Ice Friction and Accretion

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In Canada for much of the year, ice is a ubiquitous fact of life, either as a hazard or as a source of fun and recreation. Ice becomes our enemy in the form of slippery sidewalks and streets, ice accumulating on aircraft components, and freezing rain pulling down electrical power lines. But it is also the friend of hockey players and fans, skaters, bobsledders and lovers of most winter sports. This research proposal examines both aspects of ice. Its goal is to improve some of its beneficial characteristics, while mitigating some of its undesirable consequences. Ice that builds up on power lines during freezing rainstorms and ice accumulating on aircraft is generally referred to as "icing". Heavy icing during a five-day ice storm in January 1998 caused hundreds of poles and towers to topple and left millions of Canadians and Americans without power for more than a week. Several deaths resulted from the storm and insurance companies have estimated the overall economic cost to exceed three billion dollars. Icing on aircraft causes all-too-familiar delays and disruptions to the aviation industry. Much worse are the fatal, icing-related accidents that occur every year or two, despite calls by the US National Transportation Safety Board for more relevant research. My goal is to build a better ice accretion forecasting system (IAFS), through an intelligent combination of state-of-the-art weather prediction models and the best computer icing models. This system will provide improved icing forecasts and warnings for electrical utilities and the aviation industry. Ice friction in winter sports slows down athletes and puts them at a competitive disadvantage. A goal of my research is to measure ice friction and find ways to optimize it in speed skating and bobsleigh. In order to do this, we are employing two unique capabilities - the world's only Instrumented Klap Skate, and a computer model (FAST) that simulates what happens when a steel blade moves across the ice. We will use both of these capabilities to devise and test new designs for skate blades and bobsled runners. We hope to be able to give Canadian athletes a competitive advantage in the 2014 Winter Olympics.