About IWAIS

Workshop Objectives
Atmospheric icing on structures is a serious and costly problem affecting a wide variety of human activities such as electric power transmission and distribution, transportation, telecommunications, etc. The goal of this workshop is to promote the exchange of scientific and technical information among utilities, industry, meteorological services, research institutes and universities.
 

  This workshop will provide an opportunity for :

• Analyses of the physical effects of ice accumulation on structures

• Mapping and assessing the climatic risks affecting various types of structures

• Evaluation of storms and icing affecting telecommunications

• Studies of the electrical properties of iced insulators

• Presenting recent developments in theoretical studies on in-cloud icing, wet snow accretion and freezing rain, accumulation and shedding mechanisms

• Reviews of methods for protection against atmospheric icing and reduction of risk and damage

• Presenting field observations and storm analyses for various types of atmospheric icing

• Analysis of meteorological situations of devastating ice storm, damage incurred, and possibility of predicting them

Scope
The scope of the workshop comprises any field and laboratory research, meteorological studies, mathematical analyses, modeling and computer simulation, the physics of ice and monitoring related to the atmospheric icing of structures such as overhead lines, telecommunication masts, wind turbines, trains, aero-planes, ships and buildings. It also comprises the development and application of instrumentation and equipment for ice measurements, ice prevention and de-icing. The workshop is open to any topics concerning ice-covered structures and their dynamic and electrical behavior.
 

Typical Workshop Topics

• Icing climate

• Design for icing and field experience

• Field observation, storm analysis, and acquisition of data

• Ice prevention and de-icing methods

• Simulation and modeling of ice and snow accretion, persistence, and shedding

• Dynamic behavior of ice- and snow-covered structures and equipments

• Assessing and mapping climatic risks for various types of structures

• Effects of icing on exposed structures and damage analysis

• Flashover of ice- and snow-covered insulators

• Study of the electrical characteristics of ice and snow

Historical Background
This workshop is the 20th in the series. The first IWAIS was held in Hanover, USA (1982). It was followed by other workshops in Trondheim, Norway (1984); Vancouver, Canada (1986); Paris, France (1988); Tokyo, Japan (1990); Budapest, Hungary (1993); Saguenay, Canada (1996); Reykjavik, Iceland (1998); Chester, England (2000); Brno, Czech Republic (2002); Montreal, Canada (2005); Yokohama, Japan (2007); Andermatt, Switzerland (2009); Chongqing, China (2011); St.John's, Canada (2013); Uppsala, Sweden (2015); Chongqing, China (2017); Reykjavik, Iceland (2019); Montreal, Canada (2022), and Navik, Norway (2024).

  IWAIS has been held twice in Japan; one was the 5th workshop held in 1990, Tokyo, and the other was the 12th workshop held in 2007, Yokohama.  IWAIS 2026 will be the third workshop in Japan after 19 years, as Japan previously hosted this workshop.