Design and performance of the Hotrod melt-tip ice-drilling system
We introduce the design and performance of an electrothermal ice-drilling system designed to insert a temperature sensor cable into ice. The melt tip is relatively simple and low-cost, designed for a one-way trip to the ice–bed interface. The drilling system consists of a melt tip, umbilical cable,...
Published in: | Geoscientific Instrumentation, Methods and Data Systems |
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2023
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-12-121-2023 https://doaj.org/article/4fdbcc6c19d144be9a7610b52c79e7b1 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:4fdbcc6c19d144be9a7610b52c79e7b1 2023-07-30T04:04:14+02:00 Design and performance of the Hotrod melt-tip ice-drilling system W. Colgan C. Shields P. Talalay X. Fan A. P. Lines J. Elliott H. Rajaram K. Mankoff M. Jensen M. Backes Y. Liu X. Wei N. B. Karlsson H. Spanggård A. Ø. Pedersen 2023-07-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-12-121-2023 https://doaj.org/article/4fdbcc6c19d144be9a7610b52c79e7b1 EN eng Copernicus Publications https://gi.copernicus.org/articles/12/121/2023/gi-12-121-2023.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/2193-0856 https://doaj.org/toc/2193-0864 doi:10.5194/gi-12-121-2023 2193-0856 2193-0864 https://doaj.org/article/4fdbcc6c19d144be9a7610b52c79e7b1 Geoscientific Instrumentation, Methods and Data Systems, Vol 12, Pp 121-140 (2023) Geophysics. Cosmic physics QC801-809 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-12-121-2023 2023-07-16T00:34:05Z We introduce the design and performance of an electrothermal ice-drilling system designed to insert a temperature sensor cable into ice. The melt tip is relatively simple and low-cost, designed for a one-way trip to the ice–bed interface. The drilling system consists of a melt tip, umbilical cable, winch, interface, power supply, and support items. The melt tip and the winch are the most novel elements of the drilling system, and we make the hardware and electrical designs of these components available open-access. Tests conducted in a laboratory indicate that the melt tip has an electrical energy to forward melting heat transfer efficiency of ∼35 % with a theoretical maximum penetration rate of ∼12 m h −1 at maximum 6.0 kW power. In contrast, ice-sheet testing suggests the melt tip has an analogous heat transfer efficiency of ∼15 % with a theoretical maximum penetration rate of ∼6 m h −1 . We expect the efficiency gap between laboratory and field performance to decrease with increasing operator experience. Umbilical freeze-in due to borehole refreezing is the primary depth-limiting factor of the drilling system. Enthalpy-based borehole refreezing assessments predict refreezing below critical umbilical diameter in ∼4 h at − 20 ∘ C ice temperatures and ∼20 h at − 2 ∘ C . This corresponds to a theoretical depth limit of up to ∼200 m, depending on firn thickness, ice temperature, and operator experience. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ice Sheet Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Geoscientific Instrumentation, Methods and Data Systems 12 2 121 140 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Geophysics. Cosmic physics QC801-809 |
spellingShingle |
Geophysics. Cosmic physics QC801-809 W. Colgan C. Shields P. Talalay X. Fan A. P. Lines J. Elliott H. Rajaram K. Mankoff M. Jensen M. Backes Y. Liu X. Wei N. B. Karlsson H. Spanggård A. Ø. Pedersen Design and performance of the Hotrod melt-tip ice-drilling system |
topic_facet |
Geophysics. Cosmic physics QC801-809 |
description |
We introduce the design and performance of an electrothermal ice-drilling system designed to insert a temperature sensor cable into ice. The melt tip is relatively simple and low-cost, designed for a one-way trip to the ice–bed interface. The drilling system consists of a melt tip, umbilical cable, winch, interface, power supply, and support items. The melt tip and the winch are the most novel elements of the drilling system, and we make the hardware and electrical designs of these components available open-access. Tests conducted in a laboratory indicate that the melt tip has an electrical energy to forward melting heat transfer efficiency of ∼35 % with a theoretical maximum penetration rate of ∼12 m h −1 at maximum 6.0 kW power. In contrast, ice-sheet testing suggests the melt tip has an analogous heat transfer efficiency of ∼15 % with a theoretical maximum penetration rate of ∼6 m h −1 . We expect the efficiency gap between laboratory and field performance to decrease with increasing operator experience. Umbilical freeze-in due to borehole refreezing is the primary depth-limiting factor of the drilling system. Enthalpy-based borehole refreezing assessments predict refreezing below critical umbilical diameter in ∼4 h at − 20 ∘ C ice temperatures and ∼20 h at − 2 ∘ C . This corresponds to a theoretical depth limit of up to ∼200 m, depending on firn thickness, ice temperature, and operator experience. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
W. Colgan C. Shields P. Talalay X. Fan A. P. Lines J. Elliott H. Rajaram K. Mankoff M. Jensen M. Backes Y. Liu X. Wei N. B. Karlsson H. Spanggård A. Ø. Pedersen |
author_facet |
W. Colgan C. Shields P. Talalay X. Fan A. P. Lines J. Elliott H. Rajaram K. Mankoff M. Jensen M. Backes Y. Liu X. Wei N. B. Karlsson H. Spanggård A. Ø. Pedersen |
author_sort |
W. Colgan |
title |
Design and performance of the Hotrod melt-tip ice-drilling system |
title_short |
Design and performance of the Hotrod melt-tip ice-drilling system |
title_full |
Design and performance of the Hotrod melt-tip ice-drilling system |
title_fullStr |
Design and performance of the Hotrod melt-tip ice-drilling system |
title_full_unstemmed |
Design and performance of the Hotrod melt-tip ice-drilling system |
title_sort |
design and performance of the hotrod melt-tip ice-drilling system |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-12-121-2023 https://doaj.org/article/4fdbcc6c19d144be9a7610b52c79e7b1 |
genre |
Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
Ice Sheet |
op_source |
Geoscientific Instrumentation, Methods and Data Systems, Vol 12, Pp 121-140 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://gi.copernicus.org/articles/12/121/2023/gi-12-121-2023.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/2193-0856 https://doaj.org/toc/2193-0864 doi:10.5194/gi-12-121-2023 2193-0856 2193-0864 https://doaj.org/article/4fdbcc6c19d144be9a7610b52c79e7b1 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-12-121-2023 |
container_title |
Geoscientific Instrumentation, Methods and Data Systems |
container_volume |
12 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
121 |
op_container_end_page |
140 |
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