Phase contrast imaging of saline spray ice

The microstructure of saline ice consists of three phases: water ice, air and brine inclusions. The brine inclusions are central for understanding the physical properties of the ice and are in the focus of this experiment. We have two goals. First, we aim at high resolution (1 - 3 micrometer) phase contrast images of saline spray ice, to investigate the size range of the brine inclusions. Second, we plan to test an in-situ spray ice setup, to investigate the growth of saline spray ice. With this setup, we plan time-resolved tomography of ice growth to observe the spatio-temporal evolution of brine and investigate how brine is expelled from the ice. As sample stage we use a Peltier element on which an aluminum sample holder is mounted to cool the ice samples during the experiments. For the insitu experiment we use a dosing pump to spray saline water at freezing temperature onto the inner walls of the sample holder. The ice samples consist of a NaCl solution.