Snow Melting by Heating from the Bottom Surface

Abstract

The melting process of a snow layer has been investigated for the case where heat is supplied from the bottom and the meltwater drains continuously. The melting was divided into three patterns, depending on the existence of an ice lens formed by the refreezing of permeating water. A one-dimensional melting model including the draining of meltwater was formulated to account for water permeation and its refreezing in a snow layer. The calculated results for the time variation of each layer and the rate of water drainage are in agreement with the experimental results obtained using compacted and granulated snow. It is found that the melting time and the melting efficiency are affected by water permeation and its refreezing, and the results calculated assuming the classical Stefan problem by neglecting water permeation predict a higher melting efficiency.