The extent and the morphology of ice forming in a differentially heated cavity filled with water are studied by means of experiments and numerical simulations. We show that the main mechanism responsible for the ice shaping is the existence of a cold upward convective current in the system. Such a current is ascribed to the peculiar equation of state of water, i.e., the nonmonotonous dependence of density with temperature. The precise form of the ice front depends on several factors, first, the temperature difference across the cell which drives the convection, and second, the wall inclination with respect to the vertical, both of which are explored here. We propose a boundary-layer model and a buoyancy-intensity model which account for the main features of the ice morphology.

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• Multiphase flows
• Rayleigh-Bénard convection
• Structure & turbulence of boundary layers
• Turbulence
• Ice
• Water