Thickening large areas of ice by pumping seawater onto it, in extreme cold conditions, presents several challenges. One of the hurdles we’ve encountered is ensuring even spread the water. To tackle this, we’ve been testing hoses to optimise the distribution of water over a large surface.
However, we have found that the rapid freezing within these distribution hoses, can interrupt operations, damage equipment, and cause significant delays. “Imagine you’re at -25 °C to 30 °C, pumping for a while, and you stop. There’s still some water in the hose, and that’s going to freeze,” says Soroosh Afzali, Lead Engineer at Arctic Reflections.
To understand how freezing and blockages occur during and after pumping at -25°C ambient temperature, Canada-based Soroosh and Mechanical Engineering Technician Rob Pritchett will conduct laboratory experiments this month at the National Research Council (NRC) in Canada.
Identifying and testing solutions
“We need to know how long it takes for the water freeze in the hose, how long it takes to melt, and whether rolling up the hose immediately, heating up the hose, or insulating it would help. These are the kind of the questions we’re trying to answer,” explains Soroosh.
The NRC cold room facility and support will allow the team to examine where freezing begins, how it progresses along different types and lengths and materials, and how factors such as water flow rate and pumping duration affect performance. Experiments will also test mitigation practices and compare the performance and their effectiveness.
The results will provide evidence-based recommendations for hose selection, storage and deployment strategies, and operational practices. These insights will inform our field tests this winter, helping us ensure we are better able to adapt our equipment to the harsh conditions.
“These experiments are about ensuring our equipment works reliably in one of the toughest climates on Earth. By identifying and testing solutions now, we can increase the effectiveness of our field operations,” emphasises Soroosh.
Stay tuned for the results of these experiments on LinkedIn or subscribe to our newsletter.
Photo credit: Cold Room, National Research Council of Canada.
