Machinery stops working at a temperature of approximately -40 degrees Celsius. Aircraft stops working at a temperature of approximately -45 degrees Celsius. Symptoms of hypothermia begin to appear when a human's core body temperature drops one or two degrees Celsius. With the South Pole reaching temperatures downwards of -60 degrees Celsius during the winter, it comes as no surprise that any structure that is to survive within the Antarctic climate must be designed to accommodate such extreme cold.
The wall sections seen below show how each structure incorporates insulation in order to retain whatever heat exists inside. Although the Fram’s section is much wider, this has more to do with the fact that the hull of the ship had to be extremely strong, and therefore had to have many layers of wood. Amundsen actually worked to maximize the efficiency of the insulation while reducing the amount of space it took up. The layers of wood – especially the greenheart – also were used to make sure that ice and snow did not seep inwards and destroy the ship.
The diagram below illustrates how the insulation works in order to hold the heat inside across the whole structure. This is especially important for the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. Typically, a building resting on ice will emit heat from all areas, thus forming a thermal bulb underneath the building. As explained later, this leads to differential settlement. The ASSPS combats this by heavily insulating the floor and the substructure, and only having columns break through to the substructure. This means that essentially no heat is released through the floor. Once again, this will be explained in depth elsewhere.
We now understand how heat is retained, but the next concern is how it is generated. Due to technological limitations, the Fram had to use petroleum to heat the ship, and the crew made use of extremely warm outerwear when above or below deck. In the laboratory, warm air is brought in from the galley.
Roald Amundsen and his Nifty Winter Gear
The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station took this idea of piping in warm air to a whole new level. They used heat exchangers to capture waste heat from different areas, and then moved the heat to where it was needed. This mainly takes place in the power plant, as shown below, where the diesel engines are situated.
Distribution of Waste Heat from the Power Plant
Waste heat is also captured from other areas of the building, such as the kitchen, the green room, and various electronic rooms.
The wall sections seen below show how each structure incorporates insulation in order to retain whatever heat exists inside. Although the Fram’s section is much wider, this has more to do with the fact that the hull of the ship had to be extremely strong, and therefore had to have many layers of wood. Amundsen actually worked to maximize the efficiency of the insulation while reducing the amount of space it took up. The layers of wood – especially the greenheart – also were used to make sure that ice and snow did not seep inwards and destroy the ship.
Fram Wall Section
ASSPS Wall Section
The diagram below illustrates how the insulation works in order to hold the heat inside across the whole structure. This is especially important for the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. Typically, a building resting on ice will emit heat from all areas, thus forming a thermal bulb underneath the building. As explained later, this leads to differential settlement. The ASSPS combats this by heavily insulating the floor and the substructure, and only having columns break through to the substructure. This means that essentially no heat is released through the floor. Once again, this will be explained in depth elsewhere.
We now understand how heat is retained, but the next concern is how it is generated. Due to technological limitations, the Fram had to use petroleum to heat the ship, and the crew made use of extremely warm outerwear when above or below deck. In the laboratory, warm air is brought in from the galley.
Roald Amundsen and his Nifty Winter GearThe Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station took this idea of piping in warm air to a whole new level. They used heat exchangers to capture waste heat from different areas, and then moved the heat to where it was needed. This mainly takes place in the power plant, as shown below, where the diesel engines are situated.
Diesel Engine and its Waste Heat
Distribution of Waste Heat from the Power PlantWaste heat is also captured from other areas of the building, such as the kitchen, the green room, and various electronic rooms.
Other Areas Where Waste Heat is Captured
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