A theoretical and experimental study of typical heterogeneous ice nucleation process on auto windshield under nocturnal radiative cooling and subfreezing conditions

Abstract In the present study, we theoretically and experimentally investigated a typical and practical heterogeneous ice nucleation process on auto windshield under nocturnal radiative cooling and subfreezing conditions. During the experiment, a general class A passenger car was placed outdoors in a subfreezing environment (i.e., 44.14° N, 126.45° E) during nights in January, with a purpose to produce a nocturnal radiative cooling condition for supercooling the windshield to trigger the ice nucleation. The results revealed a distinctive three-stage frosting process: (I) inhomogeneous occurrence of incipient ice nucleation; (II) small-sized ice crystals grew into large-sized ones primarily based on the incipient nucleation sites, together with a continual formation of new nucleation sites and a merging between large-sized and small-sized crystals; (III) large-sized ice crystals coalesced into large-scale groups, tending to make a full ice coverage. Unlike the classical three-period frosting process, the present study exhibited an absence of the drop-wise condensation but with a presence of dendritic crystals nearly parallel to the supercooled surface. Besides, the incipient ice nucleation was first initiated on the upper part of the windshield, which then propagated downward with a further heat loss of the windshield due to the continual nocturnal radiation. Meanwhile, the probable presence of surface roughness or contamination was much more likely to trigger an earlier initiation of incipient heterogeneous ice nucleation. Additionally, the arrival of saturation point, rather than the nominal supersaturation state (i.e., the condensation nucleation point), could be expected to approximately mark the initiation of icing under a practical engineering condition. Higher relative humidity tended to induce an earlier occurrence of ice nucleation and produce a larger surface coverage.