In situ observation the interface undercooling of freezing colloidal suspensions with differential visualization method

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel visualization method and experimental setup for directly measuring interface undercooling in colloidal suspensions, achieving high precision in static and dynamic conditions.

Contribution

A new experimental facility and gauging method are developed to quantitatively measure interface undercooling with high resolution in colloidal suspensions.

Findings

Resolution of 0.01 K in undercooling measurement

Effective visualization of interface undercooling in static and dynamic cases

Conversion of temperature measurement into distance measurement enhances precision

Abstract

Interface undercooling is one of the most significant parameters in the solidification of colloidal suspensions. However, quantitative measurement of interface undercooling of colloidal suspensions is still a challenge. Here, a new experimental facility and gauging method are designed to directly reveal the interface undercooling on both static and dynamic cases. The interface undercooling is visualized through the discrepancy of solid/liquid interface positions between the suspensions and its solvent in a thermal gradient apparatus. The resolutions of the experimental facility and gauging method are proved to be 0.01 K. The high precision of the method comes from the principle of converting temperature measurement into distance measurement in the thermal gradient platform. Moreover, both static and dynamic interface undercoolings can be quantitatively measured.