Controlled ice nucleation under high voltage DC electrostatic field conditions

The quality of frozen food and the preservation of the microstructure of the tissue depend on the nucleation rate. As the nucleation rate is related to supercooling, the control of supercooling is highly desirable. In this study, a novel approach is proposed to control ice nucleation using high electrostatic field. Distilled water has been considered as a model food. An original experimental set-up, consisting of pair of plate electrodes and cooling-heating system (Peltier element), has been designed. During sample cooling, high DC voltage was applied to a flat electrode located above the sample. The electrostatic field used in the experiments ranged from 0 V/m to 6.0 x 10(6) V/m. It was found that with the increase of applied voltage, nucleation temperature was shifted towards higher values. Other tests were conducted to clarify the capability of electrostatic field to induce ice nucleation at a desired supercooling degree. Our experimental results revealed that utilization of sufficiently high electrostatic field is a reliable method to control ice nucleus formation. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.