Incredible Ice Castles Grown by a Minnesota Man Using Geothermal Heating System
Minnesota man makes two-story ice sculpture with geothermal heating water, computer
For four winters now, Roger Hanson of Big Lake has been making remarkable sculptures in his yard using a computer-directed sprayer that disperses water from his geo-thermal heating system. This year's piece (above) is -- so far -- 65 feet tall and 85 feet wide.
He explains the process:
The frame for the ice to collect onto is made from ½" conduit. There are four tiers each 10 feet high. These tiers are hoisted (in sections) from a rope that stretches from two towers 85 feet apart and 50 feet high. The final center conduit pole is pushed up onto the rope to a height of 63.25 feet.
The robot that directs the spray is made from two antenna rotators. One rotator is attached to the other to allow azimuth and elevation motion. These antenna rotators are controlled by a computer using software that I have created. The computer program also uses weather info from a weather station on the top of the house. The weather information such as the wind direction and speed is used to more accurately target the spray.
Winters in Minnesota are cold and the best way to get through the bone-chilling season is to have fun with it, just like Roger Hanson does. For the last four years the ice builder has been growing ice castles in his front yard with the help of his geothermal heating system, some fancy sprayers and a computer program he created himself. Each year the crystalline castles at Hanson's Winter Water Wonder are getting bigger and bigger with more intricate rigging systems and more complicated programming.
Hanson's first castle started in 2007 and grew to about 16 feet with two levels. In the 2008-2009 season, it transformed into a crazy monolith with sharp ice points jutting out from it. The 2009-2010 version included spires and turrets and finally this year the giant ice castle is a tall, long wall measuring 65 feet at its height and 85 feet long with multiple tiers of ice layers. This year's project began in November when Hanson set the poles and started growing the initial layers the first week of December. Now that it's February, the ice castle will start to melt and eventually disintegrate around the end of April.
These amazing sculptures are made possible because of Hanson's geothermal heating system used to heat his home. As you will recall, a geothermal heat pump works like a reverse refrigerator taking heat from one source and rejecting cold into another. In Hanson's case, his system takes ground water at 47 degrees to preheat his home and then rejects the water at 37 degrees into the pond near his home. During the winter, he takes this super cold, but not frozen, water and uses it to form his ice castles.
Cold water is constantly dripped through lines (so it doesn't freeze) and sprayed through special nozzles onto the frames Hanson has built. The sprayed water freezes in place and over a couple of months, the ice castle has grown to its ultimate height of 65 feet. Hanson also created a specialized computer program to control the sprayers, which takes input from a weather station on his roof to adjust for temperature and air direction. Once the water is sprayed, it takes on a life of its own in the ice crystals and shapes it forms.
Via Eyeteeth
Dr. EMAD H. ISMAEEL
University of Mosul
Mosul - Iraq
Web Site: http://sites.google.com/site/emadhanee/
Tel : +964 (0)770 164 93 74
تعليقات
إرسال تعليق