqueous solution with solute dissociation

Imperative decarbonization of water purification processes entails alternative regeneration methods for activated carbon. Regeneration based on changing dissociation equilibria, i.e. a major influencing factor on adsorption, usually requires the addition of acids/bases, but may also be triggered by temperature swing. Although adsorption and dissociation are both temperature-dependent phenomena, their conjunction has received little attention regarding trace organic compounds (TrOCs) and large temperature intervals, in particular above ΔT ≥ 50 ∘C. Therefore, we studied the adsorption equilibria of 16 TrOCs onto one granular activated carbon at temperatures ranging from 20 to 95 ∘C. The majority of compounds (12/16) exhibited an exothermic apparent adsorption enthalpy, while 3 out of 16 exhibited an endothermic apparent enthalpy. The range spanned from − 46 to + 50 kJ mol−1 (median at − 17 kJ mol−1). The possible origins of endothermic adsorption were discussed. A rationale of shifting pKa and thus changing dissociation of TrOCs was introduced and traded off against existing rationales, i.e. changing solute solubility, changing adsorption heat capacity, and saturation effects of the adsorbates. This knowledge may allow designing temperature swing adsorption processes that unlock the dissociation switch. The augmented process efficiency can thus provide the foundation for low-carbon emission, circular water purification processes.

Disorder-driven ferromagnetic insulator phase in manganite heterostructures

Ferromagnetic insulator plays a pivotal role in various emerging spintronic effects and can be integrated as an essential component into future spintronic devices. However, ferromagnetic insulating perovskite oxides are rather scarce due to the strong coupling between ferromagnetism and metallicity via double exchange and superexchange mechanisms, severely restricting the development for oxide-based spintronic devices. Here, the disorder of manganite La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 (LSMO) films grown on MgAl2O4 substrates is utilized to decouple ferromagnetism and metallicity, thereby inducing a ferromagnetic insulating state over a rather broad temperature and thickness range. These films are non-crystalline with enormous disorder. The films with thicknesses less than 16 nm are in completely insulating state, and the films with thicknesses larger than 16 nm are in essentially insulating state with high resistivity. This insulating state is ascribed to the disorder in LSMO films and can be fitted by a localization model. In contrast, all LSMO films exhibit ferromagnetic transitions with considerable saturated magnetic moments and the Curie temperatures near room temperature, leading to the ferromagnetic insulator phase in our manganite heterostructures over a large temperature and thickness interval. Our results broaden the mind for inducing new ferromagnetic insulating state for potential applications in spintronic devices.

Identifying the optimal amorphous precursor alloy system for dual-phase nanostructure formation according to the impurity tolerance and crystallization mechanism

The amorphous precursor alloys for nanostructure with high Bs always exhibit a low impurity tolerance, inhibiting mass production. Here, we comparatively studied the FeBSiCu, FeBPSiCu and FePSiCu alloy systems in Fe83B12-xPxSi4Cu1 (x = 0–12) alloys made with industrial raw materials. Fully amorphous ribbons were readily prepared in the Fe83B12Si4Cu1 and Fe83P12Si4Cu1 alloys. It is difficult to avoid the surface crystallization induced by the impurities in Fe83B12-xPxSi4Cu1 (x = 2–8) amorphous alloys with a relatively high amorphous formability. The Fe83B12Si4Cu1 alloy exhibits a large crystallization temperature interval (ΔT) which can be further widened by P micro-alloying. The macro-substitution of B by P will lead to a significant decrease of ΔT. The ΔT of the novel Fe83P12Si4Cu1 alloy can be effectively widened by increasing the Fe content and microalloying of B, exhibiting a good potential for the combination of superior ΔT, AFA and impurity tolerance. The low impurity tolerance in the Fe83B12-xPxSi4Cu1 alloys is ascribed to the significant difference in the metallurgical properties of the Fe–B and Fe–P alloys, needing new impurity purification processes. These results will bring a new perspective to develop high Bs precursor alloys and experimental references for critical industrialization.

A temperature gradient evaluation method for determining temperature dependent thermal conductivities

Details of an experimental set-up and an evaluation method for determining temperature dependent thermal conductivities from one-dimensional steady-state temperature distributions are presented. The method is validated by obtaining continuous values for the thermal conductivities of pure Ni in the temperature range between 440 K and 740 K, brass (Cu-30Zn) in the temperature range between 350 K and 650 K and a titanium aluminide (TiAl-TNM) in the temperature range between 400 K and 700 K. The results are in agreement with available literature data. The reported scatter in the literature on conductivities is caused by microstructural or/and compositional differences, which highlights the necessity for swift and accurate experimental determination of thermal properties. For this, the proposed temperature gradient evaluation method is especially suited as it allows the direct determination of thermal properties within large temperature intervals using only a single experimental run. The experimental effort for a comprehensive study of a material is thus drastically reduced as compared to the conventional method of determining thermal conductivity from measured thermal diffusivities and heat capacities. The experimental set-up additionally allows the independent determination of thermal diffusivity as function of temperature. No prior knowledge of any material properties of a given sample is necessary.

Improved Stability and Performance of Surface Acoustic Wave Nanosensors Using a Digital Temperature Compensation

Surface Acoustic Waves (SAW) sensors are known to be an excellent choice for the measurement of a small concentration of analytes in gas mixtures. The use of this type of sensor has been limited until now in the industrial environment due to the sensitivity of its response to temperature variations. To overcome this problem, thermal stabilization of equipment is normally used. We propose here a simple procedure of compensation of thermal drift in SAW sensors, allowing the measurements to be performed in temperature intervals of up to 20 degrees without any thermal stabilization of the sensitive element of a sensor. By monitoring the temperature of the key points of the sensor and applying the proposed polynomial compensation, it is possible to reduce the influence of thermal instabilities of the ambient temperature to the response more than four times. The method is illustrated by a temperature compensated SAW humidity sensor with a graphene oxide nanofilm as water molecules’ sensitive element. The results show enhanced performance of the sensor over a large temperature interval.

Design of a passive optical athermalization of dual-band IR seeker for precision-guided systems

The optical design of a seeker, operating in two bands of infrared (MWIR-LWIR), is performed. The dual-band design has been developed on Zemax OpticStudio. Considering the optical parameters of commercially available dual-band IR detectors, the design of the IR imaging seeker is completed for the operation within the wavelength range of 3–10 µm. The temperature dependence of the optical design is also examined for four different lens barrel materials, for the large temperature interval ranging from −40°C to 80°C. The defocusing effect caused by using different lens barrel is fixed by the passive-optical-athermalization technique. The field of view of the optical system is found to be 16°. The modulation transfer function (MTF) value of each field is higher than 0.50 when the spatial frequency takes a value of 20.8 lp/mm. The results are analyzed and discussed in terms of spot diagram, MTF.

Refrigeration through Barocaloric Effect Using the Spin Crossover Complex {Fe[H2B(pz)2]2(bipy)}

Spin crossover complexes have a very striking signature of a huge volume change coupled with low–high spin conversion around a critical temperature, which can be pressure tuned in a large temperature interval. Herein, the barocaloric effect is reported in the spin crossover complex {Fe[H2B(pz)2]2(bipy)} (bipy = 2,2′‐bipyridine) from theoretical and applied points of view. The experimental data reveal a giant barocaloric effect, through the isothermal entropy change (ΔST = 83 J kg−1 K−1) around T = 273 K, upon moderated hydrostatic pressure variation (ΔP = 2 kbar). The high and linear behavior in the pressure dependence of the phase transition temperature (19 K kbar−1) leads to a huge relative cooling power (RCP = 7296 J kg−1) upon ΔP = 3 kbar, which is discussed using Ericsson's cooling cycle. Theoretical results, obtained from a microscopic model, updated with the vibration modes from density functional theory (DFT) calculation, show remarkable agreement with the experimental data.

Uncommon K-foiditic magmas: The case study of Tufo del Palatino (Colli Albani Volcanic District, Italy)

Leucititic rocks, K-foiditic in composition are volumetrically important in the Colli Albani (also known as Alban Hills) volcanic district (Central Italy) especially during the most explosive phases of activity (>200 km3). The Colli Albani tephra in distal (>500 km) deposits indicates that K-foiditic magma chambers fed large explosive eruptions (i.e., tens of km3 of pyroclastic rocks). Major oxides, trace elements and Raman spectra were measured on the glasses and minerals occurring in the K-foiditic scoria clasts of the ~530 kyr-old Tufo del Palatino, erupted in the Colli Albani volcanic district. The Colli Albani pre-eruptive magmatic system is characterized by the aH2O < 1 and high CO2 activity in the melt, as testified by the CO3 in the clinopyroxene melt inclusions, by the early crystallization of CO3-bearing apatite and by the high CO2 activity in the free volatile phase that led to crystallization of calcium carbonate in the scoria clast vesicles. The K-foiditic magmas plot on the Cpx + Lc + melt divariant surface of the Ol-Cpx-Lc-Mel-H2O-CO2, P ≥ 0.2 GPa and T ≤ 1100 °C. The assimilation of cold carbonate by hot magmas is an important open-system process allowing the establishment of aH20 < 1 condition in the volatile-rich, Colli Albani magma chambers where the stability fields of the olivine and phlogopite are reduced in favor of clinopyroxene and leucite. Trace element modelling indicates large amount of carbonate assimilation (~12.4 wt%) involved in the differentiation process that origins the K-foiditic magmas starting from a K-rich, phonotephritic parental magma. The large amount of assimilate carbonate is consistent with the peculiar distribution of the latent heat across the crystallization interval of the phonotephritic parental magma. The isenthalpic assimilation process is very efficient in the phonotephritic magma because the crystallization of clinopyroxene and leucite in equilibrium with a K-foiditic melt proceeds over a relatively large temperature interval (>200 °C) and the K-foiditic melt shows low viscosity (104Pa·s at 1000 °C). Actually, the low melt viscosity, that increases the growth rate, and the large temperature interval of crystallization are intrinsic factors that increase the release of the latent heat of crystallization from the phonotephritic parental magma. Extrinsic factors enhancing the assimilation process efficiency are the thickness (>4 km) and the depth (down to 5–7 km) of the carbonate substrate in the Colli Albani volcanic district.

Thermal, magnetic and mechanical behavior of large-sized Fe-based amorphous alloy ribbons by twin-roll strip casting

Fe-based amorphous alloys are characteristic of high saturation magnetization, low coercivity, and low core loss, which holds a grand promise for several engineering applications, such as soft magnetic, corrosion-resistant and wear-resistant coatings. However, poor amorphous forming ability (AFA) and size limit remain the main obstacles in applications. This study aims to address those scientific-technical challenges through a twin-roll strip casting method to yield two cost-effective Fe-based amorphous alloy (Fe73Mo4B5Si5P8C5 and Fe80Al2B5P9C4) ribbons with ca. 200-μm thickness and promising soft magnetic functions. Their crystallization behavior, thermal stability, magnetic properties, and mechanical performance for melt-spun and annealed alloys were studied systematically. Results demonstrate that Fe73Mo4B5Si5P8C5 and Fe80Al2B5P9C4 present good thermal stability, a large temperature interval between Tg and Tx1(61.7 °C for Fe73Mo4B5Si5P8C5 and 43.1 °C for Fe80Al2B5P9C4) infers that both the alloys have good processability. Meanwhile, Fe80Al2B5P9C4 amorphous alloy subjected to annealing at 450 °C for 300 s exhibited high saturation magnetization greater than 1.5 T, low coercivity of 5.3 A/m and high hardness of 989 Hv, which were attributed to the utterly amorphous structure and superior thermal stability achieved by twin-roll strip casting. Integrating the favorable mechanical, magnetic characteristics and high manufacturability of ultra-thick Fe73Mo4B5Si5P8C5 and Fe80Al2B5P9C4 amorphous alloys indicates that twin-roll strip casting is a sound solution to tackle the poor AFA and size limit in production of amorphous ribbons.

Integrated Modelling and Simulation of the Additive Manufacturing and Heat Treatment Process Chain

Additive manufacturing of metal parts is widely used for different alloys and different types of application. During building of the parts, local heating of the powder generates a small melt pool with high thermal gradients followed by rapid solidification. Already solidified material is re-melted and affected by heating when layers are added. The thermal history of the moving heat source and the layer building of the part have a high influence on the formed microstructure, the risk of porosities and evolution of cracks. High stresses and permanent deformations develop during the building process, which lead to large deformations when e.g. the base plate is removed. Heat treatment of the parts is often used to reduce the stress level and to minimize the deformations. This paper presents an integrated modelling and simulation approach, where results from the additive manufacturing process are used as initial conditions for the subsequent heat treatment process. An integrated simulation approach has been developed and implemented as a dedicated solution to simulate the sequence of the additive manufacturing process and subsequent heat treatment steps. To get reasonable calculation times multiscale methods have been tested to perform virtual experiments, where the influence of different scanning strategies have been evaluated to optimize temperature distributions and the influence on mechanical performance. A unified creep model is used to describe the mechanical behavior of the material to ensure a consistent description through the large temperature interval and the different levels of time and strain rates.

Crystallization behavior, soft magnetic properties and good bending ductility of high Fe content FeSiBCuPC alloys induced by composition design

Effects of the minor addition of similar ferromagnetic elements (Fe, Co, Ni, and Gd), metal element with strong non-metallic properties (Al), and transition metal elements with large atomic radius (V, Hf, Ti, and Cr) on crystallization behavior, magnetic properties and bending ductility of Fe85Si0·5B9P4Cu0·5C0.1M0.9 alloys were systematically investigated. The addition of Al, Ni, and Co improves the thermal stability and inhibits the growth of the α-Fe grains. Besides, Gd addition causes a large temperature interval, which suppresses the precipitation of secondary phase. Through the optimum heat treatments, the nanocrystalline alloys exhibit excellent soft magnetic properties, such as higher Ms of 191.7–208.7 emu/g and lower Hc of 6.7–12.1 A/m. Due to the nature of brittleness, the shear morphology induced by elemental microalloying is critical for understanding microscopic mechanism of plastic deformation and achieving high toughness amorphous alloys. We demonstrate that the formation of shear bands are related to the degree of amorphization, shear transformation zones and Poisson’s ratio.

Effect of precooling conditions on the ice nucleation temperature and freezing characteristics of semisolid matrices

Abstract This study investigated the effects of precooling conditions on the ice nucleation phenomena of water and semisolid matrices (i.e., gelatin and agar gels). For water, the precooling rate was affected by the ice nucleation temperature, while the difference in the ice nucleation temperature was 0.9 °C even if the precooling rate was changed by 10-fold. For a semisolid matrix, the impact of the precooling rate on the ice nucleation temperature was clearly observed when a constant temperature was applied, whereas this relationship was diminished under stepwise cooling conditions with large temperature intervals (2–8 °C). Linear precooling could be achieved by applying stepwise cooling with a 0.5 °C temperature interval. Ice nucleation could be manually obtained at varying temperatures, and the results indicated that the nucleation temperature affected the phase transition time and the size of the ice crystals for completely frozen gelatin gel. Consequently, this study demonstrated a possible application of precooling conditions in the design of a feasible and novel freezing technique.