Artificial Ice Research Articles

Geometrical control of topological charge transfer in Shakti-Cairo colloidal ice

Lattice transformations that preserve the system topology, but not its geometry, are common in condensed matter systems. However, how geometric constrains influence the topological properties of the lattices is still unclear. Here we show that a geometric transformation between two mixed coordination lattices, from Shakti to Cairo in an artificial colloidal ice, leads to a breakdown of the ice rule in all but one specific geometry. We observe a transfer of topological charge among sublattices which can be controlled in sign and intensity, vanishing at the ice-rule point. These unusual topological effects are absent in magnetic spin ices and they are due to collective, non-local geometric frustration in the particle ice. By merging numerical simulations, theory and experiments, we demonstrate how the charge transfer occurs in the Cairo geometry. The broader implication of our results is that we demonstrate how geometric constraints can control the topological properties of a mesoscopic colloidal system.

Experimental and numerical study of ice loads on a four-legged semi-submersible

ABSTRACT In this study, the ice loads on a scaled four-legged semi-submersible in a broken ice field were measured in a wave tank. Artificial ice models made of paraffin were applied in the experiment. The influence of ice floe properties, type of platform, incident velocity, and incident angle on ice loads was investigated. Shelter effect were observed most effective at a 0° incident angle, followed by a 45° incident angle. A sensitive analysis showed that a square-shaped platform with a narrow column spacing resulted in reduced ice loads in the broken ice field. The shape of floe has limited influence on the ice load under low incident velocity. Additionally, based on the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, the lognormal distribution model best fit the experimental data of the ice load peak values (at a 5% significance level). The numerical simulation based on Ice-MAS was validated with experimental results.

ენერგიის მოთხოვნის შემცირების ინოვაციური მეთოდი ხელოვნური ყინულისსაფარიანი მოედნის ჰაერის კონდიცირების სისტემაში

The operation of the air conditioning system (ACS) in the premises with artificial ice fields has been examined. It was shown that it was possible to economize energy when using the heat of condensation of the refrigerating machine providing the needed parameters of incoming air during summer to compensate heat flux from air to the ice surface. The fundamental scheme of the ACS offered to servicing the ice field of 1800 m2 is given; the formation of the regime of its operation in summer on I–D diagram is cited; the coefficient of transformation of energy of the refrigerating machine under this regime has been defined. Also, the variant of the ACS operation in winter has been examined.

Effects of floating ice on the flow drag of a circular cylinder with finite length

In present paper, free surface is covered with artificial ice of uniform size. Effects of characteristic sizes of ice, i.e. DL/D = 0.28, 0.56 and 1.08 (DL is diameter of equivalent circle of ice block section and D cylinder diameter), local coverage ratio n and cylinder draught H on drag of ice-water flows around finite length circular cylinder are investigated experimentally. Two hydrodynamic states when Froude number Fr=0.50 in subcritical and Fr=0.99 in supercritical are selected, where Fr=V/gD, V is towing speed and g gravitational acceleration. When Fr=0.99, wave-making increases drag coefficient by 0.1–0.2. For DL/D = 0.56 and 1.08, cross-correlation coefficient between n and drag coefficient exceeds 0.85. Higher n results in greater drag. With H/D increasing from 0.4 to 2.0, momentum transferred from water pushed by cylinder to ice increases, making relative velocity between ice and cylinder decrease and collision contribution to total drag be reduced. While DL/D = 0.28, ice blocks follow water flow closely due to small inertia, making collision between cylinder and ice blocks weak and drag caused by collision insignificant. Also ice-water mixture is more like single phase flow of higher viscosity than water, with drag coefficient almost not affected by draught.

Features of radiothermal study of ice in the microwave range

The subject of the study is ice formations, which are formed as a result of the release of groundwater to the surface of ice sheets or soil. These formations cause significant damage in human economic activity. The work investigated natural ice located on fresh ice cover, as well as artificial ice formations on the ground. The glaciers located in the Transbaikal region near the city of Chita were investigated. The power of thermal radiation of these objects in the microwave range was determined at wavelengths of 2.3 cm and 0.88 cm. The power of thermal radiation in the microwave range was determined using radiometric receivers at wavelengths of 0.88 cm and 2.3 cm mounted on a car or on a fixed support. Cores of ice removed from the ice were studied to determine the layer-by-layer distribution of ice mineralization. A model of a plane-layered non-isothermal medium was used to calculate the thermal radiation of ice. The possibility of registering ice formations by radiothermal radiation of these objects in the microwave range is shown. If there is a layer of water on the ice, the radio brightness temperature will be significantly lower than the object on the surface of which there is no water mass. By the value of the radio brightness temperature in the microwave range for several ranges, as a result of which it is possible to indirectly estimate the thickness of ice formations. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account the variations in the radiofrequency temperature of the medium depending on its thickness due to the interference of radiothermal radiation of a plane-layered medium.

Cold-atmospheric-plasma activated-ice as a cooling medium with antimicrobial properties: Case study on fish fillet preservation

The efficacy and applicability of Plasma Activated Ice (PAI) -produced by cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) technology- on microorganisms and quality characteristics of perishable fresh sea bream (Sparus aurata) fillets, were evaluated. The changes in microbiological load and quality characteristics of fish fillets were investigated during storage with ice from deionized water (Control), PAI and ice from artificially produced water (Artificial) of H2O2 concentrations equal to those of PAI. Fresh sea bream fillets were packed under ice flakes (produced from PAI or Artificial or Control) on layers (as typically done in the relevant industry) and stored at 0.5 °C for 27 days. PAI application inhibited significantly the growth of microbial load of the fillets resulting in reduced growth rates while simultaneously significantly retarded the quality deterioration compared to the other disinfectant media. The use of PAI (with 10 mg/L H2O2) led to a 11-day and 6-day extension, i.e., 2-fold and a ∼ 1.5-fold extension, of the fillets shelf-life compared to the samples treated with Control and Artificial ice, respectively. The results proved the efficiency of PAI in extending the shelf-life of perishable foods during storage (or/and transportation), by validating its antimicrobial properties and cooling capacity.

Multicriteria Optimization of Design Solutions for Microclimate Systems for Rooms with Artificial Ice

Рurpose of research. The most energy-intensive facilities for holding sports and cultural events are indoor ice rinks and ice arenas. Simplified technical solutions when designing the systems for providing the microclimate of these structures lead to significant operating costs and can lead to serious negative consequences in a relatively short period. In this regard, the problem of developing methods for choosing the optimal design solution for these systems is becoming ever more urgent. The purpose of the article is to develop a mathematical model for multi-criteria optimization of design solutions for systems providing the microclimate of rooms with artificial ice.Methods. Determining the optimal design solution for microclimate systems in terms of several parameters, each of which can be decisive, is an applied task of system analysis, the basic principles and patterns of which were taken into account when solving the problem of multicriteria optimization.Results. A list of particular optimality criteria reflecting the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of design solutions has been determined. The method of vector criterion convolution has been used to search for the optimal solution for the selected particular criteria. An optimization model based on the principles of system analysis has been developed.Conclusion. The developed mathematical model of multicriteria optimization makes it possible to provide priority to more important particular criteria by increasing their weights. In this case, it should be remembered that particular criteria must be commensurate, and, therefore, reduced to a dimensionless form. Since the absolute values of the criteria are essential in the optimization task under consideration, for the chosen vector of parameters, it is necessary to choose exactly the additive method of folding the generalized criterion.

Battery-Free, Artificial Neural Network-Assisted Microwave Resonator Array for Ice Detection

Ice detection has developed into an integral part of aerospace and wind turbine sectors with the aim of preventing hazards and component breakdown. This article presents an ice detection system consisting of a battery-free, chip-less wirelessly interrogated resonator array, and an artificial neural network for enhanced detection robustness. The designed array of split-ring resonators (SRRs), operating at 3.05 GHz, was a narrowband frequency-selective structure with a ground plane reflector which shielded resonance from the effect of installation material. For an incident wave on the array’s surface, the reflection coefficient changed with the electrical properties of the ice and water, consequently affecting the <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$S_{11}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> parameter of an interrogator antenna. The array had a surface area of <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$13\times6.5$ </tex-math></inline-formula> cm2 and a substrate thickness of 0.79 mm and was wirelessly interrogated from a distance of 33 cm by a standard gain horn antenna. A custom LabView program was utilized for time-based data acquisition of the antenna’s reflection coefficient [ <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$S_{11}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> (dB)], with results demonstrating a resonant frequency shift of 150 MHz when 30 <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{L}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\sim$ </tex-math></inline-formula> ) of ice was formed on the main split of SRRs. The artificial neural network then classified the reflection coefficients of the interrogator antenna to enhance ice/water differentiation. The neural network improved the classification of the <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$S_{11}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> (dB) raw data to 94.67% while achieving an accuracy of 93.33% for a noisy simulated data set. The proposed battery-free artificial neural network-assisted ice sensor can be implemented in various sizes (depending on the footprint requirements of installation) with applications in aerospace and wind turbine industry.

Detection Method for Equivalent Ice Thickness of 500-kV Overhead Lines Based on Axial Tension Measurement and Its Application

Overhead line icing may threaten the operational stability of power grid. In this paper, a detection method for equivalent ice thickness of 500 kV overhead lines based on axial tension measurement was proposed. Firstly, according to the tension of insulator string when the transmission lines are not covered with ice, the horizontal distance from the lowest point of the transmission line to the tower on the side where the tension sensor is installed is calculated. Secondly, the state equation of the transmission line in the whole tension section is established. Then, the state equation is solved by iterative method. The initial ice thickness is taken as 0 mm. The ice thickness when the iteration value of tension <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">F</i> <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">i</sub> is equal to the measured value of tension <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">F</i> is taken as the equivalent ice thickness of transmission lines. The actual cases of single span transmission line and multi-span transmission line were used for verification and application effect analysis of the proposed method. The results show that the detected results of this method were consistent with the artificial ice observation values of typical 500 kV single span and multi-span transmission line cases. The accuracy of the proposed method can be further verified through finite element simulation analysis. The variation trends of the detected ice thickness is consistent with the icing conditions created by the meteorological factors during the same period, and can be verified by the icing photos captured on site.

Artificial ice island

The development of the regions of the Far North is currently the most important task for the extraction of the mineral resources. However, when conducting offshore drilling in the Arctic seas, the selection of appropriate hydraulic structures is crucial. Factors such as severe natural and climatic conditions, remoteness from developed areas, and the presence of permafrost soils necessitate specific considerations. This paper examines the limitations and advantages of different offshore hydraulic structures for exploration and development drilling in the Arctic. It is concluded that artificial island structures, particularly ice islands, offer the most effective solution for year-round prospecting and exploratory drilling in shallow Arctic shelf zones. Ice islands provide increased resistance to ice loads, lower costs, and minimal environmental impact. However, their usage is restricted to the winter period, as they melt or collapse during the summer. Additionally, ice islands cannot be converted into production platforms if a commercial deposit is discovered. Understanding these limitations and advantages is crucial for successful offshore drilling operations in the challenging Arctic environment.

Human-centered artificial intelligence-based ice hockey sports classification system with web 4.0

Abstract Systems with human-centered artificial intelligence are always as good as their ability to consider their users’ context when making decisions. Research on identifying people’s everyday activities has evolved rapidly, but little attention has been paid to recognizing both the activities themselves and the motions they make during those tasks. Automated monitoring, human-to-computer interaction, and sports analysis all benefit from Web 4.0. Every sport has gotten its move, and every move is not known to everyone. In ice hockey, every move cannot be monitored by the referee. Here, Convolution Neural Network-based Real-Time Image Processing Framework (CNN-RTIPF) is introduced to classify every move in Ice Hockey. CNN-RTIPF can reduce the challenges in monitoring the player’s move individually. The image of every move is captured and compared with the trained data in CNN. These real-time captured images are processed using a human-centered artificial intelligence system. They compared images predicted by probability calculation of the trained set of images for effective classification. Simulation analysis shows that the proposed CNN-RTIPF can classify real-time images with improved classification ratio, sensitivity, and error rate. The proposed CNN-RTIPF has been validated based on the optimization parameter for reliability. To improve the algorithm for movement identification and train the system for many other everyday activities, human-centered artificial intelligence-based Web 4.0 will continue to develop.

PROBLEMS OF DEVELOPING METHODS OF DESIGNING MICROCLIMATE SYSTEMS FOR PREMISES WITH ARTIFICIAL

Statement of the problem. The purpose of the article is to consider the main problems of the development of methods for designing heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems to ensure the required parameters of the microclimate, the quality of the ice cover and sanitary and epidemiological conditions of people staying in rooms with artificial ice, as well as possible ways to solve them. Results and conclusions. As a result of the analysis of the methods of designing heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, the main problems related to ensuring the required parameters of the microclimate, ice quality and sanitary and epidemiological conditions of people's stay are formulated. The technical and methodological ways of solving the problems of developing design methods of the considered systems of life support of premises with artificial ice are determined.

Fountain scheduling strategies for improving water-use efficiency of artificial ice reservoirs (Ice stupas)

Artificial ice reservoirs (AIRs), also called ice stupas, are a climate-change adaptation strategy developed in the Indian Himalayas (Ladakh). With this technology, otherwise unused stream/spring water is stored in large ice towers during the winter. The surplus melt water generated in spring is used to satisfy irrigation water demands. Recent studies have shown that, during AIR construction, over 75% of the water sprayed is lost. In order to reduce these water losses, different fountain scheduling strategies implemented on two AIRs under identical weather conditions were compared. In one scheduling strategy, the fountain was operated manually (non-scheduled fountain) whereas in another it was operated via an automation system (scheduled fountain). The automation system computed recommended discharge rates using real-time meterological input and location metadata. Scheduled fountains produced similar ice volume while consuming one-tenth of the water the non-scheduled fountain used. Simulations converting non-scheduled fountains into scheduled fountains showed a threefold improvement in water-use efficiency. Overall, these results show that automated fountain water supply management can increase water-use efficiency of AIRs and reduce their maintenance without compromising their meltwater production.

Parametric Evaluation of Cooling Pipe in Direct Evaporation Artificial Ice Rink

With the coming of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, China’s artificial ice rink construction will be in rapid development. A parametric evaluation of the cooling pipe in a direct evaporation rink was performed by numerical simulation. The results showed that the influence of the temperature of the antifreeze pipe on the ice surface temperature can be ignored. The evaporation temperature of the working medium in the cooling pipe is between −32 °C and −22.4 °C to ensure the ice surface temperature is between −5 °C and −3 °C. With the increase in the cooling pipe spacing, the required evaporation temperature of the working medium in the cooling pipe and the uniformity of the ice surface temperature decreased. The required evaporation temperature of the working medium in the cooling pipe decreases by 1.2–1.5 °C for every 10 mm increment of spacing. With the increase in the cooling pipe diameter, the required evaporation temperature of the working medium in the cooling pipe and the uniformity of the ice surface temperature increase. The required evaporation temperature of the working medium in the cooling pipe increases by 2.2–2.9 °C for every 5 mm increment of diameter. The maximum temperature difference of ice surface temperature ranged from 0.004 °C to 0.111 °C.

Low-cost mitigation strategies for community resilience in the Trans-Himalaya to address food and water scarcity in changing environment.

Food and water scarcity in high altitudes of the Trans-Himalayan landscape are being seen as impacts of climate change, which is characterized by prolonged winters with sub-zero temperatures for a longer period. Average daily temperature from Oct to Mar (2020-21) ranged from - 6.73 ± 1.55 to 6.85 ± 1.93°C; however, fluctuates between - 10.5°C (minimum) and 4.6°C (maximum) on a typical day. With minimal rainfall, agriculture is limited to one season in these cold deserts thus limiting the land productivity. The changing scenario affects water availability for agriculture and otherwise in the villages located at further high altitudes dependent on snowmelt flow in nearby streams. This study explores the potential of extended cultivation during winters using low-cost inputs by comparing different technological options for temperature retention for vegetable cultivation. It further demonstrates the role of peoples' participation in developing zero-energy artificial ice reservoirs (water harvesting technology through capturing and storing water in the form of ice) in winters to make water available in the following growing season. With site-specific modifications, an artificial ice reservoir was created by the villagers in2020-21 which provided additional water for irrigation and was timely available (14days in advance). Using this additional water, a barren area was brought under the plantation to meet futuristic wood and fodder requirements. Confidence building (knowledge gathered, interventions to solve the major problem of water scarcity) through locally adaptable solutions (portable polyhouse, ice reservoir, increased plant productivity) motivated high altitude villagers in Trans-Himalayan to combat threats of climate change.

Modelling attenuation of irregular wave fields by artificial ice floes in the laboratory.

A summary is given on the utility of laboratory experiments for gaining understanding of wave attenuation in the marginal ice zone, as a complement to field observations, theory and numerical models. It is noted that most results to date are for regular incident waves, which, combined with the highly nonlinear wave-floe interaction phenomena observed and measured during experimental tests, implies that the attenuation of regular waves cannot necessarily be used to infer the attenuation of irregular waves. Two experiments are revisited in which irregular wave tests were conducted but not previously reported, one involving a single floe and the other a large number of floes, and the transmission coefficients for the irregular and regular wave tests are compared. The transmission spectra derived from the irregular wave tests agree with the regular wave data but are overpredicted by linear models due to nonlinear dissipative processes, regardless of floe configuration. This article is part of the theme issue 'Theory, modelling and observations of marginal ice zone dynamics: multidisciplinary perspectives and outlooks'.

Laboratory Studies on the Parametrization Scheme of the Melting Rate of Ice–Air and Ice–Water Interfaces

During the melt season, surface melting, bottom melting, and lateral melting co-occur in natural ice floes. The bottom melting rate is larger than the lateral melting rate, followed by the surface melting rate, and the smaller the size of an ice floe, the higher the lateral melting rate. To add the scale index of small-scale ice to the melting parametrization scheme, experiments on the melting process of sea ice and artificial fresh-water ice samples in the shape of a disc were carried out in a low-temperature laboratory, under conditions of no radiation, current, or wind, with controlled air and water temperatures. The variations of diameter, thickness, and mass of the ice discs were measured through the experiments. According to the experimental data, a new indicator was created using the ratio of the diameter to the thickness of an ice sample. Based on physical and statistical analyses, the relationships between the surface/bottom melting rates and temperature gradient were formulated. Additionally, the relationships among the lateral melting rate, temperature difference, and the ratio of the diameter to the thickness were also quantified. The equations can be applied to the melting parametrization scheme of ice for a range of diameters up to 100 m, which covers simulations of the energy and mass balance values of the Arctic sea ice and coastal freshwater ice during the summer melt season.

Optimization of Environmental Parameters of Ice and Snow Sports Venues Based on the BP Neural Network and Wireless Communication Technology

Ice and snow sports have become a scene of attraction nowadays. It not only encourages sports but also earns more revenue through tourism. Tourists love and admire this kind of sport because of its uniqueness, unlike other sports. The Olympic Games also conduct ice and snow sports under the Winter Olympic Sports. This kind of sport is played in ice rinks. Ice rinks are of two types, namely, natural and artificial. Natural ice rinks are formed in snowy regions, whereas artificial ice rinks can be set up anywhere with the help of technology. An artificial or natural ice rink, a sports venue, or a stadium is constructed accordingly. This research focuses on the optimization of environmental parameters of the ice and snow sports venue based on the BP neural network and wireless communication technology. There are various factors to be monitored when an indoor ice and snow sports venue is being considered. They are temperature monitoring, health monitoring of the audience, natural disaster detection and alarm in the case of natural ice rinks, and building safety concerning the climatic conditions. The proposed methodology uses BP neural networks and wireless communication technology to optimize the environmental parameters of the ice and snow sports venue. It has been demonstrated to have numerous advantages over traditional ice and snow sports methods. In this research, the convolutional BP neural network algorithm was implemented to analyse the environmental parameters of the chosen sport. The proposed algorithm is compared with the existing weighted centroid model. The results show that the proposed model has achieved an accuracy of 99.45%.

Reconfigurable training and reservoir computing in an artificial spin-vortex ice via spin-wave fingerprinting.

Strongly interacting artificial spin systems are moving beyond mimicking naturally occurring materials to emerge as versatile functional platforms, from reconfigurable magnonics to neuromorphic computing. Typically, artificial spin systems comprise nanomagnets with a single magnetization texture: collinear macrospins or chiral vortices. By tuning nanoarray dimensions we have achieved macrospin-vortex bistability and demonstrated a four-state metamaterial spin system, the 'artificial spin-vortex ice' (ASVI). ASVI can host Ising-like macrospins with strong ice-like vertex interactions and weakly coupled vortices with low stray dipolar field. Vortices and macrospins exhibit starkly differing spin-wave spectra with analogue mode amplitude control and mode frequency shifts of Δf = 3.8 GHz. The enhanced bitextural microstate space gives rise to emergent physical memory phenomena, with ratchet-like vortex injection and history-dependent non-linear fading memory when driven through global magnetic field cycles. We employed spin-wave microstate fingerprinting for rapid, scalable readout of vortex and macrospin populations, and leveraged this for spin-wave reservoir computation. ASVI performs non-linear mapping transformations of diverse input and target signals in addition to chaotic time-series forecasting.

Research on Comparative Monitoring Method of Aerodynamic Coefficient Applied to Artificial Ice Flight Test

Abstract In the implementation of the artificial ice flight test, artificial ice shapes must be installed to the test aircraft, which reduces the aerodynamic performance of the aircraft and leads to a high risk. In order to reduce the risk of artificial ice flight test, starting from the flight test requirements, this paper proposes a real-time comparative monitoring scheme of the design lift coefficient and the actual lift coefficient of the test aircraft, and develops a comparison model of aerodynamic coefficients accordingly. Verified by the flight test data, the model can figure out reasonable design lift coefficient and actual lift coefficient, which lays a foundation for the subsequent application in the artificial ice flight test.