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Hysteresis in the freeze-thaw cycle of emulsions and suspensions

Wilfried Raffi1,*,†, Jochem G. Meijer1,*,‡, and Detlef Lohse1,2,§

  • *These authors contributed equally to this work.
  • †Contact author: wilfried.raffi@ens.psl.eu
  • ‡Contact author: jgmeijer@uchicago.edu
  • §Contact author: d.lohse@utwente.nl
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Phys. Rev. Fluids 11, 054001 – Published 4 May, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/hwkb-nnww

Abstract

Freeze-thaw cycles can be regularly observed in nature in water and are essential in industry and science. Objects present in the medium will interact with either an advancing solidification front during freezing or a retracting solidification front, i.e., an advancing melting front, during thawing. It is well known that objects show complex behaviors when interacting with the advancing solidification front, but the extent to which they are displaced during the retraction of the solid-liquid interface is less well understood. To study potential hysteresis effects during freeze-thaw cycles, we exploit experimental model systems of oil-in-water emulsions and polystyrene (PS) particle suspensions, in which a water-ice solidification front advances and retracts over an individual immiscible (and deformable) oil droplet or over a solid PS particle. We record several interesting hysteresis effects, resulting in nonzero relative displacements of the objects between freezing and thawing. PS particles tend to migrate further and further away from their initial position, whereas oil droplets tend to return to their starting positions during thawing. We rationalize our experimental findings by comparing them to our prior theoretical model of Meijer et al. [Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 034002 (2025)], yielding a qualitatively good agreement. Additionally, we look into the reversibility of how the droplet deforms and reshapes throughout one freeze-thaw cycle, which will turn out to be remarkably robust.

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References (32)

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Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. Fluids 11, 054001– Published 4 May, 2026
  • Received 6 November 2025
  • Accepted 16 April 2026
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