Underwater ice observation system

在冬季，取水口很容易被冰部分或全部堵塞。在中等情况下，这会转化为由于工厂关闭而造成的经济损失，但在更严重的情况下，这可能意味着整个城市的饮用水或消防用水的损失。在严重的情况下，冰堵甚至对核电站的冷却造成严重威胁。这项赠款申请的目的是购买三台可以提供数据的仪器，以便工程师了解冰是如何在进水口上积聚的，以及在什么环境条件下（即，水流和悬浮的冰），它是容易受到。所要求的3项文书是：（1）配备有照相机（camera）的潜水机器人，该照相机将用于检查在当地市政取水口上的冰堆积，并且还将用于检查存在于水柱中和水面处的冰的类型，（二）一种声纳系统，可以单独使用，也可以安装在水下机器人上，以帮助其导航，并获得支持性的测深和冰情信息（3）声学多普勒海流剖面仪，用于监测海流、表面浮冰和悬冰。这项研究得到了魁北克省取水口运营商和工程师的充分合作，他们将提供一些现场和逻辑支持以及补充数据。魁北克市将于2008年建立一个新的接收站，这些工具将提供一种比较每个接收站建设情况的手段。这些设备将补充其他现有设备，这些设备也将作为同一使命的一部分部署。这笔赠款将提供一个独特的机会，培养高素质的人才，并提供对河冰工程师的头号问题的研究：如何设计一个在冬季不会被冰堵塞的进水口。

Water Intakes are very vulnerable to partial or full blockages by ice in the winter time. In moderate cases, this translates into economic losses due to a plant shutdown but in more severe cases, it could mean the loss of drinking water or fire-fighting water for whole municipalities. In severe cases ice blockage has even caused serious threats to the cooling of a nuclear power plant. The purpose of this grant request is to purchase three instruments that can provide data in order for engineers to understand how ice builds up on the intakes and in what environmental conditions (i.e., water currents and suspended frazil ice) it is susceptible to. The 3 instruments requested are: (1) a submersible robot equipped with a camera (ROV) that will be used to inspect the ice build up on a local municipal intake and will also be used to examine the type of ice present in the water column and at the surface, (2) a sonar system that can stand alone or but is intended to be attached to the ROV to aid in its navigation and to obtain supporting bathymetric and ice depth measurements and (3) an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler that will be used to monitor currents, surface ice floes and suspended frazil. The study has the full collaboration of the Québec's intake's operators and engineers who will provide some field and logical support as well as complementary data. Québec City is building a new intake in 2008 and the instruments will provide a means of comparing build up on each of them. This equipment will complement other equipment already available and that will also be deployed as part of the same mission. This grant will provide a unique opportunity to train highly qualified personal and provide research into the number one question asked of river ice engineers: How to design an intake that wont get blocked by ice in winter.