Journal of the Japanese Society of Snow and Ice

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The heat exchange characteristics between snow stored as cold heat source for cooling and water flowing through the bottom layer of the snow were investigated experimentally. The initial shape of the snow was a cuboid. The initial height and length of the snow, flow rate and water level were set to several kinds. It was examined how the shape and size of the snow and outlet water temperature varied with the lapse of time. Natural granulated snow was used as the test sample. As the result, a series of characteristic changes in shape of the snow such that the part where snow immersed in water melted away becomes hollow, and the snow lump falls down and melts fast were observed. The water temperature drop ratio (ratio of the water temperature drop due to heat exchange with snow to the temperature difference between snow and water at inlet) fluctuated in conjunction with the shape change of the snow, and its mean value was almost determined depending on the velocity of flow approaching towards the snow. At constant flow rate, as the water level rose, the mean value of the water temperature drop ratio increased and the relative variation of it decreased. The heat transfer coefficient of the water flowing through a gap between the stored snow and the side wall was evaluated. The correlation between the Nusselt number and the Reynolds number or the dimensionless streamwise length of the snow immersed in water was discussed.

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