Strength studies of sea ice in support of software development for ice load calculation

Abstract

Object and purpose of research. This paper studies uniaxial compression strength properties of laboratory ice at different temperatures and salinities. Materials and methods. The study was performed on the laboratory ice obtained from common salt solutions of different concentrations and kept at different ambient air temperatures. Ice strength was determined experimentally, by means of a set of instrumentation previously used in soil explorations and adapted for ice studies. Main results. Development and manufacturing of equipment and development of technology for laboratory tests on medium-sized ice samples to determine their physical & mechanical properties and failure parameters. A series of tests has been performed to develop numerical anisotropic model of ice failure. Conclusion. These data could be used to develop universal formalized criteria of sea ice failure, taking into account its anisotropy, temperature and salinity.

Keywords

• numerical simulation
• physical modeling
• validation
• analytical layout