JP7626310B2 - Ice making device and method for repairing ice making device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an ice-making device and a method for renovating an ice-making device, and more specifically to an ice-making device that allows smooth ice-making even in intermittent operation by preventing freezing of water remaining in the spray section that sprays water toward the ice-making surface, and a method for renovating an existing ice-making device that allows smooth ice-making even in intermittent operation by preventing freezing of water remaining in the spray section that sprays water toward the ice-making surface.

Traditionally, a reaming ice making method has been used to produce ice.
A reamer type ice making device comprises a substantially cylindrical ice making cylinder whose inner or outer circumferential surface is the ice making surface, a sprinkler section that sprinkles water to form ice toward the inner or outer circumferential surface of the ice making cylinder, a storage section disposed below the ice making cylinder to receive and store water that flows down the ice making cylinder without freezing, and a reamer that breaks the ice as it moves along the inner or outer circumferential surface of the ice making cylinder. The reamer has a number of ice breaking blades with cutting edges arranged in a spiral around a substantially cylindrical pivot shaft, and the reamer revolves around the rotation axis of the ice making cylinder and/or rotates about the pivot shaft, making it possible to peel off a thin layer of ice formed on the ice making surface.
The sprinkler section has a sprinkler nozzle that inclines downward toward the ice-making surface, which is the inner or outer circumferential surface of the ice-making cylinder, and sprinkles water.The outlet opening, which is the tip of the sprinkler nozzle, has a cross section in a direction approximately perpendicular to the extension direction of the sprinkler nozzle, and is formed in a circular shape, for example, if the sprinkler nozzle is a hose with a circular cross section.

A method of using such a reamer-type ice-making device is a method of making flake-shaped ice by adjusting the temperature of the supply water used to freeze the ice, the evaporation temperature of the refrigerant used to freeze the supply water, and the rotation speed of a reamer, which has a rotatable blade that bites concentrically into the inner surface of the ring-shaped ice layer to peel off the ice flakes.
The ice flakes produced from the ice are usually crushed using an ice crushing device to produce ice particles of a predetermined size, and then used.
For example, environmental test chambers have been used in the past in which a completed model vehicle is placed inside a room, various natural environments and weather conditions are set, and the load on the vehicle is collected as data for analysis.
As one example, a snowstorm is simulated in an environmental testing room using artificial snow, which is then blown toward the vehicle to deal with problems caused by snow getting into the engine compartment and icing problems such as freezing of suspension parts.

For this purpose, the environmental test chamber has a wind tunnel with sufficient space in which a vehicle can be placed and which can blow snow toward the vehicle, and a snowstorm generator.
The snowstorm generating device includes an ice-making machine that produces flake-shaped ice pieces, an ice crusher that crushes the produced flake-shaped ice pieces into ice particles of a specified diameter, a pipe that transports the crushed ice particles of the specified diameter to simulate artificial snow into a wind tunnel, and a nozzle installed at the end of the pipe that blows snow toward the front of the vehicle.
In such an environmental test chamber, it is possible to carry out environmental tests simulating natural environmental and weather conditions by using a snowstorm generator to blow snowstorms toward a vehicle in the wind tunnel.

In order to conduct proper and effective environmental testing, it is necessary to simulate a natural snowstorm. In particular, from the viewpoint of reproducing the adhesion of snowstorms to vehicles, it is important to ensure the temperature and particle size of the snow that makes up the snowstorm, as well as the amount of snow required for the test. In addition, in order to prevent changes in the quality of the artificial snow generated from the ice pieces made by the ice maker, it is required that the ice maker make the amount of ice required on the spot when conducting the test.
In conventional ice-making machines, the repeated operation of making ice and stopping ice-making, i.e., intermittent operation, causes the following technical problems.

In other words, in environmental testing, the ice making machine is required to make the amount of ice needed on the spot when the test is conducted, and when the ice making machine is operating intermittently, when ice making by the ice making machine stops, the spraying of water from the sprinkler nozzle to the ice making surface stops, and water remains in the tip of the sprinkler nozzle that forms the outlet opening due to the adhesive force of water that tends to accumulate due to the surface tension of water, and if the tip of the sprinkler nozzle is below freezing, the remaining water will freeze and cause the sprinkler nozzle to become clogged, making it difficult to start making ice smoothly when operation is resumed.
In this case, even if ice production by the ice maker is stopped, water can continue to be sprayed from the spray nozzles onto the ice-making surface, and it may be possible to return the water that falls from the ice-making surface to the spray nozzles and circulate it, but this would require additional equipment, which would increase costs.
Furthermore, these technical problems are not limited to the reamer-type ice-making method that reams out ice by physical peeling, but are a common problem insofar as the water supplied from the spray nozzle is cooled with a refrigerant to form a thin layer of ice on the ice-making surface, and then the layer is de-iced from the ice-making surface to produce ice chips.

In view of the above technical problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an ice making device that enables smooth ice making even during intermittent operation by preventing the freezing of water remaining in the spray section that sprays water toward the ice making surface.
In view of the above technical problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for modifying an existing ice-making device that enables smooth ice making even during intermittent operation by preventing freezing of water remaining in the spray section that sprays water toward the ice-making surface.

In order to achieve the above object, the ice making device of the present invention comprises:
In an ice making device that makes ice on an ice making surface,
A water sprinkler unit is provided for sprinkling water onto the ice-making surface.
The water sprinkler unit has a water sprinkler nozzle that is inclined downward and has a tip including an outlet opening that faces the ice making surface,
The tip of the sprinkler nozzle is cut so as to be inclined obliquely with respect to the extension direction of the sprinkler nozzle.

With an ice-making device having the above-described configuration, a thin layer of ice is formed on the temperature-controlled ice-making surface by spraying water onto the ice-making surface, and then the thin layer of ice is peeled off from the ice-making surface to make flake- or plate-shaped ice. The water is sprayed onto the ice-making surface by a spray nozzle that is inclined downward toward the ice-making surface.
For example, in environmental tests using artificial snow, when artificial snow is supplied to the test object under various conditions, it is necessary to operate the ice-making device intermittently to make ice. Ice is made by freezing water sprayed from the sprinkler section on the ice-making surface, and the produced ice is used to supply artificial snow to the test object, and then the produced ice is used to supply artificial snow to the test object again. During the time interval between these two, the remaining water in the sprinkler section may freeze and in some cases the sprinkler section may become blocked, making it impossible or difficult to sprinkle water the next time ice is made. However, the sprinkler section is inclined downward and has a sprinkler nozzle whose tip, including the outlet opening, faces the ice-making surface, and the tip of the sprinkler nozzle is cut so that it is inclined diagonally relative to the extension direction of the sprinkler nozzle. This reduces the adhesive force of water that tends to accumulate due to the surface tension of the water, thereby reducing the amount of remaining water and suppressing the remaining water in the sprinkler section, thereby preventing such a situation and enabling smooth ice making.

In addition, it is preferable that the tip of the sprinkler nozzle is oriented so as to be inclined downward in the extension direction of the sprinkler nozzle.
Furthermore, it is preferable that the outlet opening at the tip of the sprinkler nozzle is elliptical with its major axis facing downward.
Furthermore, the inclination angle is preferably 20 degrees or more and 30 degrees or less.

In addition, the ice-making surface is the inner or outer peripheral surface of a cylinder, and the sprinkler section is a ring-shaped body concentric with the cylinder, and each of the ring-shaped body has a plurality of sprinkler nozzles arranged on the outer peripheral surface thereof at predetermined angular intervals in the circumferential direction so as to extend radially outward.
Furthermore, the ice making device preferably uses a blade system for peeling off the thin ice layer formed on the ice making surface from the ice making surface.
Furthermore, the ice making device may be configured to use a reamer type method for peeling off the thin ice layer formed on the ice making surface from the ice making surface.
In addition, the material of the inner surface of the sprinkler nozzle may be selected so as to exhibit the desired water repellency or hydrophilicity depending on the inner diameter of the sprinkler nozzle piping, the nozzle inclination angle, and the inner surface roughness.

In order to achieve the above object, the method for repairing an ice-making device of the present invention comprises the steps of:
An ice making device that makes ice on an ice making surface,
A water sprinkler unit is provided for sprinkling water onto the ice-making surface.
In an ice making device, the sprinkler section has a sprinkler nozzle that is inclined downward and has a tip including an outlet opening facing the ice making surface,
The tip of the sprinkler nozzle is cut so as to be inclined obliquely with respect to the extension direction of the sprinkler nozzle.
A method for renovating an ice-making device.

It is also preferable that the tip of the sprinkler nozzle is oriented so as to be inclined downward in the extension direction of the sprinkler nozzle.
Furthermore, the inclination angle is preferably 20 degrees or more and 30 degrees or less.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the reamer type ice making method of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings, taking as an example a case in which the made ice is used for an environmental test.
First, to explain the snow environment testing system, as shown in FIG. 1, the snow environment testing system 10 uses artificial snow made of ice particles, and is configured to simulate a snowstorm by carrying the artificial snow on an air current behind it, and to blow it toward the vehicle V, which is the test specimen, and for this purpose has a snowstorm supply system 12 and an air current supply system 14.
In particular, when a required amount of blown snow having a specified snow quality, in which the particle size and moisture content of the ice particles are the main influencing factors, is used and continuously blown toward vehicle V, in order to ensure that the snow spreads across the entire height of vehicle V and, in some cases, achieves the desired snowstorm concentration distribution along the height of vehicle V, it is required that the ice particles to be used as artificial snow be produced just before the test and supplied quickly under specified temperature and humidity control.

More specifically, the snow environment test system 10 has a wind tunnel 16 in which the vehicle V to be tested is placed, a low-temperature chamber 18 located above the wind tunnel 16, and an ice-making chamber 20 located above the low-temperature chamber 18. An ice-making device 22 is placed inside the ice-making chamber 20, an ice temperature stabilization conveyor 24, an ice crusher 26, a blower 28, a cooler 30, and an artificial snow distribution device 34 are placed inside the low-temperature chamber 18, and a wet snow device 32, an artificial snow blowing nozzle 36, and a snowstorm collection device 38 are placed inside the wind tunnel 16. In general, the ice pieces made in the ice-making chamber 20 are crushed in the low-temperature chamber 18 and turned into ice particles to produce artificial snow, which is then pumped toward the wind tunnel 16, and the wet artificial snow is distributed inside the wind tunnel 16, carried by the low-temperature air current to form snowstorms, and blown toward the vehicle V.

The wind tunnel 16 is an open-type circulation type, and is formed in a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view, and includes an (open-type) measurement chamber 300 in which a vehicle to be measured is placed, and four bent cavities (bent portions) 302, 304, 306, and 308. The airflow generated by the blower 25 passes through the second diffusion cavity 310, the third bent cavity 306, the fourth bent cavity 308, the flow straightening cavity 312 (see FIG. 1), and the flow contraction cavity 314 (see FIG. 1), and then flows into the measurement chamber 300 from an outlet 316 (see FIG. 1) that opens into the measurement chamber 300, and then flows through the first bent cavity 302 and the second bent cavity 304 in that order.
The airflow blown by blower 25 first reduces the wind speed (dynamic pressure) of the entire airflow and increases the pressure (static pressure) in the intermediate cavity section, and then passes through contraction cavity 314, allowing an airflow with a volume (wind speed) sufficient for measurement to be blown out from outlet 316 into measurement chamber 300.

As a result, as will be described later, ice particles that are transported by air through the ice-making process, ice-crushing process, separation process, and wet snow process are carried by the air current behind them in the measurement chamber 300 and blown towards the vehicle as a snowstorm, and by adjusting the wind speed of the air current with the blower 25, it is possible to simulate a moving vehicle even though the vehicle is stationary.
In addition, in the case of the recirculating wind tunnel 16 for snowstorm testing, a separate snow repair device 38 is provided downstream of the vehicle V to separate and collect the snow after the test. In any case, in order to separate the snow by the gravitational fall of the snow or the inertial effect, an area is provided downstream of the vehicle V where the air flow is not straightened.

The blown snow supply system 12 is set up in three systems, each of which is provided with a snow supply pipe 40 connecting the ice crusher 26 and the blowing nozzle 36, and an air duct 44 connecting the ice crusher 26 to a suction port 42 in the wind tunnel 16. In the snow supply pipe 40, the artificial snow distribution device 34 and the wet snow device 32 are connected, in that order, between the ice crusher 26 and the blowing nozzle 36, while in the air duct 44, a blower 28 and a cooler 30 are connected between the suction port 42 in the wind tunnel 16 and the ice crusher 26.
The artificial snow distributor 34 is installed upstream of the wet snow distributor 32 in order to prevent clogging, which may occur if the artificial snow distributor 34 is installed downstream and wet snow is sent to the distributor 34 and adheres to the inside of the distributor 34.

In each system, the reaming type ice making device 22 is a so-called reaming type that produces flake-shaped ice pieces, and a control device (not shown) is provided that selects an arbitrary number of the reaming type ice making devices 22 that produce flake-shaped ice pieces according to the total required amount of artificial snow used in the snow environment test, and roughly adjusts the amount of ice produced per unit time by making ice with the selected reaming type ice making devices 22 according to changes in the required amount of artificial snow used in the environmental test, and finely adjusts the amount of ice produced per unit time by adjusting the evaporation temperature and/or water temperature and/or reamer rotation speed in each of the selected reaming type ice making devices 22 according to the difference between the required amount of artificial snow and the roughly adjusted amount of ice produced per unit time in response to changes in the required amount of artificial snow used in the environmental test. The control device preferably has, for example, as a database, a table of the required number of ice making machines for the total required amount of artificial snow used in the environmental test and a table of changes in the required amount of artificial snow used in the environmental test.
In the reamer type ice-making device 22, if ice is made in advance before testing and crushed into ice particles and stored as in the conventional method, the ice quality will change over time, making it difficult to perform accurate testing. Therefore, there is no need to make and store the ice in this way. On the other hand, even if the reamer type ice-making device 22 makes flake-shaped ice pieces using a reamer, the flake-shaped ice pieces will stick together and it will be difficult to separate the stuck ice pieces. Therefore, it is necessary that the ice-making preparations are complete at the time of testing and that the device has the function of being able to make ice quickly and continuously during the test.

For this reason, tap water is usually used to cool the circulating water, which is the material for ice, using a refrigerant. By starting the circulating water at the start of the test, a break-in operation is performed so that the tap water, for example at about 15°C, becomes stable at 0°C or a few degrees Celsius. Then, once the test begins, the peeling cycle is adjusted by the reamer rotation speed, making it possible to make ice continuously.
The temperature of the water, which is the raw material for ice, can be adjusted by a conventionally known method.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the reamer type ice making device 22 is a conventionally known type, but includes an approximately cylindrical ice making cylinder 102 whose inner circumferential surface is the ice making surface 150, a water spraying section 104 that sprays water onto the inner circumferential surface of the ice making cylinder 102 to form ice, a storage section 106 that is disposed below the ice making cylinder 102 and receives and stores water that flows down the ice making cylinder 102 without freezing, and a reamer 108 that moves along the inner circumferential surface of the ice making cylinder 102 to break the ice.

The ice-making cylinder 102 is an approximately cylindrical body 158 with a double structure having an inner wall with excellent heat transfer properties and an outer wall that is insulated from the outside. A refrigerant flow path 110 for ice making is built in between the inner and outer walls, and the inner surface of the inner wall, which is cooled by the action of the refrigerant, is the ice-making surface 150. In the ice-making cylinder 102, water sprayed on the cooled inner surface adheres to it and freezes, making it possible to produce thin ice, for example about 2 mm thick.

The refrigerant introduced into the refrigerant flow path 110 of the ice making cylinder 102 is a known medium used in general refrigeration cycles, and a detailed description of it will be omitted. The evaporation temperature of the refrigerant can be adjusted by a conventionally known method, such as an evaporation pressure control valve (not shown).

The reamer 108 is made up of a plurality of ice-breaking blades 112 with their cutting edges arranged in a spiral shape attached integrally around a vertically extending, generally cylindrical rotating shaft 171, and is supported rotatably on a reamer support protruding from a central shaft 111. The minimum distance between the blades 112 of the reamer 108 and the inner peripheral surface of the ice-making cylinder 102 can be set to, for example, about 0.4 to 0.5 mm, which is smaller than the thickness of the ice. In this way, the reamer 108 revolves around the center line of the ice-making cylinder 102 and rotates around the central shaft 111 to peel off the thin ice layer L formed on the ice-making surface 150. The rotation speed of the reamer 108 caused by the revolution of the drive motor 173 around the revolution shaft 115 constitutes the peeling cycle of the reamer to produce flake-shaped ice pieces, but this rotation speed can be adjusted by a conventionally known method.

The blade shape of each blade 112 of this reamer 108 is a simple straight blade shape that follows a spiral curve, and by changing the number of blades 112 on the reamer 108 and adjusting the distance of contact between the blades 112 and the ice, the size of the ice can be changed from granular to chunk-like.

The water sprinkler section 104 is roughly composed of an annular body 162 arranged above the ice-making cylinder 102 and concentric with the rotation shaft 171, an externally arranged water storage tank 168, a water supply pipe 170 that connects the water storage tank 168 to the annular body 162, and a water recovery pipe (located behind the water storage tank 168 in FIG. 2) that connects the space below the ice-making cylinder 102 to the water storage tank 168, and is configured to circulate water, which is an ice-making material, between the annular body 162 and the water storage tank 168 via the water supply pipe 170 and the water recovery pipe. A liquid feed pump 169 is provided in the water supply pipe 170 or the water recovery pipe to circulate the water.
The annular body 162 has a hollow portion 163 through which the rotating shaft 171 passes and is connected to the rotating shaft 171 so that the rotating shaft 171 can rotate around the axis of the rotating shaft 171 as the rotating shaft 171 rotates, and an internal space 165 filled with water is formed inside the annular body 162.
As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of sprinkler nozzles 156 (11 in the drawing) are provided on the outer circumferential surface 160 of an annular body 162 at predetermined angular intervals in the circumferential direction and extending radially outward.
More specifically, a plurality of circular openings are provided at predetermined angular intervals in the circumferential direction of outer peripheral surface 160, and an end of a tubular watering nozzle 156 is inserted into each circular opening, so that the interior of annular body 162 is connected in communication with the plurality of watering nozzles 156. When annular body 162 and watering nozzle 156 are made of metal, watering nozzle 156 may be fixed to outer peripheral surface 160 by, for example, welding.
4, they are provided so as to incline downward toward ice-making surface 150, which is the inner circumferential surface of ice-making cylinder 102, so that water in the internal space of ring-shaped body 162 is sprayed through each of the multiple spray nozzles 156 toward ice-making surface 150, which is the inner circumferential surface of ice-making cylinder 102, and flows down ice-making surface 150. The angle of inclination α is preferably set in consideration of the range over which the water sprayed from each of the multiple spray nozzles 156 toward ice-making surface 150 spreads on ice-making surface 150.

The tip 154 of the sprinkler nozzle 156 is cut so as to be inclined obliquely with respect to the extension direction of the sprinkler nozzle 156. In particular, it is preferable that the tip 154 of the sprinkler nozzle 156 is oriented so as to be inclined downward toward the extension direction of the sprinkler nozzle 156.
As shown in FIG. 5, the outlet opening 152 at the tip 154 of the watering nozzle 156 having a circular cross section is elliptical with its major axis l1 facing downward.
The inclination angle Θ is preferably 20 degrees or more and 30 degrees or less. If it is less than 20 degrees, water may fall from the watering nozzle and may not be sprayed evenly on the ice surface during ice making, and if the opening is too large, the force of the water will be weak and it will not spread as much on the ice surface, making it difficult to make ice efficiently, and if it exceeds 30 degrees, there is a high possibility that water will remain. The inner peripheral surface of the tip 154 of the watering nozzle 156 may be coated with a water-repellent coating, which makes it possible to set the inclination angle Θ to 30 degrees or more.
While the rotating shaft 171 rotates once, i.e., while the reamer blade 112 and the annular body 162 revolve, a thin ice layer L is formed by water sprayed from the multiple spray nozzles 156, and the formed thin ice layer L is peeled off as flake ice by the rotation of the reamer blade 112. Water spraying from the multiple spray nozzles 156 continues while the rotating shaft 171 is driven to rotate.

With the above configuration, the rotating shaft 171 is driven to rotate by the motor, causing the reamer blade 112 to rotate on its own axis and revolve around the central axis of the rotating shaft 171, and the ice-making cylinder 102 also revolves around the central axis of the rotating shaft 171, spraying water from each of the multiple spray nozzles 156 towards the ice-making surface 150. As the water flows down over the entire ice-making surface 150, the thin ice layer L formed on the ice-making surface 150 is peeled off from the ice-making surface 150 by the reamer blade 112 as flake-shaped ice, which falls downward and can be collected.

The downward inclination angle α of the multiple watering nozzles 156 does not necessarily have to be uniform, and the inclination angle may be different as long as it is possible for water to flow down the entire height of the ice-making surface 150 by spraying water from the top of the ice-making surface 150.
The clearance d (Figure 4) between the lowest protruding portion of the tips 154 of the multiple sprinkler nozzles 156 and the ice-making surface 150 must be set so as not to directly contact the ice-making surface 150, and in particular should be set taking into account the thickness of the thin ice layer L formed on the ice-making surface 150, and a clearance may also be ensured between the upper surface of the thin ice layer L formed on the ice-making surface 150.
In order to prevent water remaining in the tips 154 of the multiple sprinkler nozzles 156 from freezing while the ice making device is stopped, the tips 154 of each of the multiple sprinkler nozzles 156 are cut at an angle. This can also be combined with continuing water circulation between the annular body 162 and the water storage tank 168 while stopping the rotational drive of the rotating shaft 171, making it possible to more reliably prevent freezing even if there is water remaining in the tips 154 of the sprinkler nozzles 156.
When making ice using ice making device 22, it has been described that all of the multiple spray nozzles 156 are used to spray water toward ice making surface 150, but this is not limited to this.From the viewpoint of improving the quality of the ice produced, it is also possible to thin out the nozzles by covering them, for example, to form a thin, dry ice layer L.

Each of the multiple watering nozzles 156 has been described as being a straight tube of a constant diameter, but is not limited to this, and may be a tapered tube that narrows or widens in diameter toward the tip 154, as long as a constant flow of water can be sprayed toward the ice-making surface 150.
The number of the multiple watering nozzles 156 provided on the outer peripheral surface 160 of the annular body 162 is 11, as shown in Figure 3, and the angular spacing between adjacent watering nozzles 156 in the circumferential direction is equal, except for the portion that provides space 174 for providing the reamer blades 112.
The number of multiple sprinkler nozzles 156 provided on the outer peripheral surface 160 of the annular body 162, i.e., the angular spacing between adjacent sprinkler nozzles 156 in the circumferential direction, may be set appropriately as long as the multiple sprinkler nozzles 156 cause water to flow down over the entire ice-making surface 150, thereby forming a thin ice layer L over the entire ice-making surface 150, and the angular spacing between adjacent sprinkler nozzles 156 in the circumferential direction does not need to be uniform.

The water spray flow rate from the multiple water spray nozzles 156 may be set appropriately as long as the multiple water spray nozzles 156 allow water to flow down over the entire ice-making surface 150, forming a thin ice layer L over the entire ice-making surface 150. It is preferable to set the water spray flow rate according to the number of multiple water spray nozzles 156 provided on the outer peripheral surface 160 of the annular body 162, i.e., the angular spacing between adjacent water spray nozzles 156 in the circumferential direction, while also taking into consideration the circumferential angular range of the ice-making surface 150 that is covered by water sprayed from one water spray nozzle 156 and flowing down over the ice-making surface 150.

In this embodiment, the new ice-making device 22 has been described as having the tip 154 of the sprinkler nozzle 156 cut so as to be inclined diagonally relative to the extension direction of the sprinkler nozzle 156, but this is not limited thereto. The tip 154 of the sprinkler nozzle 156 of an existing ice-making device 22 may be modified to be cut so as to be inclined diagonally relative to the extension direction of the sprinkler nozzle 156. In particular, it is preferable for the tip 154 of the sprinkler nozzle 156 to be inclined downward toward the extension direction of the sprinkler nozzle 156, and the inclination angle is preferably 20 degrees or more and 30 degrees or less.

As a result, before the modification, during the time interval until the made ice is used to supply it again to the test object as artificial snow, the remaining water in the sprinkler section 104 would freeze and in some cases the sprinkler section 104 would become blocked, making it impossible or difficult to sprinkle water the next time ice is made. However, after the modification, the sprinkler section 104 is inclined downward and has a sprinkler nozzle 156 whose tip 154 including the outlet opening 152 faces the ice-making surface 150, and the tip 154 of the sprinkler nozzle 156 is cut so that it is inclined diagonally in the extension direction of the sprinkler nozzle 156. This reduces the adhesive force of water that tends to accumulate due to the surface tension of the water, thereby reducing the amount of remaining water and suppressing the remaining water in the sprinkler section 104, thereby preventing such an incident and enabling smooth ice making.
The material of the inner surface of the watering nozzle 156 is selected so as to have the desired water repellency or hydrophilicity depending on the inner diameter, nozzle inclination angle, and inner surface roughness of the pipe of the watering nozzle 156. Increasing the water repellency creates a state in which water is less likely to remain inside the watering nozzle 156, while increasing the hydrophilicity improves the water's sliding properties, so that even if water remains inside the watering nozzle 156, it is possible to suppress freezing of the remaining water inside the watering nozzle in a bridge-like state as if a circumferential lid was placed.
Depending on the inner surface roughness, such as a smooth tube, grooved, or dimpled uneven structure, it may be possible to select whether to enhance water repellency or hydrophilicity.
For example, to increase water repellency, a fluorine-based material may be used, and to increase hydrophilicity, a plasma-treated metal, resin, or coating may be used.

Regarding the ice-making function of the reamer type ice-making device 22, even in a situation where ice is not required, the refrigerant is supplied to the refrigerant flow path 110 to sufficiently cool the inner surface of the ice-making cylinder 102 to the extent that water freezes, and the water sprinkler unit 104 sprinkles water onto the ice-making surface 150 to form a cylindrical thin ice layer L on the ice-making surface 150. More specifically, the ice-making preparation is completed at the time of the test, and ice can be made quickly and continuously during the test. When ice is required, the movable part is rotated and water is introduced from the outside into the upper water sprinkler unit 104. The water flows down along the inner surface of the ice-making cylinder 102 through each hole of the water sprinkler unit 104. Most of the water in contact with the cooled inner surface of the ice-making cylinder 102 freezes and adheres to the inner surface as ice. Meanwhile, the remaining water that does not freeze flows down to the lower end of the ice-making cylinder 102 and reaches the storage unit 106. The water temporarily stored in the storage section 106 is returned to the water spray section 104 via a pump, piping, etc.

In this way, in the reamer type ice making device 22 according to this embodiment, a reamer 108 is disposed near the inner circumferential surface of the ice making cylinder 102, which is cooled and receives a supply of water to produce ice on its inner circumferential surface. The reamer 108 breaks the ice on the inner circumferential surface and peels it off from the inner circumferential surface, making it possible to make ice without contact between the reamer 108 that breaks and peels the ice and the inner circumferential surface of the ice making cylinder 102.

Next, the ice temperature stabilization conveyor 24 forces airflow over the flake ice pieces being transported on the conveyor, increasing the amount of heat exchange between the flake ice pieces and the air, thereby maintaining the temperature of the flake ice pieces close to the ambient air temperature of the forced air.

The ice crusher 26 mainly consists of a rotary feeder (not shown) located at the top and a pair of ice crushing drums (not shown) located at the bottom. The ice pieces supplied by the ice temperature stabilization conveyor 24 are metered by the rotary feeder and supplied to the pair of ice crushing drums, which crush the ice into ice particles of a specified size, which are then supplied to the snow supply pipe 40.

The artificial snow distribution device 34 is used to distribute the artificial snow transported by the snow supply pipe 40 to multiple branch pipes (not shown); more specifically, the snow supply pipe 40 in each system is branched into multiple branch pipes in the width direction of the vehicle V so that multiple blowing nozzles 36 at the same level are provided in the width direction of the vehicle V, a wet snow device 32 is provided for each branch pipe, and a blowing nozzle 36 is provided at the tip 154 of each branch pipe.

The artificial snow distribution device 34 has a rotor (not shown) whose upstream and downstream end faces are arranged parallel to the downstream end face of the snow supply pipe 40 and the upstream end face of each of the multiple branch pipes, and a rotary drive unit (not shown) that rotates the rotor at a predetermined rotational speed around its axial direction. The rotor has a pressure flow passage (not shown) that penetrates the rotor in the axial direction. The pressure flow passage has an inlet (not shown) at the upstream end face that is arranged in close proximity to and in a non-contact manner with the outlet opening 152 (not shown) provided on the downstream end face of the snow supply pipe 40, and an outlet (not shown) at the downstream end face that is arranged in close proximity to and in a non-contact manner with the inlet opening (not shown) provided on the upstream end face of each of the multiple branch pipes. The outlet is arranged so that the inlet opening of each of the multiple branch pipes is located on the path of the outlet as the rotor rotates.

The wet snow device 32 has a hot air supply pipe (not shown) that communicates with the snow supply pipe 40, and at its downstream end the hot air supply pipe has a hot air inlet section (not shown) that forms an annular space that covers the entire outer surface 164 of the snow supply pipe 40 over a predetermined length in the extension direction of the snow supply pipe 40, and multiple hot air inlet openings (not shown) are evenly spaced on the outer surface 164 of the snow supply pipe 40 that is covered by the annular space, thereby forming an aging space (heat exchange maturation area) within the snow supply pipe 40 downstream of the section where the hot air inlet section of the snow supply pipe 40 is attached, where the snow is turned into wet snow.

With regard to the airflow supply system 14, the wind tunnel 16 is formed in a part of the circulation space, and is configured to blow snowstorm in one direction from the front to the rear of the vehicle V across the vehicle height of the vehicle V. Specifically, a blower 25 installed in the circulation space generates an airflow at a predetermined wind speed in one direction from the front to the rear of the vehicle V, and the airflow passes through the vehicle V and is cooled to a predetermined temperature by a cooler 27, returned to the blower 25, where it generates an airflow again, and this process is repeated.

As for the blowing nozzle 36, three blowing nozzles 36 for blowing snow are arranged at a predetermined distance in front of the vehicle V, at a predetermined interval in the height direction over the vehicle height of the vehicle V, and the concentration of blowing snow supplied can be adjusted for each blowing nozzle 36. A snow collecting device 38 is arranged at a predetermined distance behind the vehicle V, and the blowing snow that passes through the snow collecting device 38 is drawn by the blower 28 arranged in the low temperature room 18 through the suction port 42 in the wind tunnel 16, cooled by the cooler 30, returned to the ice crusher 26, mixed with ice particles that are made into ice by the reamer type ice making device 22 and supplied to the ice crusher 26 by the ice temperature stabilizing conveyor 24 and crushed, and is used again to blow blowing snow from the blowing nozzle 36 through the snow supply pipe 40. The blowing nozzle 36 is arranged along the traveling direction of the airflow, and an outlet 102 is installed within the band of the airflow blown out from the blower 25.
In this regard, a snowstorm occurs when snow is blown out from each blowing nozzle 36 by the compressed air from the blower 28, and is carried by the air current blown out from the blower 25 and blown toward the vehicle V. It is preferable that the compression speed of the compressed air be as slow as possible as long as this does not cause snow to become clogged in the snow supply pipe 40, and it is preferable that the speed of the snowstorm be simulated by the air current blown out from the blower 25.
More specifically, when the blown snow is diffused by the diffusion plate 74 (described later) and blown toward the vehicle V, if the compression speed of the compressed air is high, the speed of the blown snow only at the blowing nozzle 36 will be high, deviating from a natural snowstorm. Meanwhile, by changing the speed of the airflow blown out from the blower 25, it is possible to uniformly vary the speed of the entire diffused snowstorm, and it is advantageous to vary the speed of the airflow blown out from the blower 25, particularly when simulating a moving vehicle using a stationary vehicle V.

As shown in FIG. 1, a diffusion plate 74 is provided in front of each blow-out nozzle 36. The blown snow that is blown out from the blow-out nozzle 36 toward the vehicle V on the low-temperature air current from the blower hits the diffusion plate 74 and is diffused outward in all directions. The three blow-out nozzles 36 work together to distribute the blown snow across the height of the vehicle V at the front of the vehicle V.
In this regard, since the wind tunnel 16 is not a so-called aerodynamic wind tunnel 16 but a simplified wind tunnel 16, the distance between the blowing nozzle 36 and the front of the vehicle V is about 1 to 3 meters, and within this short distance, the blowing snow blown out from the blowing nozzle 36 is spread over the entire height at the front of the vehicle V.
A plurality of the air outlets 102 are provided at intervals in the height direction so as to cover the entire height of the vehicle V, and the amount of snow blown out from each air outlet 102 can be adjusted independently of each other, so that the concentration distribution of the snowstorm can be adjusted according to the height of the vehicle V.

An opposing surface 104 is provided on the side of the diffusion plate 74 facing the air outlet 102, and the opposing surface 104 is arranged at a predetermined position outside the air outlet 102 and ahead of the airflow in the traveling direction, so that the snowstorm that is blown out from the air outlet 102 and carried along the airflow in the traveling direction of the airflow is deflected by hitting the opposing surface 104 and diffused outward in all four directions from the opposing surface 104.
The blowing snow is blown toward a stationary vehicle placed in a wind tunnel and is used to conduct environmental tests on the stationary vehicle. The distance D2 between the outlet 102 and the vehicle V is 1 to 3 meters, and the size of the opposing surface 104 is determined according to the distance D2 between the outlet 102 and the vehicle V and the airflow speed from behind the outlet 102 so that the spatial concentration distribution of the blowing snow is approximately uniform when it reaches the vehicle V.

In particular, the three systems of blowing nozzles 36 are arranged at a predetermined interval in the vertical direction, and by adjusting, for example, the amount of blown snow directed toward the test specimen per unit time for each of the distributed wet snow, the concentration of blown snow from the lower nozzles is set to be higher. This makes it possible to simulate a situation in which a snowstorm occurs when a vehicle in front passes over snow piled up on the road, since the concentration distribution of blown snow in the vertical direction of the vehicle is higher the closer to the road, or, since the concentration distribution of blown snow in nature is generally higher the closer to the ground surface, it is possible to simulate such a situation.

The operation of the snow environment testing system having the above configuration will be described below, including the snow environment testing method.
The snow environment test method has, for the blown snow supply system, a stage in which each system makes ice flake-shaped ice pieces using a reamer-type ice-making device 22, a stage in which the ice is crushed into ice particles using an ice crusher, a distribution stage in which the crushed ice particles are pressurized and distributed by a distributor, a snow-wetting stage in which each of the distributed ice particles is made into wet snow using a snow-wetting device, a stage in which the wet snow ice particles are blown out from the blow-out nozzles 36, and a stage in which the blown snow is diffused by a diffusion plate 74, while the airflow supply system has a stage in which an airflow is supplied by a blower to blow the blown snow blown out of the blow-out nozzles 36 of each system onto an airflow from behind and toward the vehicle.

In this case, first, in accordance with the test schedule for the snow environment test system, particularly the schedule for the required amount of ice made per unit time, the concentration distribution of the snowstorm in the vertical direction, and the snow quality of the artificial snow (including ice particle size and moisture content), the refrigerant evaporation temperature, water temperature, and rotation speed of the reamer 108 are set in the reamer type ice making device 22 (this point will be explained in detail below), the narrowest distance between the pair of ice crushing drums is set in the ice crusher, the hot air temperature, humidity, and flow rate are set in the wet snow device according to the temperature and flow rate of the compressed air flow, the rotation speed of the rotor is set in the distribution device, and the distance from the blowing nozzle 36 is adjusted in the diffusion plate 74.

In particular, for the stage of making flake ice pieces by the reamer type ice making device 22, the minimum and maximum amounts of ice made per unit time are clearly defined according to the number of operating reamer type ice making devices 22, and the variable range of the ice making amount per unit time according to the number of operating devices is known in advance, as shown in Fig. 6. On the other hand, it is assumed that the ice making schedule is determined in advance in the snow environment test, and the required amount of ice made per unit time increases, as shown in Fig. 7.
In other words, at the beginning of the test (Phase A), the amount of ice made per unit time by operating two reamer type ice-making devices 22 is sufficient, and as the test progresses, two reamer type ice-making devices 22 (Phase B), four reamer type ice-making devices 22 (Phase C), and finally five reamer type ice-making devices 22 (Phase D) will be required.

Based on the variable range of ice production volume per unit time according to the number of operating units, and taking into consideration the ice production schedule, five of the reamer type ice-making devices 22 in each system are selected in advance, and for each of the five devices, when the test begins, the refrigerant is circulated so that the temperature of the water to be frozen is brought to the desired temperature and a cylindrical thin ice layer L is formed so that ice can be produced by peeling with the reamer 108.
In this case, after the cylindrical thin ice layer L is formed, the operation of the ice making machines is stopped for all or some of the five reaming type ice making devices 22 until the start of the test in phase A, that is, the rotation of the rotating shaft 171 is stopped, the rotation of the reamer blade 112 and the ring-shaped body 162 of the water spraying unit 104 about the axis of the rotating shaft 171 is stopped, and the circulation of water in the water storage tank 168 and the ring-shaped body 162 in the water spraying unit 104 is stopped. However, the remaining water in the water spraying unit 104 may freeze, and in some cases the water spraying unit 104 may be blocked, preventing the start of the test in phase A. In such cases, sprinkling itself may be impossible or difficult; however, the sprinkler section 104 is inclined downward and has a sprinkler nozzle 156 with a tip 154 including the outlet opening 152 facing the ice-making surface 150, and the tip 154 of the sprinkler nozzle 156 is cut so as to be inclined diagonally with respect to the extension direction of the sprinkler nozzle 156. This reduces the adhesive force of water that tends to accumulate due to the surface tension of the water, thereby reducing the amount of residual water and suppressing the residual water in the sprinkler section 104, thereby preventing such a situation and enabling smooth ice making.

First, in Phase A, when the test starts, in two of the reaming type ice making devices 22 in each system, ice flakes are made from the ice layer by the reamer rotation speed of the reamer 108. In this case, since the required amount is less than the maximum amount of ice made per unit time of the two reaming type ice making devices 22, for example, in one of the reaming type ice making devices 22, the reamer rotation speed constituting the peeling cycle in the reamer 108 is set to the maximum to make the maximum amount of ice per unit time, and in the other reaming type ice making device 22, the reamer rotation speed of the reamer 108 is reduced to suppress the amount of ice made per unit time, so that the amount of ice made per unit time required for the test can be made immediately on the spot when required by rough control by the number of operating reaming type ice making devices 22 and fine control by the ice making parameters of the reaming type ice making devices 22.
At this time, even if the drive of the remaining three ice-making machines of reamer type ice-making device 22 is stopped, that is, the rotational drive of rotating shaft 171 is stopped, the rotation of reamer blade 112 and ring-shaped body 162 of sprinkling section 104 about the axis of rotating shaft 171 is stopped, and the circulation of water between water storage tank 168 and ring-shaped body 162 in sprinkling section 104 is stopped, the remaining water in sprinkling section 104 will freeze, and in some cases sprinkling section 104 will be blocked, making it impossible or difficult to sprinkle water the next time ice is made. In addition, the sprinkler section 104 is inclined downward and has a sprinkler nozzle 156 with a tip 154 including the outlet opening 152 facing the ice-making surface 150, and the tip 154 of the sprinkler nozzle 156 is cut so as to be inclined diagonally with respect to the extension direction of the sprinkler nozzle 156. This reduces the adhesive force of water that tends to accumulate due to the surface tension of the water, thereby reducing the amount of residual water and suppressing the residual water in the sprinkler section 104, thereby preventing such situations and enabling smooth ice making.
The produced ice flakes are crushed in the ice crusher 26 to form ice particles, which are pumped by the airflow through the snow supply pipe 40 and distributed to multiple branch pipes by the distributor 34, where they are turned into wet snow by the snow wetting device 32, and then blown out of the blowing nozzles 36 attached to the ends 154 of the branch pipes on the low-temperature airflow from behind the blowing nozzles 36, and the blown snow is diffused by the diffusion plate 74 and blown towards the vehicle for use in various environmental tests. When controlling the amount of ice made per unit time, a table showing the number of ice makers required for the total amount of artificial snow required for the environmental tests and a table showing the changes in the amount of artificial snow required for the environmental tests may be created as a database, for example, and used for control.

Next, in Phase B, it is necessary to operate two reamer type ice making devices 22, but since the reduction in the amount of ice made per unit time from the maximum amount of ice made per unit time for the two reamer type ice making devices 22 is less than in Phase A, the reamer rotation speed of the reamer 108 in the other reamer type ice making device 22 is increased compared to Phase A to adjust the amount of ice made per unit time.

Next, in phase C, four reamer type ice-making devices 22 need to be operated, but three of the reamer type ice-making devices 22 are operated at full capacity to make the maximum amount of ice per unit time, and in the other reamer type ice-making device 22, the reamer rotation speed of the reamer 108 is reduced to adjust the amount of ice made per unit time.
At this time, for the remaining reamer type ice making device 22, the rotational drive of the rotating shaft 171 is similarly stopped, and the rotation of the reamer blade 112 and the annular body 162 of the sprinkler section 104 about the axis of the rotating shaft 171 is stopped, and even if the circulation of water in the water storage tank 168 and the annular body 162 in the sprinkler section 104 is stopped, it is possible to prevent the remaining water in the sprinkler section 104 from freezing and, in some cases, the sprinkler section 104 from becoming blocked.

Finally, in phase D, five reamer type ice-making devices 22 need to be operated, but four of the reamer type ice-making devices 22 are operated at full capacity to produce the maximum amount of ice per unit time, and in the other reamer type ice-making device 22, the reamer rotation speed of the reamer 108 is reduced to adjust the amount of ice produced per unit time.
At this time, in all five reamer type ice-making devices 22, the remaining water in the sprinkler section 104 is prevented from freezing and, in some cases, the sprinkler section 104 is prevented from becoming clogged, so that when ice is made, water is sprayed immediately, making it possible to smoothly start up the ice-making process.
In this case, in each system, the flake ice pieces made from the multiple reaming type ice-making devices 22 are mixed and used for environmental testing. In tests in which ice quality is important, it is preferable that the ice-making conditions, water temperature, evaporation temperature of the refrigerant, or reamer rotation speed of the reamer 108 in each reaming type ice-making device 22 be the same so that the ice quality is as uniform as possible.

As described above, when the fluctuation in the amount of ice made per unit time required in the snow environment test is determined in advance, the remaining water in the water spray section 104 is prevented from freezing and possibly blocking the water spray section 104 before the start of the test, while the multiple reaming type ice making devices 22 are set in an ice making preparation state accordingly, and when necessary, coarse control based on the number of reaming type ice making devices 22 and fine control based on adjustment of ice making parameters are used in combination, so that, for example, the ice quality is not altered due to ice stored in the ice grain state after crushing, and on the other hand, the required amount of ice made per unit time can be produced on the spot in real time in a timely manner without making too much ice, which contributes to conducting a snow environment test that can obtain highly reliable test data.
In addition, when the fluctuation in the required amount of ice production per unit time is determined in advance, the required amount of ice production per unit time may fluctuate on-site depending on the progress of the test. Even in such a case, it is possible to flexibly respond by using such coarse control and fine control in combination.

According to ice-making device 22 having the above-described configuration, a thin layer of ice is formed on ice-making surface 150, which is temperature-controlled, by spraying water onto ice-making surface 150, and then the thin layer of ice is peeled off from ice-making surface 150 to make flake- or plate-shaped ice. Water is sprayed onto ice-making surface 150 by spray nozzle 156 that is inclined downward toward ice-making surface 150.
For example, in an environmental test using artificial snow, when artificial snow is supplied to a test object under various conditions, it is necessary to operate ice-making device 22 intermittently to make ice. However, during the time interval from when the water sprayed from spray unit 104 is frozen on ice-making surface 150 to when ice is made, when the made ice is used to supply artificial snow to the test object, and when the made ice is used to supply artificial snow to the test object again, the remaining water in spray unit 104 freezes, and in some cases spray unit 104 is blocked, and the next time ice is made, the water remaining in spray unit 104 may freeze, causing spray unit 104 to be blocked. When this occurs, sprinkling water itself may become impossible or difficult; however, the sprinkler section 104 is inclined downward and has a sprinkler nozzle 156 with a tip 154 including the outlet opening 152 facing the ice-making surface 150, and the tip 154 of the sprinkler nozzle 156 is cut so as to be inclined diagonally with respect to the extension direction of the sprinkler nozzle 156. This reduces the adhesive force of water that tends to accumulate due to the surface tension of the water, thereby reducing the amount of residual water and suppressing the residual water in the sprinkler section 104, thereby preventing such a situation and enabling smooth ice making.

Furthermore, the maximum thickness of the ice layer formed before it is crushed into flake ice pieces by the reamer and the ice temperature of the flake ice pieces to be made are preset, and the refrigerant evaporation temperature is maintained constant according to the set maximum thickness of the ice layer and ice temperature, and the supply water temperature is lowered while the reamer rotation speed is increased as the amount of ice made per unit time increases according to the set maximum thickness of the ice layer and ice temperature. By having the above-mentioned steps, when the crushed ice pieces are transported and used, the thickness of the ice pieces is limited to a certain limit as long as the required amount of ice made per unit time can be secured, so that the crushing step of turning the flake ice pieces into ice particles does not cause any disruption to the ice crushing, and by adjusting the ice temperature of the flake ice pieces, the ice particles transported through the transport path do not adhere to the transport path, causing blockage of the transport path, and the ice particles do not adhere to each other, causing the ice particles to become larger in diameter, and flake ice pieces of the desired ice temperature and/or thickness can be efficiently and smoothly made.

In the ice making device 22, various modifications are possible with respect to the configuration of the ice making surface 150 and the manner in which the made ice is peeled off.
That is, as ice making device 22, ice making surface 150 is provided, and water is caused to flow along ice making surface 150 cooled by a refrigerant to form a thin ice layer L on ice making surface 150, and thin ice layer L is peeled off from ice making surface 150 without contacting ice making surface 150 to obtain flake-shaped ice pieces, which is common to this embodiment; however, while ice making surface 150 was formed on the inner peripheral surface of a cylindrical drum in this embodiment, it may be formed on the outer peripheral surface 160 of the cylindrical drum, and while the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical drum, which is ice making surface 150, is fixed in this embodiment, flake-shaped ice pieces are peeled off from ice making surface 150 by using a reamer and revolving and/or rotating the reamer, but flake-shaped ice pieces may be peeled off from ice making surface 150 by using a fixed blade and revolving outer peripheral surface 164 of the cylindrical drum, which is ice making surface 150.
In addition, a rotating blade may be used to peel off flake-shaped ice pieces from ice-making surface 150, which is formed on outer peripheral surface 164 of a stationary cylindrical drum.
In any case, as long as water is sprayed from the spray nozzles 156 of the spray section 104 from above the ice-making surface 150 and allowed to flow down when making ice, the remaining water in the spray section 104 will freeze while the ice-making device 22 is stopped, and in some cases the spray section 104 will become blocked, making it impossible or difficult to spray water the next time ice is made. However, the spray section 104 is inclined downward and has a spray nozzle 156 whose tip 154 including the outlet opening 152 faces the ice-making surface 150, and the tip 154 of the spray nozzle 156 is cut so that it is inclined diagonally with respect to the extension direction of the spray nozzle 156. This reduces the adhesive force of water that tends to accumulate due to the surface tension of the water, thereby reducing the amount of remaining water and suppressing the remaining water in the spray section 104, thereby preventing such a situation and enabling smooth ice making.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and changes without departing from the scope of the present invention.
In this embodiment, the explanation is based on the premise of reamer-type ice making, but without being limited to this, the ice making device may also be an ice making device that combines a blade-type and reamer-type method of peeling off the thin ice layer formed on the ice making surface from the ice making surface.
For example, in this embodiment, the tip of the sprinkler nozzle is described as being inclined downward toward the extension direction of the sprinkler nozzle, and the outlet opening at the tip of the sprinkler nozzle with a circular cross section is elliptical with its long axis facing downward, but as long as it is possible to prevent residual water from freezing at the tip of the sprinkler nozzle, this is not limited to this, and the long axis may face upward or sideways, and the outlet opening does not have to be elliptical.
In this embodiment, the description is based on the premise of a reamer type ice making system, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In the ice making method for making flake-shaped ice pieces by adjusting the temperature of the water supply used to form ice by freezing, the evaporation temperature of the refrigerant used to freeze the water supply, and the peeling speed at which the flake-shaped ice pieces are peeled off from the peripheral surface of the ice layer formed in a ring shape, the method includes a step of setting in advance the maximum thickness of the ice layer formed before the flake-shaped ice pieces are peeled off and the ice temperature of the flake-shaped ice pieces to be made, and while maintaining the refrigerant evaporation temperature constant according to the set maximum thickness of the ice layer and the ice temperature, increasing the amount of ice made per unit time and The method may include a step of increasing the peeling speed while lowering the supply water temperature, or in an ice-making method for making flake-shaped ice pieces by adjusting the temperature of the supply water used to form ice by freezing, the evaporation temperature of the refrigerant used to freeze the supply water, and the peeling speed at which the flake-shaped ice pieces are peeled off from the peripheral surface of the annular ice layer, the method may include a step of presetting the thickness of the ice layer formed before the flake-shaped ice pieces are peeled off, and a step of increasing the peeling speed while lowering the refrigerant evaporation temperature and lowering the supply water temperature as the amount of ice made per unit time increases so that the thickness of the ice layer remains constant.

For example, in the present embodiment, wet snow is used in the environmental tests, but the present invention is not limited to this, and dry snow may be used as long as it can be crushed into ice particles by an ice crusher.
For example, in the present embodiment, the reamer in the reamer-type ice making device has been described as revolving and rotating about its axis, but the present invention is not limited to this. The reamer may simply revolve and the number of revolutions may be adjusted.
For example, in this embodiment, the ice produced is described as being used in an environmental test as a snowstorm by using the back air current to spray snow from the blow-out nozzle, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the snowstorm may be produced by only pressurized air from the blow-out nozzle, or the produced ice may be used as natural falling snow in an environmental test.

1 is a schematic overall view of an environmental testing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of an ice maker in an environmental testing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing details of an annular body of an ice maker in an environmental testing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing details of a water spray nozzle of an annular body of an ice making machine in an environmental testing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing details of the tip of a water sprinkler nozzle of an annular body of an ice making machine in an environmental testing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a graph showing a rough adjustment of the amount of artificial snow made per unit time in an environmental testing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 11 is a graph showing fine adjustment of the amount of artificial snow made per unit time in an environmental testing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

V Vehicle α Inclination angle Θ Inclination angle
L thin ice layer l1 long axis l2 short axis 10 snow environment test system 12 blown snow supply system 14 airflow supply system 16 wind tunnel 18 low temperature chamber 20 ice making chamber 22 ice maker 24 ice temperature stabilization conveyor 26 ice crusher 28 blower 30 cooler 32 wet snow device 34 distributor 36 blowing nozzle 38 blown snow collection device 40 snow supply pipe 42 suction port 44 air duct 102 ice making cylinder 104 water spray section 106 storage section 108 reamer 112 blade 110 refrigerant flow path 111 central axis 150 ice making surface 152 outflow opening 154 tip 156 water spray nozzle 158 cylindrical body 160 outer peripheral surface 162 annular body 163 hollow section 164 outer peripheral surface 165 internal space 166 inner surface 168 Water storage tank 169 Liquid transfer pump 170 Water supply pipe 171 Rotating shaft 173 Driving motor 174 Space 175 Casing

Claims (6)

A snow environment test system that performs rough control by the number of ice making devices in accordance with a change in ice making amount per unit time required in a snow environment test, when the change is determined in advance,
Each ice-making device is configured to make ice on the ice-making surface;
A water sprinkler unit is provided for sprinkling water onto the ice-making surface.
The water sprinkler unit has a water sprinkler nozzle that is inclined downward and has a tip including an outlet opening that faces the ice making surface,
The tip of the sprinkler nozzle is cut so as to be inclined obliquely with respect to the extension direction of the sprinkler nozzle so as to prevent the sprinkler nozzle from being blocked by freezing of the remaining water when the sprinkler nozzle is stopped,
The inclination angle of the oblique angle is determined so as to reduce the surface tension of the residual water, which is determined according to the circumferential length of the outlet opening, thereby preventing clogging of the watering nozzle;
A snow environment testing system, characterized in that an ice-making device selected from the plurality of ice-making devices is driven and the other ice-making devices are placed on standby, thereby intermittently operating each ice-making device. The snow environment testing system according to claim 1 , wherein the tip of the sprinkler nozzle is oriented so as to be inclined downward in the extension direction of the sprinkler nozzle. The snow environment testing system of claim 2, wherein the outlet opening at the tip of the sprinkler nozzle is elliptical in shape with its major axis extending from the upstream side to the downstream side of the extension direction of the sprinkler nozzle, and the major axis forms the oblique inclination angle . 4. The snow environment testing system according to claim 2, wherein an inclination angle of the watering nozzle obliquely downward with respect to an extension direction is equal to or greater than 20 degrees and equal to or less than 30 degrees. The snow environment testing system described in claim 1, wherein the ice-making surface is the inner surface of a cylinder , the sprinkler section is a ring-shaped body concentric with the cylinder, and a plurality of sprinkler nozzles are provided on the outer surface of the ring-shaped body at predetermined angular intervals in the circumferential direction so as to extend radially outward. 6. The snow environment testing system according to claim 5, wherein the ice making device uses a blade and/or reamer method for peeling off the thin ice layer formed on the ice making surface from the ice making surface.

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