Icing of Turbine Intake Louvers

Superstructure icing is a phenomenon that can have debilitating effects on the operation of any ship. When designing ships that will operate in environments where icing may occur, careful consideration must be given to minimizing the accumulation and effect of superstructure icing. Such consideration was given to the U.S. Navy DDG-51-class destroyer when new turbine intake louvers were proposed. To ensure that sufficient air would be available to the vessel's gas turbines and ventilation system during an icing event, the Navy asked the U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), through Advanced Marine Enterprises, Inc., (AME) of Arlington, Virginia, to conduct a series of comparative icing tests between standard intake louvers and a new louver design