An experimental study of ice-layer transition phenomena in a rectangular duct containing water flow

Measurements of both the velocity and turbulence-intensity distributions above an ice-layer surface along flow direction have been performed to clarify the ice-layer transition phenomena observed in a rectangular duct. The test duct which has a lower cooled wall kept less than the freezing temperature of water with cross-sectional dimension of 50 mm by 19 mm was used in the present measurements. The velocity and turbulence-intensity distributions in the test duct were measured using Laser Doppler Velocimeter set up on the two-dimensional traversing table. The freezing experiments were carried out under the condition of uniform water-flow rate even after the ice layer has developed in the test duct. It was found that inlet water flow tended to be laminarized under an influence of developing ice layer, and that onset of the ice-layer transition phenomena might be closely related to an increase in turbulence intensity in the water flow above the developing ice-layer surface.