Solidification processes of aqueous binary solution
Details
Fundamental study on solidifying of aqueous binary solution in a rectangular box was carried out.The system is cooled from the upper boundary and heated from below. In this study, experiments were conducted for different initial concentrations and cooling temperatures using aqueous sodium nitrate solution. In the experiments, we measured convecting flows, solid layer thicknesses, temperature and concentration distributions. If the temperature difference between cooling temperature and freezing point is large, solid phase grew as a mushy layer. In the liquid region, the concentration is nearly uniform, resulting from vigorous convection. We also developed a one-dimensional model on solidification of aqueous binary solution when cooled from the top, accounting for vigorous convection in the liquid region.
