Enter the total mass of water and the rate of heat removal into the calculator to determine the time for water to freeze.

Water Freeze Time Formula

The following formula is used to calculate the total time to freeze water. This formula assumes a constant rate of heat transfer/loss. 

T = HF * m / P
  • Where T is the time for the water to freeze (minutes)
  • HF is the heat of fusion of water (335,000 J/kg)
  • m is the mass of the water (kg)
  • P is the rate of heat extraction from the water (J/second)

To calculate the time for water to freeze, multiply the heat of fusion by the mass of the water, then divide the result by the rate of heat extraction from the water.

What is water freezing time?

Water freezing time is defined as the total amount of seconds it takes for a body of water to change from a liquid form to a solid form.

The rate at which this occurs is directly proportional to the rate at which the heat is extracted from the water.

How to calculate water freezing time?

Example Problem:

The following example outlines how to calculate the time for water to freeze.

First, determine the total mass of the water. In this example, the mass of the water is 10 kg.

Next, determine the rate of heat extraction from the water. in this case, the heat extraction is occurring at a rate of 5000 joules per second.

Finally, calculate the water freezing time using the formula above:

T = HF * m / P

T = 335,000 * 10 / 5000

T = 670 seconds