Demonstration of Evaporation Inhibition with Floating Polystyrene Board and Its Motion Response

Plain reservoirs in arid areas usually have a shallow water depth, a large surface area, and severe evaporative water-loss. To lessen the water loss, a polystyrene board coverage technique was used. This paper represents a demonstrative application study of the polystyrene board coverage technique in the Daquangou Plain Reservoir in the city of Shihezi, Xinjiang. Six different polystyrene board structures were created and tested to measure the wind wave resistance level, damage type, and reason for the damage. To study the motion of the floating polystyrene board in waves, this paper applied the kinematic theory for rigid bodies and utilized the Newton’s Second Law to develop the coupling kinematic equation for the polystyrene board. We also used a modified sectioning method to calculate the added mass of the floating polystyrene board, fluid damping, and static water restoring force. The heave and pitch motion response of the floating polystyrene board was analyzed and determined to be periodic. The connection and fix strategy for the polystyrene board structures could resist the effect of level-6 wind waves, which served the purpose of inhibiting the evaporation in the plain reservoir. Keyword: Floating polystyrene board, plain reservoir, polystyrene board coverage technique, motion response, wave load.