Author(s): K. Shkhinek; T. Karna; S. Kapustiansky; A. Jilenkov
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Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: Several methods are available for the prediction of global ice loads acting on offshore structures. A further development of these models is retarded by problems in understanding details of the ice fracture mechanisms and contact phenomena. This paper presents results of a numerical study of the ice fracturing process in a condition where a sheet of level ice drifts against a vertical faced structure. A 2D process in a vertical section of the ice sheet is modelled. The ice is considered as brittle or quasibrittle material using a modified MohrCoulomb failure criterion. The frictional forces on the ice-structure interface are assumed to be rate dependent at a range of low sliding velocities. A finite-difference computer programme is used to investigate the propagation of tensile and shear cracks. The results of a parametric study show that the basic features of the ice fracture process depend mainly on the ratio between the uniaxial tensile and compressive strengths of the material.
Year: 2000