Author(s): D. H. Petrie; J. P. Poplin
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Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: During the winter of 1980/81, Exxon Production Research Company, with financial support from a number of other companies, conducted a series of large-scale sea ice strength tests near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. The purpose of the program was to measure full-thickness uniaxial compressive and indentation strengths of annual sea ice under natural environmental conditions. As part of this research program, sample blocks were collected from the ice sheet adjacent to 12 field test sites and shipped to Exxon Production Research Company's cold room laboratory. A total of 539 unconfined compression tests were then performed on cylindrical specimens machined from the sample blocks. The strain rate and ice temperature for each block were controlled to match the field conditions. The results of the laboratory tests were used to estimate the full-thickness uniaxial compressive strength by averaging the strength distribution through the ice sheet. Full-thickness indentation strengths were estimated by using theoretical indentation factors and laboratory ice strength and crystallography data. A comparison with the field test results shows that for the ice conditions encountered in this program, full-thickness ice sheet strengths can be reasonably predicted from small-scale laboratory tests.
Year: 1986