Author(s): Vincent McFarlane; Mark Loewen; Faye Hicks
Linked Author(s): Mark R. Loewen
Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: Obtaining accurate measurements of frazil ice particles in natural streams is a challenging task and consequently knowledge of the impact of various river characteristics on the development and growth of frazil ice particles is quite limited. One of these characteristics, the turbulence intensity, is highly variable from one location to the next and is believed to have a significant impact on the nucleation rate, growth, and flocculation of frazil crystals. A series of laboratory experiments were performed at three different turbulence intensities to study this hypothesis. Frazil ice particles produced at each of these turbulence intensities were photographed while passing between two cross-polarising filters. The high-resolution images obtained were analysed using a computer algorithm to determine the diameter of each individual frazil particle and the number of particles observed. It was seen that the mean particle diameter decreased linearly with increasing turbulence intensity and was found to range from 0.67 to 0.94 mm. In all cases the particle size distribution was accurately represented by a lognormal distribution.
Year: 2014