Understanding the melting dynamics in turbulent flows

Introduction

Dissolving, eroding, and melting processes are ubiquitous in everyday life, nature, science, and technology. The challenge is to accurately predict the melting or dissolution rate, e.g., of an iceberg or glacier—relevant for climate change—or of solid reactants in chemical reactors, which is important to accurately control reaction rates and temperatures.

Current Challenges

Current predictions for the melting of glaciers are often off by a factor of 100, and different melting models show inconsistencies. No general consensus of the cryospheric modeling has been reached yet. The difficulties in describing melting and dissolution stem from the multiscale nature of these processes (micrometers to kilometers) and the interaction between thermal, solutal, and viscous boundary layers and their complex interplay with the continuously reshaping boundary.

Misconceptions

A common belief is that melting always smooths the shape. However, from examples in nature and from theoretical analysis, it is clear that flows around melting or dissolving objects can create a rough (dimpled) surface, dramatically increasing the difficulty of accurate predictions.

Project Objective

The objective of the project is to solve the gap in understanding and develop a quantitative understanding of the heat and mass transfer and the resulting melting and dissolution dynamics of fixed surfaces and freely-moving objects in turbulent flows from a fundamental fluid dynamics perspective.

Methodology

To do so, we will perform highly controlled lab experiments and numerical simulations, which allow for a combined experimental, numerical, and theoretical approach to reveal the underlying mechanisms of the melting and dissolution dynamics.

Resources

Unique experimental flow facilities, the latest 3D optical measurement techniques, and advanced high-performance numerical schemes will allow for a one-to-one comparison between experiments and simulations.

Societal Relevance

Given the societal relevance of climate change and the burning technological challenges, this project aims to contribute significantly to the understanding of these critical processes.