Author(s): J. L. Barthelemy
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Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: The United States Navy has operated aircraft in the McMurdo Sound area of Antarctica for 35 years. As heavier and heavier aircraft are introduced to the continent, the Naval Civil Engineering Laboratory provides criteria for safe operation in terms of required ice thickness and period of operation. Improved analytical tools and computing ability have enabled NCEL to develop more refined and less conservative load curves for landing and parking aircraft on ice. The finite-element computer Program VISICE predicts both the elastic ("landing") and linear visco-elastic ("parking") responses of a floating ice sheet to loads applied to the surface. Material properties are built in as a function of temperature. In addition, a library subroutine of common aircraft allows the user to specify a craft by name and percent of maximum load only. Superposition of all wheel loads is provided automatically. Program VISICE was used as history was made during the unprecedented landing of a fully-loaded C5B Galaxy at McMurdo Station in october 1989.
Year: 1990