Encouraging STEM, saving ice skating

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UKGov has long talked about encouraging STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects.
How about some real life challenges, like 'improve the efficiency of UK's ice rinks'.
Learn something that has a benefit to society.

Results:
1. Existing ice rinks remain open - Good
2. Costs are reduced for skaters - Excellent
3. New rinks possibly built - Outstanding

Obviously such ideas need to be realistic, practical, make shrewd business sense; have a return on investment (ROI) etc.
However, here are 21 'blue sky thinking' ideas; some might sound a little crazy, but only using a combination of science + business acumen you can prove the worth, or not.

(any products mentioned doesn't infer endorsement)
(my highest level of academic qualification is GCSEs; you have been warned!)

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1. Using the North light to save on lighting costs. I have mentioned this previously here;
https://www.skatingforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=7801.msg114000#msg114000
Obviously this would only apply to new builds.

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2. Reflective paint; mentioned previously here; https://www.skatingforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=7661.0
Checking an Independent article (13th July 2023) it mentions that "the paint is not yet available for commercial use".
There are other paints available right now (though perhaps not as good) which could be used.
You'd need to calculate the roof area to work out how much paint would be required.
For added fun it's probably not perfectly flat (box/wriggly profile)

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3. Radically rethinking ice resurfacing; recently mention here; https://www.skatingforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=7805.0
This would be a larger/higher risk Research & Development project.
You'd need the current cost/metrics for resurfacing; water/gas/noise/time/electric; this would be the benchmark to beat.

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4. Downgrade a 365 day rink to seasonal; okay so not a popular idea.
Best to let skaters/coaches know well in advance to they can plan ahead for training.
Depending on the rink base, they could possibly have rollers during summer.
Also they might encounter issues; remember the rule for permafrost construction;
"If it’s frozen, keep it frozen; if it’s thawed keep it thawed".
I know Guildford discovered some issues when they started things backup after lockdown.

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5. Ice alloys; try using pykrete (a mixture of water and wood fibres; sawdust/tissue paper).
Frozen it's a lot stronger than ice; also relatively it takes longer to melt.
It would make an awesome social video post; would the blades grip properly?

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6. Collect rainwater from the roof, and store/filter it into something like multiple IBCs (Intermediate Bulk Containers)
or larger Enduramaxx rainwater tanks. Could be used for resurfacing/toilets etc.
You'd need to check local rainfall records and calculate some ballpark numbers based on the roof/collection size.

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7. Drip line heat evaporation from the roof; a novel idea, but all equipment is already tested/available for agricultural irrigation.
Water would be automatically released over the roof to cool it down during hot weather.

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8. Double-skin façade; you've seen that foil on some rink ceilings? Why not stop the heat from initially getting into the building.
A product called i-Mesh (fabric; recently used in Dubai) could be externally mounted over the building.
This would reflect heat away, and allow air to circulate underneath.

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9. Rethink AC positioning; you've seen that air duct/tube up in the ceiling bringing in cold, conditioned air; seems silly doesn't it?
Why not pump in this air at the floor level; (cold air sinks/hot air rises) Extract the hot air away at the ceiling apex; more efficient?

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10. Ice alloys; just as they put titanium dioxide in sun screen to protect against ultraviolet; could you bounce infrared/heat away from the ice pad.
Perhaps a mix of reflective powder; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barium_sulfate#Heat-reflecting_paint

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11. Ice cover; let's say hypothetically the rink is not used between 12:00 (midnight) and 06:00 every day.
6 hours, or 1/4 of a day; 1 day 18 hours per week; ~91 days per year.
Think how they use a bubble cover for swimming pools; keeps the heat in/stops evaporation & debris getting in.
Could something similar be used for ice rinks, but to keep the cold in (and as a bonus stop any drips making stalagmites/holes)
Rolling this in at ice level might difficult from an engineering perspective, however it could go over the top of the plexiglass.
Ceiling mounted on rollers over multiple rails, it would be pulled back in the morning.
The benefit would probably be greater the larger the arena size ratio to the rink size covered.

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12. Site survey using infrared/thermal camera; reasonable priced equipment can be attached to an existing smartphone.
You can check how good the insulation is, and how airtight the building is; are there any gaps (plug with expanding foam?)
As a bonus you might spot any dodgy/overloading wiring; you could also share/rotate the equipment with nearby rinks.

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13. Reduce outside/inside air mixing; this was mentioned as a plus point for the new Cambridge rink.
Revolving doors are perfect for this; but for wheelchair users, or a netminder dragging their hockey bag it would need to be two-wing.
However this might feel slightly claustrophobic for some people, so perhaps a simple long porch like a mostly airlock.

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14. Solar reflective film added to windows, or the use of low emissivity / low-e glass
Obviously only useful for rinks with windows near the pad that get direct sunlight.

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15. More efficient dehumidifying; on the outskirts of Lima, Peru they use passive fog-catching nets to obtain water from the air.
Could something similar be used in rinks; only fans would be required; no desiccant or compressor parts/power needed.
Waffle/concertina configurations of netting might be better.

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16. Grooved pipe to improve heat transfer; I remember reading about this a while back.
The pipe had small grooves/fins both on the inside and outside, increasing the surface area for heat exchange.
Within the refrigeration plant this could help, resulting in a lower coolant temperature leaving the unit.
(also think of the amazing Zalman heatsinks in desktop computers, but around a pipe)

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17. Remove trapped air bubbles/pockets; air is a good insulator, so you don't want it in the coolant pipes.
Air rises so it could literally shield the ice pad from the coolant; how would you know if it was there?
Perhaps an inner grooved pipe to try to corkscrew the liquid and flush the air out? Possible ultrasonic degassing?
Also cavitation may form bubbles after the plumbing has been primed; perhaps reduce the pump speed?
Ideally you want a laminar/streamline flow (as opposed to a turbulent/rough flow)
The physics of fluid dynamics is quite mind blowing!

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18. Siphon/syphon liquids; there are many hundreds of metres of pipe in ice rinks, resulting friction loss.
Instead of using electrical power to do all the circulation, why not let gravity do most of the work?
(Obviously a pump would be need to transfer the liquid up from the lower reservoir to the higher one; but less power)

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19. No hot showers for hockey; settle down now! Actually there are numerous studies that show the benefits of cold showers for athletes.
Unlike lido swimming & ice baths, where it's strongly advised to build up acclimatisation, showers shouldn't be too bad.
Might be a hard sell in terms of user acceptance; hey, they're hockey players, they can take it right? (maybe just lower the thermostat a bit)
As a bonus you might find that less water gets used!

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20. Switch to a charity business model; for tax reasons; https://www.gov.uk/setting-up-charity/charitable-purposes
It may also change the mindset of the approach to running the rink too; investing more in what you're doing.

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21. Heat pump to cool the refrigeration plant. Essentially there are two halves of the cycle.
Evaporation side where the heat is extracted away from something; and compressor side where the heat is dumped out of the plant.
Some leisure facilities use this heat for adjacent swimming pool heating.
In the absence of one, a ground-coupled heat exchanger could possibly be used.

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That's all I can think of right now.
Feel free to comment, have a giggle, throw in your additional ideas.

[transmissionoftheflame]

Some great ideas in there.


I have recently started having cold showers - it is very invigorating.


Oberstdorf closes for a month a year in the spring, for maintenance, and lots of European rinks I know of close for a few months in the summer, often becoming roller rinks.


I think rinks will have to become more efficient to survive, but there's clearly some investment needed which is unlikely to be paid back in the short term.


I know Romford, Streatham and Chelmsford all have rinks upstairs and swimming pools downstairs, seem to recall that this was partly some kind of energy saving tactic.

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I have recently started having cold showers - it is very invigorating.

Indeed! To anybody else; the best time to start is during hot weather (refreshing), or after (cardio) exercise, or early evening when the body core temperature is higher; you bounce back quicker. Don't start doing it 1st thing in the morning on a cold day!

lots of European rinks I know of close for a few months in the summer, often becoming roller rinks.

The other thing I've noticed is their use of air domes - cheaper/quicker; also in this country, (in terms of planning applications) the drive to have multipurpose sports/facilities venues; other than rollers, there are probably a number of sports that could use a smooth concrete floor.

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22. More scattered lighting; a lot of rinks use (high-power) LEDs now; for lower kWh usage.
However they're in unit clusters like floodlights; harsh (in colour) and dazzling (brightness).
If you look at outdoor rink lighting, the best ones, (in my opinion) use 'string lights'.
They have softer, even, atmospheric, more diffuse illumination; they've got that wow factor.
As a plus, if they're spread out more, they'll run cooler, (HP-LEDs get hot) extending the lifespan.
(I don't see The ice mouse around; I remember him once saying that he worked as a lighting engineer)

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23. Sports advert/motivator; Setup a couple of pro hockey sponsored exercise bikes in the stands/in view of the pad.
They would be custom painted/stickers of the local team colours; perhaps with a leaflet of fixtures/training times.
For someone who doesn't exercise, starting can be the hardest part; and continuing is all about how you feel after exercising.
Ideally you want something simple, low investment, that you can do for a short time, at your own pace, without social pressures.
Think of the parents who bring their children to the rink, sitting around with spare time; means & opportunity present itself.
Who knows where it could lead? Better health; a stepping-stone to something more; family night out watching the hockey?
10-20 minutes of exercise every visit adds up, and as a bonus they'll keep warm too!

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[WednesdayMarch]

I think all rinks need to take all of this on board or we'll end up with no ice in the foreseeable future.

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24. Better foil ceiling; I mentioned about this in passing earlier (#eight) - I think they could do better with this.
Currently it's just a sheet; bouncing heat equally either side; from the roof ceiling = good, from the ice arena = bad.
What you want is a ceiling tile with a low emissivity on the top, and high value on bottom; but lightweight, and cheap too.
So foil shiny side up on top, and for the bottom I was thinking either a vertically slanted honeycomb structure similar to faraday cage vents.
Or a steep vertically angled (wavy patterned?) sandwiched foil with thin polystyrene (roll). Radiant heat bounces in, but little bounces out; =win.

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Interesting to note the ISU 2030 Vision; (published June 2023)

https://isu.org/inside-isu/rules-regulations/decisions-of-the-isu-council/31376-isu-vision-2030/file

Page 5, "Provide guidelines on building and maintaining eco-friendly ice rinks"

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25. Optimal wind power; think of Bridgewater Place in Leeds; tragic, but it demonstrates the power of wind around buildings.
What if you could use this more efficiently, (and safely) around a rink arena for small wind turbines. Think of a sloping roof;
Turbines positioned at the top; you'd catch the air, (passing over) plus the additional accelerating air coming up the ramp.
Marine turbines (for boats) are known to be rugged; I was also impressed by an Icelandic company called IceWind.
Highly dependent on the location though so you'd need to check records; example like here (Ayr) or here (Gosport/Ryde).
And using an anemometer to check wind speed in different locations/positions would be useful for planning & tuning.
Would it power the rink? No, but it would help chip away at the lower wattage circuits when the conditions are right.
Also from an electrical design perspective it sets things up for multiple sources of power.
If there was an issue with the power grid, having the commando sockets ready for a generator could save remaking an ice pad.

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[WednesdayMarch]

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25. Optimal wind power; think of Bridgewater Place in Leeds; tragic, but it demonstrates the power of wind around buildings.
What if you could use this more efficiently, (and safely) around a rink arena for small wind turbines. Think of a sloping roof;
Turbines positioned at the top; you'd catch the air, (passing over) plus the additional accelerating air coming up the ramp.
Marine turbines (for boats) are known to be rugged; I was also impressed by an Icelandic company called IceWind.
Highly dependent on the location though so you'd need to check records; example like here (Ayr) or here (Gosport/Ryde).
And using an anemometer to check wind speed in different locations/positions would be useful for planning & tuning.
Would it power the rink? No, but it would help chip away at the lower wattage circuits when the conditions are right.
Also from an electrical design perspective it sets things up for multiple sources of power.
If there was an issue with the power grid, having the commando sockets ready for a generator could save remaking an ice pad.

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Please stand for government. I'd vote for you.

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Please stand for government. I'd vote for you.

Thank-you.

Just to add regarding wind power, looks like it has already been tried on a skyscraper in London;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strata_SE1#Sustainability_claims
However they didn't design it properly; too noisy.

Those IceWind turbines l mentioned were spec'ed as less than 30 decibels; pretty quiet.
If I was an engineer I'd want to verify it though, particularly the lower frequencies/infrasound.

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Missed this at first glance;

Bahrain WTC; Building=2004 Opened=2008 = still operating; 3x 29m diameter turbines
Strata SE1; Building=2007 Opened=2010 = stopped, noise; 3x 18m diameter turbines

Yet (Wikipedia mentions that) the same engineers were involved for both; Rambøll (and Norwin).
This raises the question of what happened? And what are the noise levels in the WTC?

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18. Siphon/syphon liquids; there are many hundreds of metres of pipe in ice rinks, resulting friction loss.
Instead of using electrical power to do all the circulation, why not let gravity do most of the work?
(Obviously a pump would be need to transfer the liquid up from the lower reservoir to the higher one; but less power)

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26. Possibly reduce this with multiple hydraulic ram pumps, which makes use of the water hammer effect.
Who knew that was a thing?
You'd need to first test the handling of subzero brine/glycol liquids; might not work.
Also you'd need an electric pump to handle the 'waste' value liquid, and as backup, but less power required.
Also, also ram pumps are known to stop, so flow/valve sensors and solenoid-like valve to auto restart things.

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Nice -> https://www.iihf.com/en/static/5890/iihf-ice-rink-guide

Check the links on the right; IIHF GUIDE TO SUSTAINABLE ICE ARENAS (Updated version 2023-03-29.)

Interesting to learn about these recent setups using CO2 directly as a coolant.

Some impressive energy savings, however due to the high pressures metal rink pipes are required.