COOLING OF AN UNDERSNOW CAMP,
Abstract
An investigation was conducted at Camp Century, Greenland, to study the feasibility of using air wells to cool undersnow structures in the arctic during the summer months. It was found that the air well is a practical and effective means of providing a -20 C air supply at volumetric flow rates of 1200 to 1700 cu ft/min. The extent and rate of warming of the snow beneath the trench floor by heat exchange between the air and the snow foundation depends upon trench air temperature, fan capacity, fan arrangement, and casing length. For example, in a well cased to a depth of 17.5 ft and equipped with a 5 hp fan drawing in air at a rate of 1700 cu ft/min, the maximum warming was 12.5 C during a 42-day period. Snow temperature differences of about 7 C were found between similar trenches with and without a fan installation. The minimum permissible distance between two adjacent fans to eliminate overlap in warming up the snow foundation is approximately 80 ft. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 1962
- Accession Number
- AD0281709
Entities
People
- James A. Bender
- Yinchao Yen
Organizations
- Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory