Melting Inhibition of an Ice Cylinder Due to Rotation

Abstract

The melting behavior of a rotating ice cylinder inside a cylindrical cavity containing calcium chloride aqueous solution was investigated experimentally. The cylindrical cavity was inclined at prescribed angles. We visualized the behavior of the melted ice using a shadow graph technique to elucidate the changes in the melting mass fraction from the ice cylinder resulting from variations in the cylinder rotation speed and the cavity inclination angle. Melting behavior depends strongly on the inclination angle of the cylindrical cavity. Given a large angle of inclination, the ice cylinder mass melting is inhibited by rotation. The melting front is smooth despite the rotation. For a large angle of inclination, observations revealed that the ice cylinder and melted ice rotate together because of viscous forces. A low concentration gradient is thereby created near the melting front, reducing the mass of melting ice and producing a smooth melting front.