Shape effect on ice melting in flowing water

TL;DR

This study explores how the shape and flow velocity affect iceberg melting rates, revealing that elliptical shapes aligned with flow can melt up to 10% slower than circular shapes, with implications for climate modeling.

Contribution

It provides a quantitative analysis of how iceberg shape influences melting rates under flow conditions, emphasizing the importance of aspect ratio in melting dynamics.

Findings

Elliptical shapes with long axes aligned to flow melt slower than circular shapes.

Optimal shape for minimal melt rate shifts with flow velocity.

Flow velocity and shape interplay significantly affect melting rates.

Abstract

Iceberg melting is a critical factor for climate change, contributing to rising sea levels and climate change. However, the shape of an iceberg is an often neglected aspect of its melting process. Our study investigates the influence of different ice shapes and ambient flow velocities on melt rates by conducting direct numerical simulations. Our study focuses on the ellipsoidal shape, with the aspect ratio as the control parameter. It plays a crucial role in the melting process, resulting in significant variations in the melt rate between different shapes. Without flow, the optimal shape for a minimal melt rate is the disk (2D) or sphere (3D), due to the minimal surface area. However, as the ambient flow velocity increases, the optimal shape changes with the aspect ratio. We find that ice with an elliptical shape (when the long axis is aligned with the flow direction) can melt up to 10\% slower than a circular shape when exposed to flowing water. We provide a quantitative theoretical explanation for this optimal shape, based on the competition between surface area effects and convective heat transfer effects. Our findings provide insight into the interplay between phase transitions and ambient flows, contributing to our understanding of the iceberg melting process and highlighting the need to consider the aspect ratio effect in estimates of iceberg melt rates.