METHOD TO REDUCE ICE STRESS APPLIED TO HYDRAULIC STRUCTURE Russian patent published in 2007 - IPC E02B15/02 

FIELD: hydraulic structure operation, particularly to decrease drifting ice pressure acting on hydraulic structure and to prevent of ice accumulation.

SUBSTANCE: method to prevent ice accumulation and to unload bridge pier during initial ice drifting in spring season involves forming holes in ice blanket so that the holes separate ice blanket into diamond-shaped sections having 30-60° acute angles facing river stream direction, wherein each diamond-shaped section has major side dimension of not more than 1/3 of pier span. The holes are made with the use of solar radiation energy by laying black elastic belts on ice blanket 30-40 days before mean annual river ice breakage date. Belt width is equal to 1-1.5 average ice blanket thicknesses.

EFFECT: prevention of ice accumulation during initial ice breakage and drift, decreased power to be applied to bridge pier during ice drift, increased safety of works to be performed and decreased operational costs.

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