The influence of Lifshitz forces and gas on premelting of ice within porous materials

TL;DR

This paper investigates how Lifshitz forces and the presence of gas influence the premelting of ice in porous materials, revealing conditions that promote or inhibit melting based on vapor layer thickness and surface properties.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of Lifshitz forces' role in ice premelting within porous media, highlighting the effects of vapor layers and metallic patches on water film formation.

Findings

Thick vapor layers enable nanosized water sheets due to repulsive Lifshitz forces.

Absence of vapor layers inhibits ice melting near pore surfaces.

Metallic patches can significantly increase water film thickness, potentially causing complete melting.

Abstract

Premelting of ice within pores in earth materials is shown to depend on the presence of vapor layers. For thick vapor layers between ice and pore surfaces, a nanosized water sheet can be formed due to repulsive Lifshitz forces. In the absence of vapor layers, ice is inhibited from melting near pore surfaces. In between these limits, we find an enhancement of the water film thickness in silica and alumina pores. In the presence of metallic surface patches in the pore, the Lifshitz forces can dramatically widen the water film thickness, with potential complete melting of the ice surface.