How is synthetic ice made?

Answer 1

The formation of an ice rink is quite simple. A true ice rink is made with water and smoothed out.

That being said, indoor arena rinks are made a little differently. A lot of the sports organizations have regulations on the ice to try and maintain quality and consistency. So these arenas often have big chillers working Behind the Scenes that are designed to pump water, freeze the water, and keep the surface chilled to avoid melting when the building is filled with people.

It's a really intricate process.

Answer 2

Synthetic_icerinks are constructed from a solid polymer material designed for skating using normal metal-bladed ice skates. High density polyethelene and Ultra-high-molecular-weight_polyethyleneare the only materials that offer reasonable skating characteristics, with UHMW synthetic rinks offering the most ice-like skating, but also being the most expensive. A typical synthetic rink will consist of many panels (usually in typical building material sheet sizes) of thin surface material assembled on top of a sturdy, level and smooth sub-floor (anything from concrete to wood or even dirt or grass) to create a large skating area.

Answer 3

There are several terms in use for ice surfaces:

Natural Ice

Many ice rinks are essentially just frozen ponds or other open bodies of water, or enclosed flooded areas which freeze naturally.

Artificial Ice

Artificial ice (also known as mechanically frozen ice) surfaces can be created in any properly constructed area, it requires a level floor and pipes containing chilled refrigerant.

The term "artificial ice" is something of a misnomer. It is basically frozen water just like any other. The difference is, it is not frozen by natural cold outdoors such as on a frozen pond or lake. It is frozen indoors by the installed refrigeration system.

Synthetic Ice

Synthetic ice, sometimes also called artificial ice, is a lightweight, low-friction, wear-resistant polymer (plastic) material used for skating with standard metal-bladed ice skates. The plastic sheets are laid on a flat surface, joined in any of several ways to prevent the formation of cracks or gaps where the sheets meet and surfaced with low friction materials to make them "feel" more like ice.