Ice Roads Research Articles

A Capacitive Sensing System for Non-Contact: Detection of Ice

Abstract This paper presents a capacitive sensing system for non-contact detection of ice from a distance of 8 to 10 cm and distinguishes it from water. It is well known that the Relative Permittivity (RP) of ice and water are almost equal at low frequencies, in the range of a few kHz. At a high frequency of excitation , i. e., about 100 kHz and above, the RP of water remains same, but that of ice substantially reduces. A capacitive sensor, wherein, the ice or water layer forms part of the sensing volume can be used to detect presence of ice. It can be distinguished from water by measuring and then comparing the capacitance values at low as well as high frequencies. Such a sensor for road ice detection has been reported, but it requires the sensing electrodes to be in close contact with the ice layer. Recently, a capacitive non-contact ice detector has been reported. The sensing range of this system was limited to 3 cm, even after employing active shielding to reduce the effect of offset capacitance. As the distance between ice layer and sensor increases, the ratio of change in sensor capacitance to offset capacitance becomes very small. This paper reports application of a capacitance measurement circuit that can provide an output as a function of presence of ice. The proposed scheme does not require active shield even when the sensor has large offset capacitance. A prototype of the new scheme has been developed and tested in the laboratory. It detected presence of ice layer of thickness 2 mm from a distance of 10 cm and distinguished it from water.

Forbidden City builders liked their rocks on ice

In the 15th century Chinese engineers didn't so much reinvent the wheel as dispense with it, opting to slide heavy stones to the Forbidden City along an ice road instead of wheeling them. The Forbidden City, in what is now Beijing, housed China's emperors for almost 500 years. Several of the massive stones in its design weigh more than 100 tons and were cut from the Dashiwo quarry, 70 kilometers away. Until now, wheeled vehicles were the presumed mode of transport. But there is a flaw in that reasoning: even the biggest carts at the time couldn't support more than 95 tons. Pouring water on ice would lubricate the surface and lower the friction even more, says Jiang Li. The team's calculations suggest just 50 people could move the stone after that.

Automatic Anti-Skidding System Optimization Design for Military Vehicles on Ice and Snow Road

This paper discusses parameter optimization design and settings of automatic anti-skidding system for military vehicles on ice and snow road. The basic composition and installations of anti-skidding system as well as the basic work principles of anti-skidding system are introduced and analyzed according to kinematics, dynamics and driving principles the system provides. Then mathematics modeling and computer simulation carrying out optimization design are presented for this system.

Vehicle Submersion: A Review of the Problem, Associated Risks, and Survival Information

Of all drownings, 3 to 11% occur in submersed vehicles, yet scientific study of this topic seems limited. A search was made of digital medical, drowning, transportation, and rescue databases regarding vehicle submersion drownings. The major risk factors include driving on ice or roadways near water, flooding of roadways or bridges, slippery roads, curved roads, and darkness. A new definition of a Flotation Phase (from water impact until water rises to the bottom of side windows) defines a period when escape is easiest. Since survival probability is highest during this period (generally the first minute)--and then decreases rapidly--cell phones should not be used to call for help because this will only squander the optimal window for survival. It is virtually impossible to open a door until the vehicle is almost completely full of water. Since there is little or no trapped air, this period provides a very low chance of survival. Before exit, children should be released from their restraints. Breaking windows is difficult without a center punch or rescue hammer, which should be visibly mounted within reach of the driver. Prevention includes installing adequate guardrails, barriers, warning signs, and road markings, or placing roadways at a greater distance from water. Areas at high risk for flooding should have signs and public warning systems for flash flooding should be improved. Public education should also focus on the dangers of driving on flooded roads or bridges, and on ice roads.

Paleoclimatological assessment of the central Northwest Territories, Canada: Implications for the long-term viability of the Tibbett To Contwoyto Winter Ice Road

Paleoclimatological assessment of the central Northwest Territories, Canada: Implications for the long-term viability of the Tibbett To Contwoyto Winter Ice Road

The Dangers of Driving the Dalton: The Paradoxical Industrial and Environmental Aesthetics of Ice Road Truckers

This essay argues that the third season of Ice Road Truckers employs a hyperbolic language of fear and death in order to endorse seemingly paradoxical industrial and environmental aesthetics The former makes use of a set of ideas about the technological sublime, while the latter makes use of certain theories about the natural sublime. Presenting viewers with a constant barrage of mechanical images and technical terms, IRT glorifies the development of the North Slope's oil fields, the building of the Haul Road, and the construction of the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline, all of which are cast as marvels of human engineering and examples of the technological sublime. Using the narration and its talk of death and destruction to evoke the natural sublime, Ice Road Truckers shows viewers spectacular aerial footage of the icy, snow-covered mountains of the Brooks Range and the bleak, wind-swept tundra of the North Slope. In the end, this television program effectively sutures these two seemingly irreconcilable versions of the sublime and presents viewers with a vision of the Alaskan wilderness in which the technological and the natural comfortably coexist. By doing so, IRT is able to endorse the industrial development of the Arctic and champion the wildness of nature.

氷の上で車をとめる : スタッドレスタイヤ技術の紹介(<メカライフ特集>とめる)

氷の上で車をとめる : スタッドレスタイヤ技術の紹介(<メカライフ特集>とめる)

Effects of Changes in Arctic Lake and River Ice

Climatic changes to freshwater ice in the Arctic are projected to produce a variety of effects on hydrologic, ecological, and socio-economic systems. Key hydrologic impacts include changes to low flows, lake evaporation regimes and water levels, and river-ice break-up severity and timing. The latter are of particular concern because of their effect on river geomorphology, vegetation, sediment and nutrient fluxes, and sustainment of riparian aquatic habitats. Changes in ice phenology will affect a wide range of related biological aspects of seasonality. Some changes are likely to be gradual, but others could be more abrupt as systems cross critical ecological thresholds. Transportation and hydroelectric production are two of the socio-economic sectors most vulnerable to change in freshwater-ice regimes. Ice roads will require expensive on-land replacements while hydroelectric operations will both benefit and be challenged. The ability to undertake some traditional harvesting methods will also be affected.

The Research on the Anti-Icing and Pavement Performance of the Chloride-Stored Asphalt Mixture

Based on the feasibility analysis of the chloride’s released capability, a certain proportion of the chloride was added into the ordinary asphalt mixture to form a new chloride-stored asphalt mixture. The mixing proportion was determined and its pavement and anti-icing performance were analyzed. The research indicates that: the stored chloride has good releasability. The new asphalt mixture not only has better high temperature stability and low temperature anti-bending capability than the ordinary one, but could also remove the road ice effectively.

ZnO가 담지된 실리카 겔 연구

There are various types of materials used in electronic industry, such as electrode material, conductor, insulator, anode, cathode and semiconductor. Electrode material type is Cu, Ti, ZnO and so on. Especially if we use mixed ZnO in soil cement or silica gel, we can have advantages in ice road to prevent freezing. We have great impact if we use supported in inorganic substances like silica gel. In this paper we have studied that ZnO supported silica gel and its properties. Zinc acetate dissolved in distilled water were loaded on the silica gel by the reaction with ammonia at <TEX>$80^{\circ}C$</TEX>. And we investigated particle structures of ZnO by scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and X-ray diffraction(XRD).

New System for Detecting Road Ice Formation

The reliable detection of water and ice over road surfaces is an important issue in improving the traffic safety and in reducing the costs for maintenance, particularly during winter. A low-cost capacitive sensor for the estimation of road conditions is studied. A simulation model was developed to investigate the capacitance of the sensor when air, water, or ice is covering its surface and to assess the effect of the variation of an environmental temperature or of the thickness of water or ice. An algorithm for the estimation of the state of the sensor (dry, wet, or icy) was developed based on the results of the simulations, which indicated that the time derivative of the estimated capacitance provided optimal information. The accuracy and reliability of the estimates provided by the sensor were assessed in laboratory experiments, placing more sensors in a climatic chamber and investigating the estimated state of the sensors and the timing of the identification of wet-icy or icy-wet transitions. Reliable estimates were obtained by all the sensors, with a dispersion of the transition times on the order of a few minutes. The sensor was also investigated in the field. Two sensors (one of which was bituminized) were embedded in a road pavement to monitor continuously the road surface condition for a month. Both sensors provided indications in line with the environmental conditions, identifying properly the icy condition and indicating the wet state of the road during both rain and fog. Thus, the sensor is suggested as a feasible tool for monitoring the road conditions to support information systems improving the security and efficient maintenance of roads during winter.

Road Networks Winter Risk Estimation Using On-Board Uncooled Infrared Camera for Surface Temperature Measurements over Two Lanes

Thermal mapping has been implemented since the late eighties to establish the susceptibility of road networks to ice occurrence with measurements from a radiometer and some atmospheric parameters. They are usually done before dawn during wintertime when the road energy is dissipated. The objective of this study was to establish if an infrared camera could improve the determination of ice road susceptibility, to build a new winter risk index, to improve the measurements rate, and to analyze its consistency with seasons and infrastructures environment. Data analysis obtained from the conventional approved radiometer sensing technique and the infrared camera has shown great similarities. A comparison was made with promising perspectives. The measurement rate to analyse a given road network could be increased by a factor two.

Probabilistic Weather Forecasting for Winter Road Maintenance

Winter road maintenance is one of the main tasks for the Washington State Department of Transportation. Anti-icing, that is, the preemptive application of chemicals, is often used to keep the roadways free of ice. Given the preventive nature of anti-icing, accurate predictions of road ice are needed. Currently, anti-icing decisions are usually based on deterministic weather forecasts. However, the costs of the two kinds of errors are highly asymmetric because the cost of a road closure due to ice is much greater than that of taking anti-icing measures. As a result, probabilistic forecasts are needed to optimize decision making.We propose two methods for forecasting the probability of ice formation. Starting with deterministic numerical weather predictions, we model temperature and precipitation using distributions centered around the bias-corrected forecasts. This produces a joint predictive probability distribution of temperature and precipitation, which then yields the probability of ice formation, defined here as the occurrence of precipitation when the temperature is below freezing. The first method assumes that temperatures, as well as precipitation, at different spatial locations are conditionally independent given the numerical weather predictions. The second method models the spatial dependence between forecast errors at different locations. The model parameters are estimated using a Bayesian approach via Markov chain Monte Carlo.We evaluate both methods by comparing their probabilistic forecasts with observations of ice formation for Interstate Highway 90 in Washington State for the 2003–2004 and 2004–2005 winter seasons. The use of the probabilistic forecasts reduces costs by about 50% when compared to deterministic forecasts. The spatial method improves the reliability of the forecasts, but does not result in further cost reduction when compared to the first method.

Stress Hormone Responses to an Ultraendurance Race in the Cold

Physical stress (exercise and/or environmental) activates the sympathetic-adrenal-medullary (SAM) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axes. The combination of ultraendurance exercise in the cold presents a unique summated stress to the body. The purpose of this study was to assess the stress hormone response in runners, cyclists, and skiers participating in a 161-km ultraendurance race on a snow-packed course in the Alaskan wilderness. Forty-four athletes (20 runners, 17 cyclists, 7 skiers) competed on the same course of snow-machine trails and ice roads with each athlete carrying 7 kg of mandatory equipment. Pre-race weight and blood samples were collected 2 days prior to the race start. Post-race measurements were made within 15 minutes of race finish. Hematocrit was measured, and blood samples were analyzed for levels of norepinephrine, epinephrine, adrenocorticotropic hormone, and cortisol. Runners lost significant weight (-1.74 kg +/- 1.29) pre-race to post-race. Hematocrit was maintained, and plasma volume increased minimally. Norepinephrine increased significantly pre-race (279.9 pg/mL +/- 356.9) to post-race (691.7 pg/mL +/- 422.6) with no difference among divisions. Epinephrine did not change significantly during the race. Adrenocorticotropic hormone (2.40 pg/mL +/- 2.40 to 19.04 pg/mL +/- 45.38) increased significantly with no difference among divisions. Cortisol increased significantly pre-race (12.03 microg/dL +/- 5.66) to post-race (26.69 microg/dL +/- 5.77), and post-race cortisol was significantly higher in runners vs skiers. These data suggest activation of both the SAM and HPA axes from an ultraendurance race in the cold and reveal the degree of stress hormone responses to this exhausting bout of exercise.

Ice structure monitoring with an optical fiber sensing system

Ice has been used as an effective and economical material for constructions of roads and platforms in cold regions. However, the practical applications of this brittle material are limited by the fact that ice structures can suddenly crack due to low tensile strength, be crushed due to excessive compression, melt and become soften as temperature elevates. In this paper, an early warning system is proposed to monitor the strain state and damage characteristic of ice structures. Firstly, both fiber Bragg grating (FBG) and Brillouin optical time domain analysis/reflectometry (BOTDA/R) sensors were installed in an ice block and an ice beam to understand their axial and flexural behaviors under a concentrated load. Secondly, the solution for strain state and damage process of ice structures was derived analytically under test conditions. Finally, an outdoor ice road test bed was built and continuously monitored for 34 h to validate the early warning system and understand the early stage behavior of ice structures. The experimental results agreed well with their corresponding theoretical predictions. The early warning system with optical sensors is effective and practical for long-term monitoring for ice structures.

Northern Canada in a Changing Climate: Major Findings and Conclusions

Northern Canada in a Changing Climate: Major Findings and Conclusions

State of the art of ice bearing capacity and ice construction

Abstract Ice is an effective and economical means of supporting loads for construction and resource extraction. The main requirement is to have continuous ice of sufficient thickness to support the intended loadings. Ice has been used to support heavy loads, both mobile and stationary and long-term loads such as oil and gas drilling rigs. It has been used to support the installation of offshore pipelines and related facilities. The paper describes the various uses of ice as a load-bearing medium and presents methods for determining required thicknesses. The bending of floating ice under applied load causes flexural stress to be imposed on the ice cross section. Because ice is weak in tension, the critical stress is the maximum tensile stress at the bottom of the ice directly under the load. The paper presents standard methods of calculating the maximum, extreme fibre stress for different types of loads and presents an allowable stress for safe use of the ice as a load-bearing medium. This allowable stress is also instrumental in ensuring that long term, creep deformation does not result in submergence of the ice surface. The paper presents a method of estimating long-term deflection and also presents a method of assessing the effects of dynamic or moving loads. Grounded ice roads require sufficient thickness to spread applied wheel loads and avoid overstressing of the tundra or seabed. A method of assessing the support provided by widely differing subgrade conditions is presented. Construction methods and techniques for ice roads and structures, including the best types of equipment to use, are presented, with photographs. Issues such as snow removal vs. flooding of thick snow are discussed. Durability of the road surface and surface repairs is outlined. During the construction phase of ice structures, the quality control (QC) tasks verify material quantity and material quality as required by the design. An outline of considerations for this task is presented. Failures and anecdotal information related to the design, construction and use of ice roads and structures are presented, with illustrative photographs.

Extreme Biomedical Engineering (Western Africa)

In Brief Can a micromodeled health technology management system designed for a harsh and isolated environment of the Canadian Northwest Territories be transferred in a sustainable way to West Africa? Even more, can the program take the next step and actually take on more scope of responsibility than many well-established Western programs (eg, full in-house support of high-level laboratory technology and radiology technology)? From polar bears, ice roads on the Arctic Ocean, and −50 °C to monitor lizards, African roads, and greater than 38 °C, this is extreme biomedical engineering. In the past 4 years, the United Kingdom's Medical Research Council Laboratories in The Gambia, West Africa, has transformed a group of 3 junior electronic assistants repairing only very minor equipment out of one-third of a modified shipping container into a full biomedical technology management program that supports complex laboratory and diagnostic imaging technologies "in-house" with a staff of 10 and significant resources. Can a micromodeled health technology management system designed for a harsh and isolated environment of the Canadian Northwest Territories be transferred in a sustainable way to West Africa? Even more, can the program take the next step and actually take on more scope of responsibility than many well-established Western programs (eg, full in-house support of high-level laboratory technology and radiology technology)? From polar bears, ice roads on the Arctic Ocean, and -50 °C to monitor lizards, African roads, and greater than 38 °C, this is extreme biomedical engineering. In the past 4 years, the United Kingdom's Medical Research Council Laboratories in The Gambia, West Africa, has transformed a group of 3 junior electronic assistants repairing only very minor equipment out of one-third of a modified shipping container into a full biomedical technology management program that supports complex laboratory and diagnostic imaging technologies "in-house" with a staff of 10 and significant resources.

Exploratory Analysis of the Winter Chemistry of Five Lakes on the North Slope of Alaska1

Abstract: Lakes are important water resources on the North Slope of Alaska. Freshwater is required for oilfield production as well as exploration, which occurs largely on ice roads and pads. Since most North Slope lakes are shallow, the quantity and quality of the water under ice at the end of winter are important environmental management issues. Currently, water‐use permits are a function of the presence of overwintering fish populations, and their sensitivity to low oxygen concentrations. Sampling of five North Slope lakes during the winter of 2004‐2005 shed some light on the winter chemistry of four lakes that were used as water supplies and one undisturbed lake. Field analysis was conducted for oxygen, conductivity, pH, and temperature throughout the lake depth, as well as ice thickness and water depth. Water samples were retrieved from the lakes and analyzed for Na, Ca, K, Mg, Fe, dissolved‐organic carbon, and alkalinity in the laboratory. Lake properties, rather than pumping, were the best predictors of oxygen depletion, with the highest dissolved‐oxygen levels maintained in the lake with the lowest concentration of constituents. Volume weighted mean dissolved‐oxygen concentrations ranged from 4 to 94% of saturation in March. Dissolved oxygen and specific conductance data suggested that the lakes began to refresh in May.

Use of Synthetic Aperture Radar for Selecting Alaskan Lakes for Winter Water Use1

Abstract: Water resources are limited in many areas of the North Slope, Alaska, particularly during winter. Water is used by the oil industry for ice road construction and maintenance, drilling and facility operations, and potable water supplies. The coastal plain between Teshekpuk Lake, in the National Petroleum Reserve‐Alaska (NPR‐A) and the Colville River has numerous shallow lakes, but further south in the northern foothills of the Brooks Range, and east to the Canning River, lakes are fewer. While many oil and gas lease sales have been conducted, or are proposed, access to the leases may be limited because of the lack of available water for ice road construction. Ice roads are the main means by which exploration is conducted in the Arctic, putting a stress on freshwater bodies that do not freeze to the lakebed in winter. Lakes that do not freeze to the lakebed also serve as overwintering habitat for fish. The purpose of this paper is to report on the potential distribution of water bodies that may provide overwinter water in selected areas from Teshekpuk Lake to the Canning River. The project used synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery to search for the presence of water in lakes in March 2006. In the Kuparuk and Canning SAR images, 52 and 61% of lakes were frozen to their beds by March 2006, accounting for 49 and 57% of the lake area in these study regions. Conversely, only 2% of the lakes in the Teshekpuk region were frozen to the bottom by March 2006. Unfrozen water was more available because of deeper and more numerous lakes in the Teshekpuk Lake region (west) than in the Canning River area (east). While only specific SAR tiles were analyzed herein, the method will be a useful tool for land managers who seek to evaluate the potential for ice road construction across the Arctic.