If liquid water is constrained in vessel then the temperature is dropped below freezing will ice form?

Question

If liquid water is constrained in vessel then the temperature is dropped below freezing what pressure would be measured assuming the vessel is unbreakable? Or put another way, will ice form if the water is not allowed to expand?

Answer 1

Yes, the water will freeze, but not into the normal hexagonal crystalline ice form that we are familiar with. Assuming that the container is capable of withstanding an internal pressure of at least 300 Mega Pascals (about 43,500 pounds of force per square inch), the water will freeze into its Ice II rhombohedral crystalline form.

This also assumes that the water was introduced into the container at 4 degrees Celsius, at which liquid water is most dense. If it was warmer, if would initially shrink a bit and create some vapor space within which some normal ice would first form.

Answer 2

Depends on how fast it freezes, if it is very fast it will form a disordered solid which will fill the vessel without excess pressure.

If you freeze it slowly ice crystals with lower density will form and expand. Eventually ice would stop forming and there would be water below its freezing point because of the pressure increase.

Answer 3

water confined in an enclosed space like the plumbing in a house or the engine block in an automobile and then forced to freeze will expand, and in so doing will generate sufficient pressure to burst those pipes or crack that engine block.

The pressure actually required to inhibit water from freezing far exceeds that which can be developed in everyday circumstances, and can be determined by reading a phase diagram for the ice/water/water vapor system.

Answer 4

Freezing point is dependent on external pressure acting on a liquid (see this link How does the freezing temperature of water vary with respect to pressure?)

So the pressure from vessel will cause a depression in freezing point (assuming vessel to have 0 coefficient of volumetric expansion($\alpha_v$) so it does not change its volume and does not break under high pressure). As you continue to drop below 4°C water will expand and causing pressure on container which in turn applies pressure to water causing more and more depression in freezing point.

So if you keep volume unchanged and reduce temperature you will reach unreasonably high pressures.

So in theoretical ideality

No water will never freeze

But any practical is bound to have limitation and the cointaner will burst eventually.