A Study of Ice-Formation Phenomena on Freezing of Flowing Water in a Stenotic Tube

In this study, a numerical analysis is made on the ice-formation for laminar water flow inside a stenotic tube. The study takes into account the interaction between the laminar flow and the stenotic port in the circular tube. The purpose of the present numerical investigation is to assess the effect of a stenotic shape on the instantaneous shape of the flow passage during freezing upstream/downstream of the stenotic channel. In the solution strategy, the present study is substantially distinguished from the existing works in that the complete set of governing equations in both the solid and liquid regions are resolved. In a channel flow between parallel plates, the agreement between the of predictions and the available experimental data is very good. Numerical analyses are performed for parametric variations of the position and heights of stenotic shape and flow rate. The results show that the stenotic shape has the great effect on the thickness of the solidification layer inside the tube. As the height of a stenosis grows and the length of a stenosis decreases, the ice layer thickness near the stenotic port is thinner, due to backward flow caused by the sudden expansion of a water tunnel. It is found that the flow passage has a slight uniform taper up to the stenotic channel, at which a sudden expansion is observed. It is also shown that the ice layer becomes more fat in accordance with its Reynolds number.