
20 February 2023
An igloo is created at the university
The students at the course Snow and ice at Luleå University of Technology are currently building a snow igloo on the university campus in Luleå. It will be ready in time for the Winter Festival and the purpose of the student project is to increase knowledge about snow constructions.
The igloo is built using an inflatable balloon that is six meters in diameter and 4.5 meters high. The balloon is covered with snow to create a snow igloo, and when the snow has frozen, the balloon is deflated and removed. The snow igloo consists of a room that holds 10–15 people. The interior will be wooden floors and seating.
Mats Schütze and Emma Widén are two of the students building the igloo, and they talk about both highlights and challenges.
– A highlight was definitely working with the snow blowers. I had never used this type of equipment before, so it was great fun moving so much snow in such a short time and watching the igloo grow little by little. Also, working with so many nice people from all over the world makes this project really special for me, says Mats Schütze who comes from Germany.
– The biggest challenge was to create an even layer of snow around the entire igloo. The igloo did not get the typical "igloo shape" that we wanted from the beginning. Another difficulty was the changing weather conditions. Also the lack of snow, but that could easily be solved with the help of Parkkompaniet, which has dumped snow in piles around the igloo, says Emma Widén.
Combines theory and practice
When the snow igloo is complete, the students will evaluate how the structure deforms and how the strength of the snow changes over time.
– Building an igloo is a popular project and many students like to combine their theoretical knowledge with working with snow in practice, says Nina Lintzen, associate senior lecturer in experimental mechanics and teacher on the Snow and ice course at Luleå University of Technology.
Snow is a changing material with different properties depending on, for example, structure, temperature and processing. During the project, the students have had to deal with different types of snow and also difficulties that arose in, for example, warm weather conditions.
– It is a relatively large group of students who worked with different parts of the project, so they have also learned a lot about project management, group work and the importance of planning and structuring the work between each other, says Nina Lintzen.
Facts about the course Snow and ice
The course snow and ice 7.5 p at Luleå University of Technology covers, among other things, the basics of snow and ice mechanics, formation of snow, classification methods for snow, avalanche knowledge, techniques for using snow and ice and to work in cold climates. The knowledge can be useful in for example the tourism industry, construction and civil engineering and in areas related to community preparedness.
Published:
Updated: