Freezing Rain Simulations for Fixed, Unheated Conductor Samples

Abstract

The present paper reports on extensive experiments performed on short, fixed, unheated conductor samples in an outdoor freezing rain simulator. Their purpose is to relate the weight of ice (or, alternatively, the equivalent radial ice thickness) accreted on the samples with the associated weather conditions. Over 50 specimens have been obtained under environmental conditions that encompass both wet and dry ice growths as well as several wind conditions. A nondimensionalization technique is devised to accommodate variations in the imperfectly controlled test conditions. Consistent experimental results could be discerned more clearly when the horizontal as well as the vertical precipitation rate were measured. A strong linear correlation is found between a dimensionless ice thickness and a dimensionless time. A simple model, Goodwin?s model, is found to fit the experimental data surprisingly well for both dry and wet ice growths.