COLD WEATHER TRANSIT TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM. VOLUME 11--PREDICTION OF ICE FORMATION

This report is one of a series of reports associated with the Cold Weather Transit Technology (CWTT) program of the Urban Mass Transportation Administration. The CWTT program is a project to improve transit operations in severe ice, snow, and cold environments. The program was initially directed to solutions for automated guideway transit system cold weather problems in support of the downtown people mover program (DPM). However, curtailment of the DPM program in November 1980, caused UMTA to redirect the focus of the program to obtain solutions for cold weather problems of existing transit systems. Therefore, the objective of the CWTT program is to develop new and more effective solutions for cold weather problems experienced by urban mass transportation systems. This volume presents results of research on the prediction of ice/frost formation on a local scale through the measurement of site specific metrological parameters. The objective of this study is to make in-situ measurements of environmental conditions under which ice or frost has formed on an exposed surface such as a rail or electrical bus. Computerized monitoring systems that are already available will then have access to information that will increase their ability to judge or forecast warnings of probable frost formation and how soon it will occur. The ice formation studies include the design parameters for a local weather station which monitors ambient conditions and predicts the projected onset of ice accumulation through humidity condensation, freezing precipitation, or freezing surface water. This data would be transmitted to transit systems and vehicle operators as an aid in planning specific countermeasures.

• Corporate Authors:

  Notre Dame University

  College of Engineering
  Notre Dame, Indiana,   United States  46556

  Urban Mass Transportation Administration

  400 7th Street, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • McComas, S T
  • Uhran, J J
  • Flentz, J L
  • Ham, A E
• Publication Date: 1983-11

Media Info

• Pagination: 92 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Cold weather; Detectors; Equipment; Frost; Humidity; Ice; Meteorology; Monitoring
• Old TRIS Terms: Monitoring devices
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Maintenance and Preservation; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00386294
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: UMTAIN-06-0009-83-11Final Rpt.
• Files: TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Jul 30 1984 12:00AM