Modelling of the evolution of icicle ripples using a thin-film model #

David Sibley, Andrew Archer

11:10 Tuesday in 4Q08.

Part of the Thin films and contact lines session.

Abstract #

A substantial body of experimental work exists to show that icicles often form ripples around their circumference (e.g. A. Szu-Han Chen and S.W. Morris 2013, New J. Phys. 15, 103012). A possible origin for this could be through the well known Plateau-Rayleigh instability occurring during the icicle formation, although experiments instead suggest that impurities in the water are crucial in the occurrence of ripples.

In this work, we adapt our recent thin-film model of ice growth (D.N. Sibley et al. 2021, Nat. Commun. 12, 239) based on an interface Hamiltonian and gradient dynamics to the relevant geometry for icicles and explore the interplay between surface tension, binding potential and other features through stability analysis and numerical results for the evolution and growth of the icicle.