Measuring thickness of marine ice using IR thermography

There are several challenges to operating in a cold climate. Marine icing is one of them, and its mitigation is vital for marine operations. The presented work is a laboratory-scale setup to measure marine ice thickness. The developed methodology can be applied towards de-/anti-icing setups. The method described is based on measuring the average surface temperatures of the marine ice. Infrared thermography (IRT) is used to measure the thermal response of ice when subjected to active heating. These tests are performed at various controlled climatic conditions. The surface temperature profiles of marine icing samples are recorded with a calibrated high definition infrared camera. The results show distinct thermal profiles for different ice thicknesses (5, 10 and 15 mm). The thermal profile revealed three parameters, namely: time to respond (t(0)), rate of change of temperature (partial derivative T/partial derivative t) and time to reach Delta T of 5 degrees C (t(f)). These parameters can be empirically correlated to initial temperature (T-0) and ice thickness (t(h)). It was found that time to respond (t(0)) had a strong correlation with ice thickness (t(h)); however, the rate of change of temperature (partial derivative T/partial derivative t) and time to reach Delta T of 5 degrees C (t(f)) were both dependent on initial temperature (T-0) and ice thickness (t(h)). The study mentioned above is conceptual proof that ice thickness can be measured with the given setup, taking into account environmental parameters and accurate calibration.