Author(s): Yaxuan Zhu; Jukka Tuhkuri
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Keywords: Ice loads on ships; Ice conditions; Ship velocity; Field data; Antarctic
Abstract: The randomness of ice loads on ships has been observed over the decades. Single-factor effects of ice conditions, such as ice concentration, ice thickness and floe diameter, and ship velocity are usually reported without holding the other factors constant. This is mainly due to the difficulty of conducting field experiments with constant ice conditions and ship velocity; they all vary significantly during ship operations in ice. In this paper, a preliminary control variable study on field measured ship ice loads is carried out using factorial experiment at two levels. The data were collected in three expeditions in the Antarctic waters onboard S.A. Agulhas II, where 150 high ice loads at the bow and their corresponding ice conditions and ship velocities are discussed. The results indicate that coarse ice conditions data and inconsistent and small number of replicates can hinder observation of the single-factor effects. Most importantly, force chain appears to be a lurking factor and should be involved in the analysis too.
Year: 2026