Investigation on cohesive force of ice particles in ice slurry for long-term ice storage

The use of ice slurry in the cold storage of foods has increased. However, ice particles in ice slurry easily cohere to each other because of their buoyancy and weight. In this study, ice slurries with different ice packing factors, supercooling degrees, and ice particle masses were formed in a beaker by supercooling dissolution of water and were stored for various storage times in the beaker in a temperature-controlled room. The resulting lump of ice particles was removed from the ice slurry, and the cohesive force of the particles was measured at each storage time. The distribution of the ice particle diameters and the average diameter was measured. The lump's porosity was calculated from its dimensions, and the permeability was calculated from the average diameter and the porosity. The trends of the cohesive force and its features were clarified, and appropriate equations to give the dimensionless cohesive forces were proposed.