A review of ice accretion, detection, and mitigation methods for the gondola infrastructure application

Abstract

Despite the vast economic (e.g., tourism) and environmental advantages (e.g., clean transportation) of gondola lifts, there is a lack of a comprehensive reference about ice accretion, ice detection, and mitigation solutions for safe operations of gondola infrastructure. This paper presents a state-of-the-art scientific literature review drawn from synergetic applications (e.g., power transmission lines, railways, bridges, and aviation structures) to investigate and identify the scientific technological knowledge gaps. An overview of gondola system components along with their operations, as well as the system components' design and safety standards, is provided to discuss the potential impacts of icing on gondola infrastructure. The literature review revealed a lack of comprehensive scientific studies explicitly addressing ice accretion on gondola systems. Insights from the comparable applications and discussion with the gondola operators indicate that ice accretion can pose significant safety risks and potential structural failures. Using opinion and critical reasoning from experts, some existing suitable ice detection and mitigation techniques are listed and mapped to critical gondola components with the potential for practical implementation. Several directions for future research are also identified to contribute to this underexplored field of research.