Three-phase Leidenfrost effect

To date, the Leidenfrost effect has been a two-phase phenomenon: either an evaporating liquid or a sublimating solid levitates on its vapor. Here, we demonstrate that an ice disk placed on a sufficiently hot surface exhibits a three-phase Leidenfrost effect, where both liquid and vapor films emanate from under the levitating ice. Curiously, the critical Leidenfrost temperature was about 400 degrees C hotter for ice than for a water drop. As a result, the effective heat flux was an order of magnitude larger when quenching aluminum with ice rather than water over a wide temperature range of 150-550 degrees C. An analytical model reveals the mechanism for the delayed film boiling: the majority of the surface's heat is conducted across the levitating meltwater film due to its 100 degrees C temperature differential, leaving little heat for evaporation.