Ice slurry crystallization based on kinetic phase-change modelling.

Most crystallization models for ice slurries are based on the equilibrium thermodynamic approach, an assumption that is not made a priori here. The authors present results of simulations grounded on classical nucleation theory and crystal growth included in global Nakamura-type kinetics coupled with the one-dimensional nonlinear heat equation, another way to model the phase change. The work focuses on ice slurry crystallization using kinetic tools integrating the temperature glide for mixtures (i.e., the solid-liquid equilibrium temperature Tf depends on the residual fluid's solute concentration) without any equilibrium assumption. The heat-transfer phenomena in the experimental device are first determined, and then the parameters of kinetic function of crystallization are identified for pure water samples and then for 15 wt% monopropylene glycol (MPG)-water mixtures. An inverse method is implemented with a genetic algorithm to determine the kinetic parameters.