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Understanding how different factors influence the melting of an iceberg to accurately predict its melting rate is of the outmost importance. An external flow, the difference in temperature with the surroundings, the aspect ratio and size of the iceberg, being immersed in salty water, among others, all modify the melting dynamics. The presence of neighbouring icebergs complicates this picture even further, as they can all interact with each other.
To disentangle the different physical mechanisms involved, and focusing on collective effects, we present an idealised study performing simulations of two ice objects that melt side by side in fresh water.
Two squared-shaped objects, with sizes of the order of centimetres, are immersed in initially quiescent fresh water at 20 degrees Celsius in an adiabatic, closed container. We perform two-dimensional Direct Numerical Simulations using the phase-field method to solve for the solid-liquid transition, and vary the distance between the different ice shapes.
By analysing the melting rate, we show that when the objects are displaced horizontally the effect of the interaction is weak. However, when displaced vertically the melting rates depend drastically on the initial distance between the two objects. We explain this behaviour by linking it to the properties of the surrounding flow.