Premelting between Single Silica Particle and Ice during Thermal Regelation

Expand
  • 1. College of Metrology Measurement and Instrument, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
    2. School of Energy and Power Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China 
    3. Leo Group Co., Ltd, East Industry Center, Wenling 317500, China
    4. School of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China

Online published: 2026-01-05

Supported by

This study is supported by The National Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars of China (No. 12102418), Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (No. LQ21A020007) and Youth Science and Technology Innovation Personnel Training Project (Category B) (No.2021YW48).

Copyright

Science Press, Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, CAS and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2026

Abstract

When particles are embedded in the ice near its bulk melting temperature, a premelted film forms between the particles and ice in a process known as “interfacial premelting”. Under the influence of a temperature gradient, the premelted film varies in thickness, modulating the strength of ice-particle interactions and producing a net pressure that drives the particles to migrate towards higher temperatures in a phenomenon known as “thermal regelation”. The phenomenon of thermal regelation is related to frost heave of soil, cryopreservation of organisms and methods of ice core paleoclimatology. In order to further investigate the principles of thermodynamics and dynamics in thermal regelation, we built a temperature gradient control platform and a single layer visual polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) chip for thermal regelation experiments of individual silica particles. In the experiment, we measured the migration velocity of individual particles at different locations in the ice, and found that the thermal regelation of particles can be divided into high speed and low speed stages. As the particles approach the ice-water interface, the migration velocity increases dramatically. By combining the experimental data with the premelting theory, we found that the observed behavior is phenomenologically consistent with expectations for van der Waals force with radii of 12.5 μm and 10 μm. However, when the particle size was reduced to 7.5 μm, the observed behavior was phenomenologically consistent with expectations for undelayed van der Waals force. In addition, under different temperature gradients and particle sizes, the thickness of the premelted film was maintained in the range of 20 nm–60 nm close to 273.15 K. However, under the same supercooling degree, the thickness of the premelted film increases with the increased of temperature gradient. Among the extracted parameters, the parameter λ, which was related to the van der Waals force, was linearly related to the temperature gradient. These experimental results not only provided important quantitative information for further understanding of thermal regelation but also provided a theoretical basis for optimizing related applications.

Cite this article

YANG Caihao, HU Wei, XU Fei, BAO Fubing, GAO Xiaoyan, ZHANG Yaning . Premelting between Single Silica Particle and Ice during Thermal Regelation[J]. Journal of Thermal Science, 2026 , 35(1) : 303 -314 . DOI: 10.1007/s11630-026-2219-5

References

[1] Asthana R., Tewari S.N., The engulfment of foreign particles by a freezing interface. Journal of Materials Science, 1993, 28(20): 5414–5425.
[2] Worster M.G., Peppin S.S.L., Wettlaufer J.S., Colloidal mushy layers. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 2021, 914: A28.
[3] Rempel A.W., Wettlaufer J.S., Worster M.G., Interfacial premelting and the thermomolecular force: thermodynamic buoyancy. Physical Review Letter, 2001, 87(8): 088501.
[4] Rempel A.W., Hydromechanical processes in freezing soils. Vadose Zone Journal, 2012, 11(4): 0045.
[5] Lu X., Zhang F., Qin W., et al., Experimental investigation on frost heave characteristics of saturated clay soil under different stress levels and temperature gradients. Cold Regions Science and Technology, 2021, 192: 103379.
[6] Zhou J., Wei C., Wei H., et al., Experimental and theoretical characterization of frost heave and ice lenses. Cold Regions Science and Technology, 2014, 104: 76–87.
[7] Vachier J., Wettlaufer J.S., Premelting controlled active matter in ice. Physical Review E, 2022, 105(2): 024601.
[8] Chang T., Zhao G., Ice Inhibition for cryopreservation: materials, strategies, and challenges. Advanced Science, 2021, 8(6): 2002425.
[9] Deller R.C., Vatish M., Mitchell D.A., et al., Synthetic polymers enable non-vitreous cellular cryopreservation by reducing ice crystal growth during thawing. Nature Communications, 2014, 5(1): 3244.
[10] Yang G., Bolotnikov A.E., Fochuk P.M., et al., Thermo-migration of Te inclusions in CdZnTe during post-growth annealing in a temperature-gradient field. Physica Status Solidi C, 2014, 11: 1328–1332.
[11] Li J., Wang L., Ni P., et al., Growth of bulk Si from Si-Al alloy by temperature gradient zone melting. Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing, 2017, 66: 170–175.
[12] Hansen-Goos H., Wettlaufer J.S., Theory of ice premelting in porous media. Physical Review E, 2010, 81: 031604.
[13] Tyagi S., Monteux C., Deville S., Solute effects on the dynamics and deformation of emulsion droplets during freezing. Soft Matter, 2022, 18(21): 4178–4188.
[14] Luengo-Márquez J., Izquierdo-Ruiz F., MacDowell L.G., Intermolecular forces at ice and water interfaces: Premelting, surface freezing, and regelation. The Journal of Chemical Physics, 2022, 157(4): 044704.
[15] Dash J.G., Rempel A.W., Wettlaufer J.S., The physics of premelted ice and its geophysical consequences. Reviews of Modern Physics, 2006, 78(3): 695–741.
[16] Peppin S.S.L., Spannuth M.J., Wettlaufer J.S., Onsager reciprocity in premelting solids. Journal of Statistical Physics, 2009, 134(4): 701–708.
[17] You J.X., Wang Z.J., Grae Worster M., Controls on microstructural features during solidification of colloidal suspensions. Acta Materialia, 2018, 157: 288–297.
[18] Pramanik S., Wettlaufer J.S., Confinement effects in premelting dynamics. Physical Review E, 2017, 96(5): 052801.
[19] Zhu X., Brochard L., Jiang Z., et al., Molecular simulations of premelted films between C-S-H and ice: Implication for cryo-suction in cement-based materials. Cement and Concrete Research, 2023, 174: 107341.
[20] Marath N.K., Wettlaufer J.S., Impurity effects in thermal regelation. Soft Matter, 2020, 16(25): 5886–5891.
[21] Roldughin V.I., Kharitonova T.V., On the nonequilibrium thermodynamics of thermocrystallization motion of inclusions in solids. Colloid Journal, 2013, 75(2): 198–201.
[22] Saruya T., Kurita K., Rempel A.W., Indirect measurement of interfacial melting from macroscopic ice observations. Physical Review E, 2014, 89(6): 060401.
[23] Vachier J., Wettlaufer J.S., Biolocomotion and premelting in ice. Frontiers in Physics, 2022, 10: 904836.
[24] Rizza G., Dawi E.A., Vredenberg A.M., et al., Ion engineering of embedded nanostructures: from spherical to facetted nanoparticles. Applied Physics Letters, 2009, 95(4): 043105.
[25] Dadic R., Light B., Warren S.G., Migration of air bubbles in ice under a temperature gradient, with application to “Snowball Earth”. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 2010, 115: D18.
[26] Saint-Michel B., Georgelin M., Deville S., et al., Interaction of multiple particles with a solidification front: from compacted particle layer to particle trapping. Langmuir, 2017, 33(23): 5617–5627.
[27] Tyagi S., Monteux C., Deville S., Multiple objects interacting with a solidification front. Scientific Reports, 2021, 11(1): 3513.
[28] Wettlaufer J.S., Worster M.G., Premelting dynamics. Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics, 2006, 38(1): 427– 452.
[29] You J, Wang Z, Worster M.G., Thermal regelation of single particles and particle clusters in ice. Soft Matter, 2021, 17(7): 1779–1787.
[30] Chen S., The ice-water interface and its interactions with colloidal monolayers. University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, 2019.
[31] Qin D., Xia Y., Whitesides G.M., Soft lithography for micro- and nanoscale patterning. Nature Protocols, 2010, 5(3): 491–502.
[32] Martinez-Duarte B.R., Madou M.J., SU-8 photolithography and its impact on microfluidics, first ed., CRC Press, Florida, 2011.
[33] Wettlaufer J.S., Worster M.G., Wilen L.A., et al., A theory of premelting dynamics for all power law forces. Physical Review E, 1996, 76(19): 3602.
[34] Rempel A.W., Worster M.G., The interaction between a particle and an advancing solidifcation front. Journal of Crystal Growth, 1999, 205(3): 427–440.
[35] Thomson E.S., Goos H.H., Wettlaufer J.S., et al., Grain boundary melting in ice. The Journal of Chemical Physics, 2013, 138(12): 124707.
[36] Chen C., Huang H., Mo X., et al., Insights into the kinetic processes of solute migration by unidirectional freezing in porous media with micromodel visualization at the pore-scale. Science of the Total Environment, 2021, 784: 147178.
[37] Yan Z., Tongshuai L., Yuanqing T., et al., The migration law of magnesium ions during freezing and melting processes. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2021, 29(18): 26675–26687.
[38] Meyer C.R., Bellamy J., Rempel A.W., Subtemperate regelation exhibits power-law premelting. Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 2024, 480: 2290.
Outlines

/