Cold Regions Engineering

Cold regions engineering relates to all engineering activities related to coping with low temperatures, specifically freezing temperatures, in the cold regions of our planet.
This course provides an adequate understanding of the unique characteristics that work in these cold regions brings. Challenges include engineering problems related to soil mechanics, hydraulics, heat flow, materials and construction, among others, in cold environments. Therefore, this module addresses a broad range of cold regions engineering design and construction activities.

Topics covered in this module are:

• Physics and mechanics of sea, lake and river ice;

• Ice growth, ice thermodynamics and icing;

• Radiation, albedo, glacial energy budget and ice melt

• Ice morphology, Ice features and ice regimes;

• Cold regions structures and development;

• Sea ice dynamics en remote sensing;

• Ice actions on port, offshore and coastal structures;

• Dynamic ice-structure interaction;

Additional topics that are shortly addressed optionally depending on time available:

• Material behavior at low temperatures;

• Construction on ice and permafrost: foundations, roads and airfields;

• Ships in ice;

This course includes formative group assignments on the following topics:

1. Ice material: Growth en Thermodynamics

2. Ice-structure interaction

3. Ice dynamics

These assignments do not count towards the final grade, but serve as a means to test your knowledge and receive feedback on your understanding. Note furthermore that the size of the groups depends on the number of students in the course and submission deadlines for the group assignments are communicated through Brightspace.

The course is concluded with an individual written open-book exam, where the pass grade is a minimum of 5,8.
For more information on grading, see article 14 in the Rules and Guidelines (RGBE): https://www.tudelft.nl/en/student/ceg-student-portal/education/education-information/educational-rules-and-regulations

Permitted Materials during Exam

Open book exam