Continuous ice slurry formation using a functional fluid for ice storage

A functional fluid composed of an oil–water mixture with an additive is transformed into an ice slurry by cooling while stirring. This paper describes a new continuous ice slurry formation method. Experiments were carried out by varying conditions such as the supply time of functional fluid, the stirrer torque, brine temperature and degree of supercooling. As a result, the characteristics of the ice formation and recovery processes were clarified. It was found that the ice particles gradually became uniform in size and spherical, and grew to 3.5 mm in diameter during about 10 h. The factors influencing the size of formed ice particles were discussed because the larger ice particles were expected to melt more rapidly. The ice particle size was found to increase with decreasing degree of supercooling and cooling rate, and with increasing stirrer wing diameter.