Study on crystal growth and distribution characteristics of supercooled salt solution during flow

doi:10.11949/0438-1157.20241528

Abstract

Abstract:

As a good cold storage medium, salt solution ice slurry is widely used in air conditioning, refrigeration, biomedicine and other fields. In this study, the flow field and phase field method (PFM) were coupled, and lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) method was used to analyze the dendrite growth and distribution characteristics of the supercooled salt solution under static and flowing conditions. Meanwhile, partial least squares (PLS) were used to analyze the weight of influencing factors on the supercooled crystallization of the solution. The results show that when the flow velocity increases from 0.1 m/s to 0.5 m/s, the dendritic growth rate upstream increases by 27%, while that of downstream increases by 12%. The influence of anisotropy intensity on dendrite shape is weakened by flow velocity. The dendrite growth rate decreased with the increase of concentration. Supercooling degree and heat flux are important parameters affecting ice crystal growth. With the increase of supercooling degree and heat flux, supercooling crystallization of salt solution is more likely to occur, and dendrite growth is more obvious. It provides scientific guidance and reference for mastering the crystallization solidification characteristics and freezing state regulation of salt solution.

Key words: salt solution, flow, phase change, diffusion, supercooled crystallization, influence weight

摘要：

盐溶液冰浆作为良好的储冷介质，广泛用于空调制冷、生物医药等领域。本研究将流场与相场法耦合，利用LBM方法分析研究过冷盐溶液在静止和流动条件下的枝晶生长与分布特性，并采用偏最小二乘法（partial least squares，PLS）分析了影响溶液过冷结晶的影响因素的权重。结果表明，当流速从0.1 m/s增加到0.5 m/s时，上游的枝晶生长率增长27%，而下游的枝晶生长率增长了12%；受到流速的影响，各向异性强度对枝晶形状的影响减弱；随着浓度的增加，枝晶生长速率变小。过冷度和热通量是影响冰晶生长的重要参数，随着过冷度、热通量的增加，盐溶液过冷结晶越容易发生，枝晶生长更加明显。

关键词: 盐溶液, 流动, 相变, 扩散, 过冷结晶, 影响权重

CLC Number:

TB 66

Fuchun YAN, Penghui GAO, Kezheng CHEN, Bo CHENG. Study on crystal growth and distribution characteristics of supercooled salt solution during flow[J]. CIESC Journal, 2025, 76(10): 5372-5389.

焉富春, 高蓬辉, 陈科拯, 程博. 过冷盐溶液流动过程中结晶生长与分布特性研究[J]. 化工学报, 2025, 76(10): 5372-5389.

Figures/Tables 26

Fig.1 Experimental system

Fig.2 The changing trend of the subcooling crystallization process of salt solutions

Fig.3 The changing trend of the undercooling crystallization process of salt solutions

Table 1 Comparison of subcooling crystallization latent heat of NaCl solutions of different concentrations

来源	NaCl 溶液浓度/%	潜热值/(J/g)
本研究	3.5	286.45
	5.0	268.46
	8.0	231.19
文献^[28]	1.75	315
文献^[28]	17.5	185
文献^[29]	3.88	292
文献^[29]	7.70	279
文献^[30]	3.39	292.5

Fig.4 Flow chart of crystallization simulation of supercooled salt solution

Table 2 Physical parameters and initial condition in simulation

Physical parameters	Water-NaCl binary solutions
interface energy σ/(J/m²)	0.0758
latent heat L/(J/g)	335
equilibrium constant $k e = c l e / c s e$	0.075
salinity mass concentration c/(g/kg)	0.03
mesh number in x axis direction	1500
mesh number in y axis direction	1500
unit mesh size/μm	0.07
time step	3000
mesh size of initial crystal nucleus radius	10
initial supercooling degree of temperature ΔT/K	15

Table 2 Physical parameters and initial condition in simulation

Physical parameters	Water-NaCl binary solutions
interface energy σ/(J/m²)	0.0758
latent heat L/(J/g)	335
equilibrium constant $k e = c l e / c s e$	0.075
salinity mass concentration c/(g/kg)	0.03
mesh number in x axis direction	1500
mesh number in y axis direction	1500
unit mesh size/μm	0.07
time step	3000
mesh size of initial crystal nucleus radius	10
initial supercooling degree of temperature ΔT/K	15

Fig.5 Simulated and experimental dendrite growth trend[33-34]

Fig.6 Effect of flow velocity on single dendrite growth(T0=253.15 K，Δ=0.9, c=3.5%, γ=0.045, qpf =5×105 W/m2)

Fig.7 The dendrite growth rate and solute concentration changes in the upstream and downstream[22]

Fig.8 Effect of flow velocity on dendrite growth(T0=253.15K，Δ=0.9，c=3.5%, γ=0.045, qpf =5×105 W/m2)

Fig.9 Ice crystal pipeline flow distribution

Fig.10 Effect of flow velocity on dendrite position(T0=253.15 K, Δ=0.9, c=3.5%, γ=0.045, qpf =5×105 W/m2)

Fig.11 Effect of dimensionless subcooling on single dendrite growth (T0=253.15 K, c=3.5%, γ=0.045, qpf =5×105 W/m2)

Fig.12 Effect of dimensionless subcooling on growth of multiple dendrites (T0=253.15 K, c=3.5%, γ=0.045, qpf =5×105 W/m2)

Fig.13 The growth rate of different dendrite trunk and branches

Fig.14 Variation trend of heat flow and temperature of salt solution

Fig.15 Effect of different heat flux qpf on single dendrites(T0=253.15 K，v=0.1 m/s，c=3.5%, γ=0.045, Δ=0.9)

Fig.16 Effect of different heat flux qpf on the growth of multiple dendrites(T0=253.15 K，v=0.1 m/s，c=3.5%, γ=0.045, Δ=0.9)

Fig.17 Effect of anisotropy intensity on dendrite growth(T0=253.15 K，c=3.5%, qpf =5×105 W/m2, Δ=0.9)

Fig.18 Effect of anisotropy intensity on supercooled crystallization of solution

Fig.19 Effects of different concentrations on single dendrite growth(T0=253.15 K，v=0.1 m/s，γ=0.045, qpf =5×105 W/m2, Δ=0.9)

Fig.20 Effect of different concentrations on growth of multiple dendrites(T0=253.15 K，v=0.1 m/s，γ=0.045, qpf =5×105 W/m2, Δ=0.9)

Fig.21 Effect of different concentration on crystallization of salt solution(T0=253.15 K，v=0.1 m/s，γ=0.045, q=5×105 W/m2,Δ=0.9)

Fig.22 Effect of different initial temperature on crystallization of salt solution(γ=0.045, qpf =5×105 W/m2, c=3.5%, Δ=0.9)

Fig.23 Effect of initial temperature on crystallization of solution(γ=0.045, qpf =5×105 W/m2, c=3.5%, Δ=0.9)

Fig.24 Influence factor weight distribution trend

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