How can freezing water burst pipes and containers?

摘要

When a water pipe or a tank completely filled with water is cooled, ice formation generates a pressure which can cause it to burst. This phenomenon is due to the fact that water increases in volume when freezing-but how to explain the expansion force of freezing water? Our aim in this paper is to show that in the case of a total phase change, even the best steels could not prevent bursting. It is also to show how ice formation occurs in isochoric cooling (constant volume) when a container that is full of water is strong enough to prevent water expansion. At the end of the paper, we give some examples taken from everyday life.