Natural convection during solidification of liquids is known to impact the freezing characteristics and also lead to defect formation. In this study, we report the findings of real-time interferometric observation of bottom-cooled solidification of pure water in a cubical cavity. The results show first quantitative evidence of full-field thermal history during solidification, clearly depicting the anomalous expansion of water below 4 °C. Furthermore, based on the strength of natural convection, characterized by the Rayleigh number, we identify and report four distinct regimes of solidification, namely—conduction dominated, early convection, front instability, and sustained convection. A critical Rayleigh number that initiates instability in the solidifying front has been proposed, which is significantly different from conventional calculations of Rayleigh number relating to the initiation of flow. The study shows full-field quantitative evidence of a well-known phenomenon and provides a further understanding of flow driven nonhomogeneities in the solidifying interfaces.
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Real-Time Observations of Density Anomaly Driven Convection and Front Instability During Solidification of Water
Virkeshwar Kumar,
Virkeshwar Kumar
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay,
Mumbai 400076, India
e-mail: Virkeshwar12@gmail.com
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay,
Mumbai 400076, India
e-mail: Virkeshwar12@gmail.com
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Atul Srivastava,
Atul Srivastava
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay,
Mumbai 400076, India
e-mail: atulsr@iitb.ac.in
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay,
Mumbai 400076, India
e-mail: atulsr@iitb.ac.in
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Shyamprasad Karagadde
Shyamprasad Karagadde
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay,
Mumbai 400076, India
e-mail: s.karagadde@iitb.ac.in
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay,
Mumbai 400076, India
e-mail: s.karagadde@iitb.ac.in
Search for other works by this author on:
Virkeshwar Kumar
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay,
Mumbai 400076, India
e-mail: Virkeshwar12@gmail.com
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay,
Mumbai 400076, India
e-mail: Virkeshwar12@gmail.com
Atul Srivastava
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay,
Mumbai 400076, India
e-mail: atulsr@iitb.ac.in
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay,
Mumbai 400076, India
e-mail: atulsr@iitb.ac.in
Shyamprasad Karagadde
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay,
Mumbai 400076, India
e-mail: s.karagadde@iitb.ac.in
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay,
Mumbai 400076, India
e-mail: s.karagadde@iitb.ac.in
Contributed by the Heat Transfer Division of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF HEAT TRANSFER. Manuscript received April 7, 2017; final manuscript received September 9, 2017; published online January 10, 2018. Assoc. Editor: Antonio Barletta.
J. Heat Transfer. Apr 2018, 140(4): 042503 (12 pages)
Published Online: January 10, 2018
Article history
Received:
April 7, 2017
Revised:
September 9, 2017
Citation
Kumar, V., Srivastava, A., and Karagadde, S. (January 10, 2018). "Real-Time Observations of Density Anomaly Driven Convection and Front Instability During Solidification of Water." ASME. J. Heat Transfer. April 2018; 140(4): 042503. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4038420
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