Performance of ice slurry as cooling fluid for an indoor ice rink

Abstract

A slightly modified version of a previously published model calculating transient heat transfer under the ice of an indoor ice rink is used to evaluate the performance of two cooling fluids, a brine with 20 % calcium chloride (base case) and a calcium chloride ice slurry. Simulations are conducted for a typical meteorological year for Montreal, Canada and take into account heat entering the ice from above as well as surfacing operations and electrical underground heating used to avoid freezing which can damage the concrete slab. The results show that, for the same flow rate (28.5 l/s) and inlet temperature (−9 °C) of the cooling fluid, the ice slurry generates better ice quality (ice surface temperature is more uniform spacewise and less variable with time) but requires more pumping power. Parametric results obtained by decreasing the flow rate or by increasing the inlet temperature of the ice slurry indicate that it is possible to choose either of these operating parameters so that the resulting ice quality is better and the pumping power is lower than for the base case.