Study of ice formation

The process of ice formation is a complex process that is still being understood by researchers around the world. Numerous studies have been made to understand how water behaves and freezes at different conditions such as temperature, pressure and size condition. In this project the process of ice formation on a superhydrophobic surface as well as the process of freezing of nano particle colloidal with Aluminum Oxide nano-particles would be recorded and studied using a high speed camera with the temperature readings recorded using a thermocouple set up. A cooling rig was fabricated to include a cooling block fabricated out of aluminum that has cooling water from the water bath running through it. Furthermore a thermal electric cooler (TEC) will be used as a cooling and temperature control unit for the lowering of temperature to form ice. The temperature as well as the time taken for the ice droplets to freeze were recorded and analyzed. The time taken for water droplets to freeze are found to be longer when the substrate of which the droplets are on are on a superhydrophobic CNT surface coated on aluminum compared to water droplets on an aluminum surface without any coating. Moreover it was found that the time taken for the aluminum oxide nano particles (10nm, 80nm and 150nm) colloidal water droplets to freeze was longer compared to that of water droplets containing only DI water.Bachelor of Engineering (Aerospace Engineering