Study of ice formation for energy storage

• Main Author: Fong, Kem Goon.
• Other Authors: Yang Chun, Charles
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Mechanical engineering::Alternative, renewable energy sources; DRNTU::Engineering::Mechanical engineering::Energy conservation; DRNTU::Engineering::Mechanical engineering::Fluid mechanics
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/49588
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The ice formation process of pure water at the microscopic level was not well understood throughout many years although numerous studies have been performed in the past. At the nucleation stage, water molecules may behave differently at different temperature, pressure, and volume condition. This project aimed to study and analyse the ice formation process via means of microscopic observation. Then the nucleation temperatures of water samples were recorded and the experimental results were explained using pre-existing theories. A growth chamber was designed and fabricated for in-situ study of ice grown from water droplet with volume of approximately 0.5 µL. Using a thermoelectric cooler as the temperature control unit, extreme cooling was achieved with temperature down to -30 °C. The ice formation process was recorded with a CCD camera attached to an inverted research microscope at 50 frames per second and exported in AVI file extension. The nucleation temperatures of the water samples were measured using thermocouples by referring to the very moment where ice started to form.