  When a suspension freezes, a compacted particle layer builds up at the
solidification front with noticeable implications on the freezing process. In a
directional solidification experiment of monodispersed suspensions in thin
samples, we evidence a link between the thickness of this layer and the sample
depth. We attribute it to an inhomogeneity of particle density induced by the
sample plates. A mechanical model enables us to relate it to the layer
thickness with a dependency on the sample depth and to select the distribution
of particle density that yields the best fit to our data. This distribution
involves an influence length of sample plates of about nine particle diameters.
These results clarify the implications of boundaries on suspension freezing.
They may be useful to model polydispersed suspensions since large particles
could play the role of smooth boundaries with respect to small ones.
