Experiments on melting of a vertical ice layer immersed in immiscible liquid

Experiments on the melting of a vertical ice layer immersed in immiscible liquid yielded quantitative results both for the timewise evolution of the melting front and the heat transfer. Vegetable oil, which was contained in a rectangular vessel, was adopted as a testing liquid. A bubble-free ice block stuck on a cooled wall was installed vertically in the vessel. The experiments were carried out for the immiscible liquid temperatures from 7.6 to 30.0 degrees C, while for the cooled wall temperatures from 0 to -11.5 degrees C. The flow structure of the liquid and the melting front were extensively observed and recorded photographically. It was found that the heat transfer and the rate of melting are significantly affected by a couple of fluid motions of both the water melt induced by melting of ice and the immiscible liquid based on free convection.