MECHANICAL STRENGTH OF ICE FROZEN FROM AN IMPURE MELT

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Physics
• Main Author: Pounder, E. R.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1958
• Subjects: General Physics and Astronomy; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/p58-037; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/p58-037

Ice frozen from a melt containing a small amount of a light alcohol, ketone, or ether is much weaker than normal ice, for a limited freezing exposure. The weakening effect is enhanced if the melt also contains traces of one or more of a variety of long-chain, organic substances, one of the most effective being sodium carboxymethyl cellulose. Inorganic salts, on the other hand, appear to be largely ineffective and may even cancel out the weakening action of the organic solvent. It is suggested that the organic additives are concentrated in the surface of the melt and remain as liquid layers between the ice crystals, thereby causing a large reduction in the shear strength of the ice sheet. Adsorption at the surface is discussed as a mechanism for concentrating organic substances in the surface layer and rejecting inorganic salts into the interior of the solution.