Ice Dream: Towing an iceberg for fresh water

Why does Georges Mougin want to move an iceberg? "With the world's water resources projected to diminish by one third in the next two decades, providing pure water to an ever- increasing world population is vital," Mougin explained. To Mougin and Mauviel, one solution would be to transport icebergs to areas that lack fresh water for drinking and even cooling purposes.The scientific challenges are impressive — capturing a large iceberg that can weigh up to 7 million tons, protecting it from melting while transporting it across the ocean, securing and optimizing the trajectory with respect to meteorological and oceanographic conditions, and breaking up the iceberg to turn it into drinking water.

Mougin's project rekindled thanks to the power of 3D

Dassault Systèmes worked with Mougin and his team to simulate the iceberg's trajectory and its evolution by taking into account data such as variations in ocean temperatures, wind force and direction, sea currents, and boat drag force. They inserted this data into a 3D model of the iceberg to simulate what would happen all along the voyage.

Some important questions needed to be answered. Can an iceberg be towed from point A to point B? If yes, how many tow boats with what horsepower will be needed? How much fuel will be consumed? How long will it take to tow the iceberg from Newfoundland to the Canary Islands, for example? How can scientists prevent the iceberg from melting and disappearing into the ocean?

The critical challenge presented to Dassault Systèmes' engineers was to demonstrate, using virtual technology, the technical feasibility of displacing the iceberg in a controlled manner while reducing its melting. The project, managed by Cédric Simard, Interactive Strategy & Marketing Project Director at Dassault Systèmes, involved a number of steps:

1. Model the iceberg with CATIA based on a cloud of points obtained by scanning a real iceberg with radar.
2. Calculate and simulate the way the iceberg would melt using CATIA Systems and SIMULIA.
3. Simulate the way the iceberg would melt if surrounded by a protective isothermal "skirt" imagined by Mougin to slow the melting process.
4. Calculate how much fuel the boats would consume depending on the winds and currents encountered along the way

Various scenarios were simulated, such as number of boats needed, different departure dates and climate conditions, and the behavior of the boats and iceberg in the event of a storm or turbulence. In addition to enabling the team to visualize these scenarios, the simulation also allowed the scientists to test how to deploy the isothermal skirt around the iceberg.

A viable alternative to real-life testing

"Through virtual simulation, we were able to test many scenarios in a short amount of time, something that would have taken years and considerable resources if we were to do this in the real world," Simard said. "It is easier to manipulate a 7 million ton iceberg with 3D virtual technology and to perform analyses that are very close to reality."

Virtual simulation can also be used to train people to install the protective sk irt around the iceberg, or to pilot the boat while towing it. Training scenarios can be repeated as often as necessary and varied by modifying test parameters at will and at no extra cost. "It's safer and less expensive than training people on a real tow boat out in the ocean," Simard said. "Virtual simulation also has environmental advantages since even the wildest ideas can be tested without any adverse effects on the environment."

For Mougin, seeing his project come to life for the first time is a major step forward. The results were an encouraging sign for him to continue with a real-life prototype operation sometime in the near future. His plan is to "catch" a real iceberg, wrap it with a protective skirt and tow it a few kilometers. "What I imagined 35 years ago is finally on its way to becoming reality," Mougin said. "Although there are still some technical aspects to be explored, virtual simulation has proven that this project is technically feasible and not such a wild dream after all."

Simulation made it possible to determine:

• the optimum departure date.
• the number of days it would take to tow the iceberg from Newfoundland to the Canary Islands (approximately 140 days with favorable weather and ocean conditions).
• that only one boat would be required to tow the iceberg and the quantity of fuel consumed.
• the best strategy to adopt when facing storms, gusts of wind and whirlpools.
• that the iceberg would lose one third of its mass along the way - enough to provide a city with a population of 50 000 with fresh water for a year.