Fundamental Understanding of Heterogeneous Ice Nucleation

The freezing of water cooled below its melting temperature (supercooled water) is a common phenomenon in nature and important in many every-day applications, yet it is not a well understood process. Multiple interdependent factors can affect the process, and there is considerable disagreement on the relationships between these factors. This study seeks to shed light on some of this issue by investigating the freezing of supercooled water on various surfaces. The motivation for this research is to further the development of a supercooling based thermal energy storage system that can be integrated with nuclear energy systems. In addition, improved understanding of the freezing phenomenon can help develop scalable freeze desalination systems.