# US 2020/0400642 A1 · Device and Method for Laboratory Ice Jam and Ice Dam Radar Measurement Tests > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2020/0400642 A1 - Document ID: US20200400642A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 16/905,770 - Filed: 2020-06-18 - Published: 2020-12-24 - Earliest claimed: 2019-06-20 - Assignees: China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research - Applicants: China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research - Inventors: HUI FU; XINLEI GUO; TAO WANG; YONGXIN GUO; JIAZHEN LI; PING JI; JIAJIA PAN; JINZHI LU - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20200400642A1 ## CPC - G01N 33/18: Water - G01B 7/06: for measuring thickness {(measuring during the manufacture of coatings C23C14/54)} - G01B 7/26: for measuring depth - G01S 7/418: {Theoretical aspects} - G01S 13/88: Radar or analogous systems specially adapted for specific applications (electromagnetic prospecting or detecting of objects, e.g. near-field detection, G01V3/00) - G01N 33/1873: {Ice or snow} - G01N: INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES (measuring or testing apparatus or processes other than immunoassay, involving enzymes or microorganisms C12M, C12Q) - G01B: MEASURING LENGTH, THICKNESS OR SIMILAR LINEAR DIMENSIONS; MEASURING ANGLES; MEASURING AREAS; MEASURING IRREGULARITIES OF SURFACES OR CONTOURS - G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES ## Abstract The invention relates to a device and method for laboratory ice jam and ice dam radar measurement tests, the device includes a non-metal water tank, a truss spans the top of the non-metal water tank, the truss is connected with a radar plate parallel to a surface of water through a lifting mechanism, a measuring radar is provided on the radar plate, a permeable measuring barrel soaked in the water is provided below the radar plate, a barrel bottom of the permeable measuring barrel is a permeable plate capable of rising and falling, model ice blocks are provided in the permeable measuring barrel, and a handle capable of shaking the truss upwards, downwards, leftwards and rightwards is provided on the truss. According to the invention, through establishing simulated ice jam and ice dam in the permeable measuring barrel, the formation and characteristics of the ice jam and the ice dam are tested, and systematic research can be carried out to address the difficulties, such as radar echo images and the dielectric constant, in the radar measurement of the ice jam and the ice dam and a water depth underneath the ice, so that the measurement accuracy of corresponding equipment is improved, and further development of related disciplines is promoted. A whole set of the device is simple in structure, low in cost, and facilitated and effective in the implementation of tests. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A device for laboratory ice jam and ice dam radar measurement tests, comprising: a non-metal water tank and a truss spanning the top of the water tank, wherein the truss is connected with a radar plate parallel to a surface of water through a lifting mechanism, a measuring radar is provided on the radar plate, a permeable measuring barrel soaked in the water is provided below the radar plate, a barrel bottom of the permeable measuring barrel is a permeable plate capable of rising and falling, and model ice blocks are provided in the permeable measuring barrel; a handle capable of shaking the truss upwards, downwards, leftwards and rightwards is provided on the truss. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The device according to claim 1, wherein the water tank has a rectangular horizontal projection, and a water depth scale is provided on a sidewall. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The device according to claim 2, wherein the truss is in a pound sign shape, and eight ends of the truss are respectively provided with pulleys borne on a guide rail. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The device according to claim 3, wherein the lifting mechanism is a screw rod and a nut. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The device according to claim 4, wherein the horizontal projections of the radar platform and the permeable measuring barrel are rectangular, a barrel wall is composed of four perforated plates, the barrel bottom is composed of one perforated plate, and a diameter of a pore in the perforated plate is smaller than 0.5 times of an average particle diameter of a model ice block. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The device according to claim 5, wherein the four perforated plates composing the barrel wall are connected by four vertical supporting beams provided with a range scale thereon. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The device according to claim 6, wherein the supporting beam is provided with a clamping groove extending in a length direction and insertable into an edge of the perforated plate. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The device according to claim 7, wherein the edge of the barrel bottom perforated plate is provided with a traction rope capable of pulling the barrel bottom perforated plate upwards and downwards. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The device according to any of claim 1, wherein the model ice blocks are polyethylene blocks. ### Claim 10 (depends on 2) The device according to any of claim 2, wherein the model ice blocks are polyethylene blocks. ### Claim 11 (depends on 3) The device according to any of claim 3, wherein the model ice blocks are polyethylene blocks. ### Claim 12 (depends on 4) The device according to any of claim 4, wherein the model ice blocks are polyethylene blocks. ### Claim 13 (depends on 5) The device according to any of claim 5, wherein the model ice blocks are polyethylene blocks. ### Claim 14 (depends on 6) The device according to any of claim 6, wherein the model ice blocks are polyethylene blocks. ### Claim 15 (depends on 7) The device according to any of claim 7, wherein the model ice blocks are polyethylene blocks. ### Claim 16 (depends on 8) The device according to any of claim 8, wherein the model ice blocks are polyethylene blocks. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) A method for laboratory ice jam dam radar measurement tests using the device according to claim 1, comprising the steps of: step 1, preparing model ice blocks: preparing various model ice blocks of different sizes by using polyethylene having a similar density to natural ice blocks; step 2, providing a medium at the bottom of the water tank: paving pebbles, silt or a mixture of pebbles and silt at the bottom of the water tank according to an experimental scheme, and skipping this step if the experimental scheme does not require paving any medium at the bottom of the water tank; step 3, setting water depths and model ice blocks: injecting water into the water tank or adjusting water depths by using the water depth scale according to an experiment requirement, putting one or more types of model ice blocks mixed at a certain ratio into the permeable measuring barrel, pulling up the traction rope to enable the barrel bottom to reach the vicinity of a target position, and calculating a volume of the model ice blocks V1 through weighing and density conversion before the model ice blocks are placed in the permeable measuring barrel; step 4, deploying equipment: putting the truss, the lifting mechanism, the radar plate, the permeable measuring barrel and the model ice blocks into the water tank; step 5, adjusting porosities of the model ice blocks: repeatedly vibrating a test platform back and forth, leftwards and rightwards, and upwards and downwards through the guide rail to enable the model ice blocks to uniformly accumulate in the perforated plate, slightly adjusting the barrel bottom through the traction rope to enable the bottom of the ice jam and ice dam model simulated by floating model ice blocks to be even, recording a thickness of the ice jam and ice dam model at the moment, measuring a total volume V2 in the barrel and the water depth underneath the ice, and calculating the porosity V1/V2 of the current ice jam and ice dam model; step 6, radar measurement: putting the radar into the radar plate, adjusting the radar plate through the lifting mechanism to enable the radar plate to be as close to the surface of the water as possible, starting the radar to measure, recording a measurement result, comparing and analyzing an error between a radar measurement value and a field measurement value, and further analyzing variation characteristics of a radar echo image and a dielectric constant; and step 7, adjusting experimental conditions or ending the experiment: alternatively, returning to step 2, performing systematic repeated and comparative experiments using different porosities, ice block sizes and water depths underneath the ice, or ending the experiment.