Author(s): Chengzhe Wang; Ning Wang; Xiaodong Chen; Shunying Ji
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: Ship-ice interaction; Impact velocity; Ice failure mode; Structural dynamic response
Abstract: In brash ice channels, ships continuously push the ice floe during navigation. The ice floe may collide with stronger refrozen ice along the channel sides, producing impact loads that are transmitted through the ice floe to the ship hull. This indirect impact scenario differs substantially from the quasi-static loading assumptions commonly adopted in design rules and may induce significant transient structural responses. To investigate the influence of impact velocity on ice-structure interaction, drop-weight impact experiments were conducted on a typical stiffened plate. A rigid indenter was used to simulate high-strength refrozen ice, while impact velocity was controlled by adjusting the drop height. High-speed camera was employed to capture the ice failure process, and strain gauges installed on the shell plating and stiffeners were used to measure the dynamic structural response. The results indicate that increasing impact velocity causes the sea ice failure mode to evolve from localized crushing to extensive pulverization. The peak structural response exhibits a trend of first increasing and then decreasing with increasing impact velocity, while the strain histories evolve from multi-peak to single-peak patterns. These findings provide experimental insight into dynamic ice-structure interaction and support the ice-resistant design of polar ships.
Year: 2026