The automated ice making system consists of three main components: a water discharge system, an air distribution system and an ice container.
One of the components of the water discharge system is a discharge apparatus called the Fountain Unit. The Fountain Unit is one of the simplest time-temperature integrators available, and serves to control the volume of water discharged per hour in proportion to the ambient air temperature. Low temperature outdoor air is blown onto the ice surface using a fan and ducts.
The ice container, which is located directly below the Fountain Unit and spraying nozzles, is simply made of cloth suspended from a scaffold. Once water that is sprayed on the cloth freezes, the cloth has enough strength to support a thin layer of water on the ice block surface.
In order to make a clear ice block, the volume of water released should be controlled so that only a few millimeters of ice are created during any single discharge interval.
In practice, a water temperature setting in the Fountain Unit of 2°C was found to be satisfactory. The air volume should be adjusted so that the Freezing Index is 150°C·min·mm
-1. This system can be used to create a block of ice over 3 meters high by making use of low outdoor air temperature conditions.
Large blocks of ice are ideally suited for the storage of agricultural products because they can provide both low temperatures and high humidity. The ice block created in this study was used to store vegetables without significant deterioration in quality for 2.5 months.
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