The steady state ice layer profile on a constant temperature plate in a forced convection flow. II - The transition and turbulent regimes

The transition and turbulent regimes of the steady state ice layer profile on a constant temperature plate in a forced convection flow are presented. The transition from laminar to turbulent flow on an ice surface was different from that on a flat plate because the shape of ice layer responds to the changes in heat-transfer coefficient in the transition regime. Due to this interaction two transition modes were observed, both associated with a distinctive ice profile shape and Reynolds number for the onset of turbulent heat transfer. For some experimental parameters a hysteresis phenomenon occurred in which the steady state ice layer could take one of the two characteristic shapes depending on how the equilibrium was approached. The decrease in the ice layer thickness that occurs in the transition region was also observed to have a major effect on the heat-transfer rates in the turbulent regime for some distance downstream of transition.