The Microstructure of Yellow River Ice in the Freezing Period

• Main Authors: Yu Deng, Zongkun Li, Juan Wang, Lukai Xu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-09-01
• Series: Crystals
• Subjects: ice; microstructure; Yellow River; grain size; initial defect
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/9/9/484

Accurately determining true ice microstructure and material parameters is a basis for ice disaster theoretical research on the Yellow River. In this work, natural Yellow River ice was collected, and ice crystals parallel and perpendicular to the ice surface were photographed using an orthogonal polarizing mirror. Morphologies of ice microstructure were extracted, and equivalent ice grain sizes were calculated. The results show that Yellow River ice mainly consists of granular ice and columnar ice and vary greatly in different time and space ranges. The ice crystal shape is irregular, and the ice crystal size is larger span, and mainly between 1 mm and 10 mm. Ice crystal initial defects come from bubbles, sediment particles, impurities, and microcracks; among them, bubbles are the most common and have a relatively large impact. In addition, a calculation model of the Yellow River ice microstructure was constructed according to the ice crystal test results. Based on the experimental data and numerical model, the obtained Yellow River ice parameters provide help for analyzing ice disaster mechanisms along the Yellow River.