Determining the Intrinsic Permeability of Frazil Ice. Part 1. Laboratory Investigations
1991
White, Kathleen D.
Frazil ice causes problems in many northern rivers. Frazil ice deposits can block intakes and hinder navigation and can result in ice jam flooding. Knowledge of the characteristics of a frazil ice deposit can aid in the design of ice control methods for that particular site. Unlike sheet ice, many of the physical characteristics of frazil ice deposits are not well known. Among these are hydraulic conductivity, intrinsic permeability and porosity. The intrinsic permeability is a property that describes the capacity for flow through the solid matrix, while the hydraulic conductivity relates the properties of the fluid and the intrinsic permeability of the solid matrix. The porosity of the deposit, which can also be approximated from the intrinsic permeability, is often used in estimating the volume of ice in the deposit. The borehole dilution method, developed as a nondestructive test to measure groundwater velocities, has been used to determine hydraulic conductivity in soils. Since a frazil ice deposit is a heterogeneous medium similar to water- bearing soil, this test method appears to hold some promise for determining frazil ice permeability. This report describes the borehole dilution method as modified for laboratory testing of frazil ice deposits. This technique shows promise as a relatively simple field method for the in-situ determination of the intrinsic permeability of a frazil ice deposit.
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