Snow accretion prediction on an inclined cable

摘要

We have developed a novel analytical model to predict snow accretions. Our analysis of snow and freezing rain accretions forming on vertical, inclined and horizontal cables revealed that the two most influential parameters are the ratio of windspeed to particle terminal velocity, and cylinder inclination angle. We have also adapted our existing morphogenetic icing model to simulate snow accretions on arbitrarily oriented cylinders/cables. The adapted morphogenetic model can be used to predict complex details of the snow accretion shape, including surface roughness and embedded voids. Detailed accretion structures predicted by the morphogenetic model can be 3D-printed and used to examine the relationship between the amount of snow precipitation and the resulting changes in the aerodynamic characteristics of cables.