Understanding Physical Properties of Fresh Water and Marine Ice using Multiphysics Modelling and Infrared Thermography

Abstract

Ice has unique physical properties, which tend to vary depending on how, where, and when it forms. In the presented work, we looked deeper into various physical properties of ice. In one of the studies, we focused on studying the ice adhesion on two types of polymers; polyurethane (PU) and polyvinyl-chloride (PVC). It revealed interesting behaviors with a viable potential for roads/highways coated with respective materials. The study was validated using Multiphysics modeling techniques involving the finite element method. In another study, we examined the thermal diffusion characteristics of fresh water and saline ice cubes using infrared thermography. A Multiphysics based method on finite difference method is employed to study the thermal behaviors revealing thermal characteristics of ice; i) thermal conductivities and ii) heat transfer coefficients. The results further led to the development of ice detection and mitigation solution for marine operations in cold regions.