Effect of Silica particles as Nucleates on Release of Supercooled Water

In this study, effects of silica fine particles as nucleates on supercooling that occurs during water cooling as a way to efficiently produce ice used as a high-lighted cold storage material were determined. To enhance freezing of supercooled water, silica particles with different sizes ranging from tens to hundreds of microns were added to distilled water. Cooling experiments were then performed for more than 10 cooling and recovering cycles. The cooling experiment showed that the supercooling degree tended to decrease as the size of the particle became smaller compared to the same mass of administered particles. Through the experiment, we obtained results on the possibility of using silica particles as nucleating agents to help release supercooling of water if particles could be made finer and more homogenized. In addition, basic data obtained from this study could change the existing perception of the uniqueness of nucleating agents as materials.