PREPARING FOR ICE STORMS
PHYSICS AND HUMAN AFFAIRS WITH PROFESSOR MELODY
THOMAS
Presented by Jill Green, Jaewung Ryu, Scott Stilwell
What is an ice storm?
The U.S. National Weather service
defines an ice storm as the
accumulation of at least .25 inches of
freezing rain. Freezing rain is caused by
rain droplets that encounter freezing or
sub freezing temperatures at the surface.
The rain freezes on contact with the
ground or objects near the surface. Ice
accumulates on the roads, tree limbs,
power lines, etc.
Just one inch of ice on a single span of power line weighs as
much as 1,250 pounds!
Ice Storm of NWA
January 2009
Ozarks Electric Cooperative storm
statistics
•
65,800 members at the time of storm
•
50,000 without power initially
•
17 days to fully restore power
•
$17 million to repair damaged
infrastructure
•
200-210 personnel brought in to assist
in restoration efforts
•
$400,000 in lost revenues to Ozarks
Electric
Photos taken in Springdale, AR
during January 2009 ice storm
Sagging lines require repair-even if they
don’t actually snap
Could we bury the power lines to reduce outages?
• Cost – Would require investing over
$3-5 billion The estimated cost per
mile…$1million
• Time – 5600 miles of overhead lines
would take decades to complete
• Maintenance-the maintenance
requires extended downtime and
disturbs landscaped yards
• Misconception about immunity to
outages-outages still occur due to
excavation, burrowing animals,
flooding
• Greg Anderson of GE Engineering
stated In some areas Arkansas
Bedrock prohibits feasible/economical
access to allow burial.
• What is it? A single stranded line
overlapping existing overhead line
that is warmed with solar power
• How does it work? With stored solar
power it prevents freezing rain from
freezing on lines
• What would it cost? Approximately $22,000 per mile
• Installation – requires no digging
and minimal personnel
• To be used where? Used on
overhead lines near critical areas
not subject to falling trees/limbs
With No Heating System in Place
The accumulation of ice causes added weight
to the
lines, results in downed out of service power
lines.
Broken Power Lines
Ice Precipitation
Electric pole
Improved Concept with Heated
System
Solar Panel- used to gather the Suns
energy to be converted into DC
electricity.
Solar Energy
Captured by solar
panel for storage,
transferred to
storage. (battery)
Heating elements wrapped
around, power lines.
Power wire from storage to
heating elements.
Melted Ice
Thermostat- When the
temperature reaches 33° F, it
controls when the heated
wires are active.
DC Electric
Storage
Ground
Cost
Materials and Costs
SuppliesThermostat- 31.27, Radiant DualTemp Non-Digital Thermost, This thermostat Monitors both, air temp,
and wire temp. http://www.masterwholesale.com/radiant-dualtemp-non-digital-thermostat.html
Heated Wire-103.90/ 100ft
http://www.masterwholesale.com/masterheat-120v-coated-wire-spool.html
Solar Panel-237.99 per panel
http://www.amazon.com/Ramsond-Monocrystalline-Photovoltaic-BatteryCharging/dp/B005QUALBW/ref=sr_1_27?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1366233065&sr=1-27
Electricity Storage System-199.99x2, 2 six volt deep cell batteries wired in series to make a 12 volt
system
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/search/Deep+Cycle+&+Marine+Batteries/N0056/C1980.oap?keywor
d=6v+batteries&page=2&results=20&sortBy=1
Shelter for Storage System-99.00, 23.5Lx46W, plastic waterproof storage container
http://www.lowes.com/Outdoor-Living-Recreation/Patio-Furniture/Deck-Boxes/_/N1z0zyd8/pl?Ns=p_product_avg_rating|1&cm_sp=SeasonalLiving-_-OutdoorLiving|PopularCat-_|Deck_Boxes&cm_cr=Patio+Furniture+1.4-_-Web+Activity-_-Patio+Furniture+TF+revamp-_SC_Patio+Furniture_TopFlexible_Area-_-124125_7_Deck_Boxes#!
Cost to heat 100 meters of single strand power lineRoughly- $1380.00
Works Cited
“Winter Storms.” The Weather Channel Storm Encyclopedia.www.weather.com
“When ice and heavy snow bring down limbs and power lines.” Tipmont REMC
Touchstone Energy Cooperative. www.Tipmont.org. Jan 2011
Shackelford, Scott. “Bury Lines.” NWA Online. NW Arkansas Times. 3 Feb 2009
Photo 1: www.exploringweather.com/winterstorms.html
Photo 2: www.nc-climate.ncsu.edu
Photos 3,4 and 5: www.extremeinstability.com/09-1-28.htm
Photo 6: www.firsthandweather.com/wpcontent/uploads/2013/01/icestormoklahomadec17th2011.png
Photo 7: energytrendsinsider.com
Photo 8: www.extremeinstability.com/09-1-28.htm