Energy Analysis in Ice Hockey Arenas and Analytical Formula for the Temperature Profile in the Ice Pad with Transient Boundary Conditions

Abstract

The energy efficiency of ice hockey arenas is a central concern for the administrations, as these buildings are well known to consume a large amount of energy. Since they are composite, complex systems, solutions to such a problem can be approached from many different areas, from managerial to technological to more strictly physical.In this paper we consider heat transfer processes in an ice hockey hall, during operating conditions, with a bottom-up approach based upon on-site measurements. Detailed heat flux, relative humidity and temperature data for the ice pad and the indoor air are used for a heat balance calculation in the steady-state regime, which quantifies the impact of each single heat source. We then solve the heat conduction equation for the ice pad in transient regime, and obtain a generic analytical formula for the temperature profile that can be used in practical applications.We then apply this formula to the resurfacing process for validation, and find good agreement with an analogous numerical solution. Since it is given with implicit initial condition and boundary conditions, it can be used not only in ice hockey halls, but in a large variety of engineering applications.

Developing energy calculation methodology and calculation tool validations: Application in air-heated ice rink arenas

“…where and are asked for on the first page of the tool, and these values are provided as input 𝑇 𝑠 𝑇 1,5𝑚 data by the user. Then convection heat transfer coefficient at the height of 0.1 m above the ice using the indoor air velocity at the same height 0.1 m is calculated according to ASHRAE (2010) as follows [20]:…”

“…= 3.41 + (3.55 × 𝑉 where V is the indoor air velocity at a height of 0.1 m above the ice, and h Conv [W/(m 2 ˚K)] is the heat transfer coefficient at the same height above the ice, calculated with V assumed to be 0.15 m/s. Then [19,20], (19) 𝑄 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑣. = ℎ 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑣 × (𝑇 𝑖𝑛 -𝑇 𝑆 ), where q conv [W/m 2 ] is the convection heat transfer between the ice surface and indoor air, T S is the ice surface temperature [˚K], and is the indoor air temperature at height 0.1 m. Furthermore,…”

“…To calculate the coefficients, the emission factor between the ice and the ceiling must be calculated. The equivalent emission factor for the radiation from the ceiling to the ice surface is calculated according to ASHRAE (1994) with the following equation [19][20][21]:…”