Dynamics of Dendritic Ice Freezing in Confinement

We use high-speed photography to observe the dendritic freezing of ice between two closely spaced parallel plates. Measuring the propagation speeds of dendrites, we investigate whether there is a confinement-induced thermal influence upon the speed beyond that provided by a single surface. Plates of thermally insulating plastic and moderately thermally conductive glass are used alone and in combination, at temperatures between -10.6 and -4.8 °C, with separations between 17 and 135 μm wide. No effect of confinement was detected for propagation on glass surfaces, but a possible slowing of propagation speed was seen between insulating plates. The pattern of dendritic growth was also studied, with a change from curving to straight dendrites being strongly associated with a switch from a glass to a plastic substrate.