Author(s): Shenyu Xuan; Chengsheng Zhan; Zuyuan Liu; Yaoming Liao
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: Floe ice field; Secondary fragmentation; Uncertainty; Multi-bonding and damage model; Ice resistance
Abstract: For ships navigating the Arctic routes and polar marginal regions, floe ice is a common and significant ice condition. However, their characteristics, such as size and spatial distribution, are highly variable, posing challenges to predicting ship resistance in floe ice fields. On one hand, floe ice of different sizes interacts with the ship hull in distinct ways, with secondary fragmentation phenomena of large floes contributing significantly to ice resistance. On the other hand, randomness in the spatial distribution of floe ice—whether in actual ice fields, model tests, or numerical simulations—introduces uncertainty into resistance predictions. To address this, this study employs a multi-bond model with stiffness degradation and failure to simulate floe ice. This model simulates phenomena such as secondary fragmentation of floe ice by configuring local bonds with stiffness degradation between particle pairs. Meanwhile, an uncertainty assessment and analysis method is applied to screen floe ice fields, thereby reducing the uncertainty in resistance predictions caused by the initial distribution of floe ice. Finally, the study focuses on investigating the influence patterns and underlying mechanisms of parameters such as ice concentration and the coefficient of variation of floe ice size on ship ice resistance.
Year: 2026