Frazil Ice: a Review of Its Properties, with a Selected Bibliography Williams, G
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NRC Publications Archive Archives des publications du CNRC Frazil ice: a review of its properties, with a selected bibliography Williams, G. P. This publication could be one of several versions: author’s original, accepted manuscript or the publisher’s version. / La version de cette publication peut être l’une des suivantes : la version prépublication de l’auteur, la version acceptée du manuscrit ou la version de l’éditeur. Publisher’s version / Version de l'éditeur: Engineering Journal, 42, 11, pp. 55-60, 1959-12-01 NRC Publications Record / Notice d'Archives des publications de CNRC: https://nrc-publications.canada.ca/eng/view/object/?id=f683a087-d82c-4542-81e8-398c95993824 https://publications-cnrc.canada.ca/fra/voir/objet/?id=f683a087-d82c-4542-81e8-398c95993824 Access and use of this website and the material on it are subject to the Terms and Conditions set forth at https://nrc-publications.canada.ca/eng/copyright READ THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS WEBSITE. L’accès à ce site Web et l’utilisation de son contenu sont assujettis aux conditions présentées dans le site https://publications-cnrc.canada.ca/fra/droits LISEZ CES CONDITIONS ATTENTIVEMENT AVANT D’UTILISER CE SITE WEB. Questions? Contact the NRC Publications Archive team at [email protected]. If you wish to email the authors directly, please see the first page of the publication for their contact information. 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Williams Research Officer, Snow and Ice Section, Dioisi,on of Bui'ldi'ng Research, National Research Council, Ottawa 2, Ont' Tf-f HENEVER supercooledwater This report reviews the theory of frazil ice formation and the main factors l[/ vY rn reservolrs, lakes or rivers which cause- formations. The methods of forecasting ftazil ice and the design and also included. Although the frazil ice problem has comes in contact with hyd,ro-electric remedial considerations are been solved at many sites in Canada, this _review summarizes investigations which plant intakes, lvater supply intakes, would not generally be available to Canadian engineers. ilrigation and water supply canals, there is a danger of serious clogging Theory of Formation face water exposed to the heat loss because of fuazil ice. Frazil ice oc- Ice is formed on the calm water will be interchanged with water from curring in large rivers is a naviga- of small lakes and stagnant pools lower depths so that a mass of water tional hazard and can be the cause when the loss of heat to the atmos- down to different depths, depending of serious ice jams. In Canada the phere by radiation, convection and on the degree of turbulence, will be work of Barnesl is the first major evaporation results in the supercool- cooled to 0"C without ice formation. effort to present detailed summaries ing of the surface water. In this If the cooling continues the water near will of available information on frazil ice static type of ice formation described the surface be supercooled hundredths degree (Alt- formation and occurrence. Since then by Devik2 the crystallization begins a few of a At in many investigations have been car- partly from solid matter on the beach berg3). a certain stage this frazil particles will ried out, notably in Russia and other and from solid material suspended supercooling, ice European countries. As no publica- or floating in the water. If the water start to form. tion is available in English, appar- remains at rest and the cooling con- In their early development, frazil ,circular ently, which summarizes these more tinues. a surface sheet of ice ii rap- ice particles are thin discs. recent developments, this survey of idly formed. Frequently, the particles are of ir- existing information on frazil ice has With dynamic ice formation as in regular outline but the edges are in- been prepared, accompanied by a running water or on the surface of variably rounded as shown in the ex- number of selected references. lake water disturbed bv wind. sur- cellent photographs by Schaefera. As growth proceeds, however, flat den- drites grow out from the edge of the eventually producing Fig. I Stagesin frazil ice formation. flat discs, the needle-like fragments commonly rec- ognized as frazil ice. Under favourable cooling,conditions these fragments STAGE I STAGE 4 rapidly form and group into the large spongy masses that cause so much SURFACE COOLING FURTHERCOOLING COOLING COOLING CONTINUES CONTINUES trouble on underwater installations. Figure I illustrates the different stages oO in frazil ice formation. Figure 2 shows TURBULENT some micro photographs of frazil ice [,lIXING in different stages of growth. A similar type of formation occurs in lake water when supercooling co- ooo inciding with stlong wave-action re- sults in agglomeration (Wilson5). HIGH CONCENTRATIONOF NEEDLE.LiKE CE NEEDLE S USTERSOF FRAZlL Even though the general nature of CIRCULARDISCOIDS DENDRITESGRO CLUSTERINGTO- ICE CONGLOMERATE flazil ice folmation has been known TORMfD OUT FROII DISCOIDSGETIIER FLOATING TO SURfACE AND BI]II-[]NG (JP ON fol a long time there is still argu- I]NDERWATER OBJECTS rnent and confusion in the literature Frazil ice particles floating on water Frazil ice particles changing shape Frazil ice particles growing and chang- surface. water surface. ing pattern at water surface. Fig. 2 Micro photographs of frazil ice in different stages of growth. regarding the phenomenon (Timon- formation in water conclude that the the stream much the same as water- offo, LamborT). rate of growth of discoids (or frazil soaked leaves are carried underwater Supercooling atTd Nucleation. In- ice particles) is a function of the rate in a turbulent stream. vestigators seem to agree that super- of cooling of the water and the Schaefera estimates that the vol- cooled water often exists in streams for number of discoids. Their photo- ume concentration of frazil ice ao- long periods - even for days under graphs show clearly the development proaches 106 per cubic meter in h]is favourable conditions8. There is ar.- of circulal discoids into stellar crys- observations of frazil ice on the Mo- gument, however, regarding the tals. Their studies show that with hawk river in 1950. Frazil ice parti- amount of supercooling, although it supercooling from 0"C to -0.3"C, cles will adhere to each other and is generally assumed that it will rarely discoids and spicules are produced, also build up on underwater objects exceed .01"C in natural streams and and from -0.6'C to -0.9"C spicules causing many problems. According lakes (Schaefera).The theory of super'- only are produced. to Piotrovichlo, when water is super- cooUng is still a matter of some Much of the work done in recent cooled there is a strong increase disagreement. Dorseye indicates that years on the physics of supercooled in the cohesion forces between ice there are two theolies to explain the water droplets in the atmosphere is crystals and in the adhesion of ice freezing of water and the phenome- of relevant interest to investiqators crystals with stones, wood, metal and non of supercooling. In one, freez- of flazil ice (SchaeferrB). other objects in the water. Schaefer ing is considered to be initiated by Frazil lce Properties. The frazil ice suggests that the laminar type of certain aggregates of water molecules discoids vary in size. Schaefera ob- build-up indicates regelation between called ice molecules. The other theorv serves particles with a range of thick- these ice particles. considers freezing to begin ut ness 25 to 100 microns for particles Piotrovich also suggests that, as heterogeneous singularities, i.e., for- 1000 to 5000 microns in diameter. ice does not adhere strongly to cer- eign particles in the water which Hubbardla reports thickness almost tain substances as plastics of purely serve as nuclei. Dorsey combines ele- identical to those reported by organic composition, these may be ments of both theories. He distin- Schaefer. Altberg3 ,claims that dis- used as coatings to protect against guishes between an embryo comprised coids up to several centimetres in underwater ice accumulations.