MU Xiang-peng, CHEN Wen-xue, GUO Xiao-chen, CUI Wei (State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China)
Abstract: In northern China at high latitudes there are some long-distance water transfer channel projects which are mostly planed or built in the last century. Due to the economic conditions at that time, these channel projects were designed without considering for winter time and only transfer water under non-ice condition. However with the development of economy, it is urgent to transfer water in winter in order to alleviate the shortage of water presently. But constrained by the structure form, the freezing resistance abilities of these channels are poor, which are not suitable for transferring water under ice cover. Instead installing thermal insulation covers for channels can prevent water from freezing. This method not only can solve the shortage of water in winter, but also can save the engineering transformation investment, which has great economic benefits and social benefits. In this paper the heat loss process of water in channels with thermal insulation covers is analyzed theoretically. Then a one-dimensional ice-hydraulics mathematical model of channel with thermal insulation covers is established and the heat loss process of water is simulated. The influences of insulation cover thickness, flow rate and outflow temperature from water source on water transfer in winter are analyzed. Finally, on the basis of the above researches, the water transfer feasibility is demonstrated for channels with thermal insulation cover in winter and the safe schemes of water transfer are put forward. The study results have some reference value for water transfer safety and engineering transformation for channel project in winter.
Key words: ice engineering, the heat loss process, mathematical model, water transfer channel project, thermal insulation cover
Published in: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, Vol. 44, No. 9, 2013
