Start Date
August 2014
Abstract
Ningwu Ice Cave in Shanxi province, China, is the largest Ice cave in China. We use Finite Element Method（FEM) to model the process of heat transfer in the ice cave. We not only calculate thermal conduction in spring, summer and fall, but also calculate the convective heat transfer in winter by introducing an equivalent thermal conductivity of cave air. Our computation shows that the ice cave can be formed within a decade, and reach a stable cyclic state in few centuries. Our calculation also shows that if people set a trap door at the ice cave entrance, especially in winter, the cave ice then cannot be convectively cooled down in winter and will melt within less than 40 years. This is probably happening in some scenic ice caves in China.
Included in
Numerical Modeling Of Formation Of A Static Ice Cave – Ningwu Ice Cave, Shanxi, China
Ningwu Ice Cave in Shanxi province, China, is the largest Ice cave in China. We use Finite Element Method（FEM) to model the process of heat transfer in the ice cave. We not only calculate thermal conduction in spring, summer and fall, but also calculate the convective heat transfer in winter by introducing an equivalent thermal conductivity of cave air. Our computation shows that the ice cave can be formed within a decade, and reach a stable cyclic state in few centuries. Our calculation also shows that if people set a trap door at the ice cave entrance, especially in winter, the cave ice then cannot be convectively cooled down in winter and will melt within less than 40 years. This is probably happening in some scenic ice caves in China.
