Investigation of pressures caused by ice blockage

Abstract

Recent literature on freezing inside confined spaces, and on plug formation inside pipes is reviewed. A design is presented for a test setup for measuring experimentally the maximum pressure that can be generated in confined spaces by ice blockage. A novel cooling system is introduced. Anumber of tests are run to monitor pressures developed inside a boiler pipe. It is verified by experimentation that the highest pressures attainable in an ice enclosure is about 2100 bar. It is further reported that the adhesive and shear strengths of forces between the ice block and its container are of such magnitude that forces due to pressures in excess of 2000 bar are not able to dislodge the ice blockage from the container.