(

I.

'A
IAHR
Ice Symposium 1984
Hamburg
•
August 27 - 31, 1984

Proceedings Vol. II
J

IAHR

Ice Symposium 1984

Hamburg

August 27 - 31, 1984

Proceedings Vol II

 To order the proceedings, write to:

Dr. Joachim Schwarz

Ice Engineering Department

Hamburgische Schiffbau-Versuchsanstalt GmbH

P.O. Box 60 09 29

D-2000 Hamburg 60

W-Germany

Telex: 2174236

The copyright for the individual papers is held by its authors. The authors are
responsible for the content of their papers.
I~I
International Association jor Hydraulic Research
~ Association Internationale de Recherches Hydrauliques

7th International Symposium on Ice

Hamburg

August 27-31, 1984

organized by

Hamburgische Schiffbau-Versuchsanstalt GmbH

Hamburg, F.R.Germany

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

STRUCTURES IN ICE
Pages
Morris, CEo Crushing ice forces on cylindrical structures
Sodh~ DS. 1

Miiiittiinen, M The effect ofstructural properties on

ice-induced self-excited vibrations 11

Jessberger, HL. Model tests and in situ behaviour of

Bassler, K-H. prestressed anchors in snow and ice 21

Grass, J.D. Ice scour and ice ridging studies in Lake Erie 33

Kitam~ E. Iceberg collision with semi-submersible

Fujishima, K drilling unit
1llguch~ Y.
Nawata, T.
Kawasaki, T.
Saka~ F. 45

Kreider, J. Summer impact loads from multiyear floes 55

Wang, Y.S. Analysis and model tests ofpressure ridges
failing against conical structures 67
Engelke, G. Ice formation and prevention on sub-zero
Jurgens, U cooled hydraulic structures
lRske, W. 77
Timco, G.w. Model tests ofice forces on a wide inclined
plane 87

Saeki, H. Estimation ofinternal pressure due to

Izum~K a growth ofice thickness in a caisson
Saka~M
Ogura, S. 97

Thunbo Christensen, F. Extraction ofpiles by repeated water-level

Tryde, P. fluctuations JJ1
Kerr, AD. Analysis ofpiles frozen-in to an ice cover and
subjected to forces that cause pile bending 123
Khrapaty, N Dynamic ice forces on piles
Lubimo,,> V 135

Sun, z.-F. Dynamic forces ofice floes acting on bridge

Ing, D.-z. piers 147

STATISTICS IN ICE ENGINEERING

Bercha, F.G. On the reliability of ice-structure interadion
Nagel,R.H load predictions
Brown, T.G. 157

Ma~MA . Probabilistic analysis oficeberg loads on

Jordaan, 11 offshore structures 175

Reimnitz, E. Geological evidence for 60 meter deep

Barnes, P.w. pressure-ridge keels in the Arctic Ocean
Phillips, RL. 189

ICE MODELLING
Fitema, R. Observations on the growth of urea ice on a
Mueller, A . small ice basin
Cook, A.G. 207

Enkvist, E. A fine grain model ice

Mdkinen, S. 217

Schultz, LA. Recent experience in conducting ice model

Free, A.P. tests using a synthetic ice modeling material 229

Gow, A.1 Crystalline structure of urea ice sheets used in

modeling in the CRREL test basin 241.

NAVIGATION IN ICE
Tronin, VA. Problems ofriver shipping in ice-bound
Malinowsky, VA. conditions
Sandakov, YuA. 255
Beurket, R.T. Great Lakes limited season extension
ArgirofJ, C operation of Sault Ste. Marie Locks,
Michigan, USA. 267 " ~

Kitazawa, T. Ship-hull motion through brash ice

Ettema, R. 277

Mueller, A. Dynamic response ofan icebreaker hull to ice

Ettema, R. breaking 287
Sasajima, T. Ice-milling load encountered by a controllable
Mustamiik~ E. pitch propeller 297

German, 1G. Some notes on propulsion machinery systems

Klop, 1C for a large high powered Polar icebreaker 309

INSTRUMENTATION IN ICE ENGINEERING

Mayer, I. Application ofsubsurface radar measurement
Starosolszky, 0. ofice thickness 325

Sae~H Determination ofcompressive strength of

Ono, T. sea ice by using an ultrasonic pulse
Nakazpwa, N
Izum~ K
Saka~M 339

Co~ GF.N Evaluation ofa biaxial ice stress sensor 349 r

Lewis, E.Q Improved marine radar display for navigation

Currie, RW. in ice-irifested waters 363
Lewis, E.Q Effect offrequency and polarization on
Currie, RW. marine radar detection ofice targets in an ice
cover 375

Harmon, D1 An instrumented auger for vertical survey

Parson, RL. ofice 'hardness' 385

Ladany~ R A parametric study oflong-term borehole

Murat,l-R. dilatometer tests in ice
Huneault, P. 393
STRUCTURES IN ICE

I.• WiR lee Symposium 1984

Hamburg

CRUSHING ICE FORCES ON CYLINDRICAL STRUCTURES

Carl E. Morris· Thayer Scnool.of Engl neerlng Oar1moutt, College U.S.A.

Hanove r, New HZHrpshl re

Devl ode r s. 50<111 u.s. Army Cold Regions Research and

Engl nearl"9 La boratory
Hanove r, Nerw HlIfrpsh' re

Abstract
The results of small-scale experiments conructed to determine the effect of aspect ra­
tio and reilltlv9 Ice-structur.,e veloCity on Ice forces gener~ted durl",:=! the Interaction of
Ice and a cylindrical pile are presented. The parMleters varied during the experimental
prOQram '!ere structure dl CllT8ter and veloCity. Maximum Ice forces .ere nornal fzed by the
prodJct of structure dlaneter, Ice thickness and unconfined cO'Tl>resslve strength of the Ica.
The results shOl that Ice forces depend slgnlflalntly on aspect ratio and velocity-to­
thickness ratio, and thet variations In veloclty-to-structure-dlaneter ratio does not Influ­
ence the maximum nort1'Bllzed forces.

·Presently Research Civil Engineer at the U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering
laboratory, HanoV'e r, NH, USA
Introouctlon
For r8tlonal des Ign of structures subject to Ice action, the results of theoretical
studies, small-scale experimental stL.dles and full-scale measuranent of Ice forces have to
be s)'fltheslzed to develq:> ~Idellnes and recanrrendatlons In the form of design codes to be
used by practicing engineers. Srrell-scale experimental studies form an Important part of

this process as It Is pcsslble to wry different pararreters to study their effects on the
Ice forces and other related variables. AlthOJgh marry stL.dles dealing with Ice forces on

cylindrical structures (Afanas'yev and others, 1971; Hlrayarre and others, 1973; Neill, 1976;
Croasdale and others, 1977; Ml chel and Trussalnt, 1977; Saakl and Ozaki, 1980; Kato 8nd
Sodhi, 1983; etc.) have been conducted, a systerretlc study seemed necessary to better Inves­
tigate the effects of aspect ratio (structure dlClTleter/lce thickness) and structure velocity

on th e I ce force s.
Ice forces are usually determl ned by either a load cell Installed In the support systEm
or by rreasurlng the response of the supports with strain-gauges. If care Is not taken In
designing the support system, the vibrations resulting fran Ice-structure Interaction ~y

not on Iy Influence the Interaction (~attanen, 1983) rut may also affect the rreasured Ice
forces.. In this stL.dy the support systan was designed to be rigid, with Its I~est frequen­
ay of free vibration at least four to five tlrres hlg,erthan the antlcl~ted frequenay In
the Ice force variations. In rT'I!!Irry prevl rus studies, Investigators have not reported the vi­
bration frequenay of their force rreasurlng system and hence It Is not Icnown If the results
nay have been Influenced by the structure vibration.
Because of dIffIculties enCCUltered In rre<.'!lsurlng In-situ the c~resslve strength of
model Ice, previ rus Investigators have either estlrMted the caTllresslve strength fran the
flexural strength of the Ice sheet (e.g. Afanas'yevand others, 1971) orrelXlrted only the
measured effective pressure wlthOJt normellzlng with caTllresslve strength (e.g. Freder1<lng
and others, 1982). To relate the results of tests conducted with different Ice sheets, It
Is Important to rreasure caTllresslve strength at the time and place of a test. For most of
the tests described herein, the uniaxial, \.J1conflned c~resslve strength of the Ice sheet
was rreasured In-situ using the technique described by Kato and others (1982), and used to

nOf"n'lllllze the maximum Ice forces.. It should be noted that the confined (In lateral direc­
tion) and unconfined caTllresslve strengths of columnar Ice are dl fferent, whereas th9( are
the same for granular Ice. The Implications of this difference In the nonmllmtlon of Ice
forces are dl SOJssed later.

Experl mntal Setup and Procedure

In this stL.dy, the experiments were conructed by pushing an Instrumented cylindrical

structure throug-. the Ice. The rreln pararreters vorled \li8re the structure dlarreter (50-500

mm) and velocity (10-210 mm/s). The Ice sheet thlcxness was In the range 50 to 80 mm. The
experirrents \li8re conducted In the Ice EngineerIng Facility of the U.S. Army Cold Regions

Research and Engl neering Laboratory, Hanover, NH. The test b<.'!lsln used was 34 m long, 9 m
wide and 2.4 m deep, situated I n a refrigerated roan that can be cooled to approxlrTlltely
-25"C.
The test f l;.:ture shown In Figure 1 ~s attarned to a h Ig,-force IOOduie of the IOOtorlzed
carriage. This was used to push the test structure across the width of the basin, with an

excursion of approxlrTlltely 2 m per test. The test trad<.s \li8re separated by abOJt 5 m to
avoid Interference by crad<. prcpagatlon fran one test trad<. to another. The useful velocity

2
 v,Cor~ociIY

I I
I I h, Ice Th ickne ss

~Dela~hable PIle
I
I
I I
c~ -"
d, Pile Diameler

Figure I. Test f Irlure for rreasurl ng Ice forces on p II e.

range of the high force morule was 10-210 mm/s, thwgh In some c~ses It was unable to q:>er­

"te correct Iy at velocities bel 011 50 mm/s beclluse at high Ice loads. At Velocities less
than 50 mm/s', It wes possible In sane cllses to condJct two tests In the Slll'l8 t~d<.. This
allowed testl ng lit velocities other thlln those plllnned lind enllbled up to nine tests to be
run using one Ice sheet.
The test f Irlure .as des Igned to be a rigid st ructure that woul d accanmodete ~ canner­
cllli IMd cell and allew relative ease In ctlanglng model piles of different dlmteters. Six
plies of dltlfreters 100, 150,200,300,400 lind 500 mm -.ere constructed to fit over the per­
rrenently mounted 50-mm-dlllT'leter pile.
The Ice sheets -.ere grown In the test Msln fran an llIqueQJS solution of urell. The urell
concentrlltlon vlIrled frOft 0.e4% to 0.93% by weight and the resulting Ice sheeT had 1I colum­
nar structure, except for the 7-mm transition Illyer at the top. Each Ice sheet .,.,s d'larec­
terlzed by determining the cha~cterlstlc length, fle'XUrel strength Of and unconfined con­
presslve strength au. The characteristic length of the flMtlng Ice sheet was determined by
placing dead weights In discrete Increments lind monitoring the deflection of the Ice sheet
(Sod'll lind others, 1982). The flexural strength of the Ice 'fIBS determined bf pushing down
cantilever bems to failure and CaTllutlng the fle'XUral strength fran the f~llure load. The
compress Ive strength .,.,s detennlned In-situ near the track Immediately after each test by
caTllresslng a short cantilever bean QJt fron the parent Ice sheet. Tests for au were not
condJcted on the Initial nine sheets because the test apparatus was not ready. The values

of- au for these Ice sheets 'tIEIre est Irmted fran Of and the ratio of au/of for latter ice
sheets; this problElY! applied to abrut one-third of the tests conducted.

On eadl day of testing, one of the piles was attadled to the fixture lind tests were

conducted for as rmny as e Ig,t dl screte velocities. Altogether, 148 tests 'll8re conducted.

Results

The results presented are ~sed on the data obtained during contlnuOJs crushing of the
Ice sheet only. The Initial contact of the structure with the Ice sheet was eliminated fron
the analysis. All analysls...as performed on digitized force d~ta filtered with a 45-Hz lew­
p.ss filter.
The 'm8xlmum ' crushl ng force, Frrex, was takan liS the average of the five h Ig,est peaks
for a given test and .,.,s nonre I I zed ~s fall OIlS:

3
 Frrex = f(d/h, v/h) (I)
dhOu

~ere O'u Is the 1.111 axial II1conflned compressive strength, In-situ, d Is pile dlarreter, h Is
Ice thickness, and v Is the velocity of the model pile. In eq~tlon I, f(d/h, v/h) Includes
the effects of Indent~tlon and non-uniform cont~ct as postul~ted by Korzhtlvl n (1962).

It should be noted th~t v/h has the dlrrenslons of s:l. Since ai' tests 'lll8re run using only
rOJnd plies, the effect of pile shape Is not considered In this study.
83C~use of the colurrnar Ice structure In the Ice sheets tested, the confined tlnd I6lcon­
fined carpresslve strength of the Ice differs significantly. This difference Is due to the
mode of Ice failure for each type of test (Fig. 2). For an I6lconflned compressive strength
test, the Ice falls In vertical planes along the brundaries of columnar grains. The con­

fined test only tlll~s f~llure by crushing 0.1 the Ice orshe~rlng ~Iong Inclined planes rut­
ting the vertical, columnar cryst"ls. The conf Ined carpresslve strength Is therefore gener­
ally h Ig,er thlln the II1confined compress Ive strength for co lurmar Ice.
Pr"'evlws Investigators h"ve recognIzed that changes In aspect ratio lind velocity result
In dlanges In the maximum nOrTnallzed fOr"'ce exerted on II structure. Neill (1976) dlsOJssed
this point lit length. In generlll It has been frund that maximum nOrrMlized forces decrellse
with Incr"'ellslng aspect ratio. Atanas'yev and others (1971) prClpClSed the following enplrlcal
exp ress Ion :

(2)

where O'c Is the uniaxial carpresslve strength, which has a limit of unity for large aspect
ratl CIS.
Results of the present study are plotted I n Figure 3, td1ere the maxlmU'TI nornellzed
forces (Fma)(/dhO'u) are plotted with respect to aspect ratio d/h for different velocities.
It Is seen that the maximum nOrrMllzed force decrellses signIficantly with Increllslng aspect
ratio, especIally at lew velocities, and that as velocity Increases, the espect ratio effect
becanes less pronQJnced. To ccrnblne the effects of velocity and the aspect ratio, the foi-
I 0Ii'1 ng eQuetion ...as fitted to the experIrrentaI d~ta et dl screte velocities b( non linear re­
gression analysis:

= C(v){5 hId + I (3)

where C(v) Is assLlTled to be a function of velocity only. The resulting relations are sh~n

In Flgur"'e 3 for s Ix test velocities. Figure 4 shews the ·-.erlatlon of a plot of C(v) wIth
velocity: It decreases with Increasing ...eloclty.

ThOlJqh equation 3 appears to represent the data reasonably well, 8 second fll1ctlon
similar"' to the one prcposed by MI chel and TQJssalnt (1977) -- was fitted to the data by non­

lInear r"'egresslon an8lysls. The form of this fll1ctlon 'JiBS

F"",
- - = D(v) ["JE
hid J
(v)
(4)
dhOu

where DC ... ) and E. (v) are fooctions of velocity alone. Plots of equ~t'on 4 8re also shown In
Ciqure 3. It represents the experimental data better than equation 3, especially for higher

values of the aspect r~tio because It has two pararreters as q>posed to one In eq~tion 3.

4
 \
~ -- ; ~I~~
, y :!ICI 1'11J1vt.
'. -­ 6 1411o'1 j'f-­
. - .. - ,,~ \-" =~.= ~;;so='
-\:..
, ~"
.~
--­ Eq!l

;~
• ' ~r

FaI lure
Planes

-­
-.--IJ ~
...
~ " IJOfTVT\',
~-

IT,

C~.
y ", ' l'O rnmll y ' " 110 II1r'I/1:

Co nfininQ _ - ­ 4: Mt'-'­ - ­ 1 6ttwr·..

Plates - .- -1 6~ --.- \ ~
- - ­ EQ5

o 2 10 10
d
h
Figure 2. Definition sketch of can­
presslv8 strength tests of columnar Figure 3. ~)(Imum nonna Ilzed force, Ftrex/dhOu •
Ica--(a) unconfined, (b) confined. ....ersus o!!Ispect ratio, d/h, for di screte ....elocltles.

Figure 4 depicts the dependence of 0( .... ' and E{v) on ....eloclty

at discrete points. Bath functions decrease .... Ith Increasing
velocl tV.
The mexlmum norma Ilzed forces, as mentioned I n the pre­

""'~B

.... 1 QJ5 paragraph, are dependent on valocl ty as well as as­

pect rl!ltla. To shew the dependence of Fnex/dhOu on veloci­
ty, the rrexlmum nOl"lMllzed force Is plotted In Figure 5 .... Ith

respect tothe ratio of velocity to Ice thlclo:ness for all

0,60'

dlllTlQter piles.

5 resulted I n less
The use of v/h for plotting data In Figure

sc~tter In cOtrpari son to the use of v

alone, andl It al I ~ed carparlsoo of data f ran I ce sheets of
0,0
E(\')
04

02

50 100
v(mm/s)
150 200

V8rylng thicknesses. Figure 5 shews that there Is a depen­

dence of Fmax/dhOu on v/h and that the nature of the depen­ Figure 4. Constants used

dence changes with pile dlarreter (rrore or Jess constant as­ In equations 3 and 5, ver­
sus velocity. C(v) Is used
pect ratio). For srrall aspect ratios, Ft'l"ex/dhOu de~creases
1 n eq uat I on 3 wh II e 0 (v)
with IncreaSing v/h, while for larger values the ratio and E (v) are used, n equa­
Fmax/dhOu remains essentially constant or possibly Increases tlon 4.
slightly. The change of trend appears to OCQJr at an aspect
rat I 0 of 4 to 6.
An atteTtpt was also rrede to fit a surface to the data by considering both the effects

of velocity and pile dlarreter. Noting the variations of the f lJ'lct Ions O(v) and E(v} with

5
 ~

8~
. '":-._.~~~
d = SO,pm .=I00mm
6 __~ :"0 .0 . . ­
:.-: "0
....

6~=I50
6
mm ~=2oomm
"
4 •• 1 . . . 0• •

2 • •• • ....
o

:~.=300mm
, . .
[d=.oomm 10
APPROXIMATE STRAIN RATE
0.1
2
o
• \ .": : • •
F m.,
• .- 0.'"
0,025
~.

:bd=soomm
4 \
au dh
,.
' ...
,0
f..
~ 'r
2" •••
o . 0
0 6 10 12
d
11
Figure 5. M3xlmum n0l1T'l811zed force, Fmax/dhq., Figure 6. ~)(Imum norma tlzed force,
versus the ratio of velocity to Ice thickness, FfM)(/ouctJ, versus aspect ratio" d/h,
v/h, for seven pile dlmleters. The QJrJ9S rep­ f?r three approximate stnlln retes
sent equation 5. (£ = v/4d).

respect to velocl"ty In Figure 4, the foil 0111"9 equation Is proposed to fit the 9>q>erllT9ntal
data for the range of aspect ratios and velocities tested In this study:

(5)

where ml, m2 and m3 are constants.. By use of nonlinear regression analysis, the values of
mr, m2 and m3 are foond to be 0.8,4,46 and 0.028, respect Ivoly. Plots of eQU3tlon 5 are
shcwn In Flgures:3 and 5 for discrete values of velocity and pile dlaneter, respectively.

Discussion
The results of the test progran shcw a strong dependence of IMxlmum nOl"YT'lellzed force on
the aspect rcItlo and the velocity, decreasing with Increasing values of both d/h and v/t\.
In the Iiterelture (e.g. Assur, 1972) explanation of the aspect ratio effect Is that the Ice
Is subjected to two types of failure: Indentation and flaking. At I cw espect ratios the Ice
falls In en Indentetlon mode, while with large aspect ratlC6 a state of plane stress eXists,
causing a fleklng type fellure. Indentetlon fellure creates e stete of plene strain In
whldl the Ice tends to deform wIthin tl'le plene of tl'le Ice only and e large zone of deforml!l­
tlon Is fonned ehead end to the sides of tl'le Indentor 041dlel and TQJssalnt, 1977). Because
of the extensive defonMtlon beyond the edges of tl'le Indentor wl'len d/h Is small, the force
required to move tl'le pile throu9'1 tl'le Ice Is mucl'l larger then the force needed to jJst crush
the Ice. \!tIen Ice falls aqalnst 8 wide structure, tl'le Ice deforms In tl'le vertlCllI direction
because It Is largely confIned In the plane of tl'le Ice sheet and ClInnot deform teterally.
Tl'lus, tl'le Ice moves up and dcwn vertically, resulting In flaking failure;
On tl'le basis of Indentation test results, Michel and TQJssalnt (1977) proposed tl'l8t the
variations In Frmx/<lJdl'l with respect to lIspect ratio d/l'l at constant IndentatIon velocities
are 8 result of dl fferent effective strllin rlltes, wl'lldl they defined as £: = v/4d. If this

6
li s true, the IT'aximum normalized force shruld be Independent of d/h at constant effective
str~ln rates. To test this hypotheSiS, the ex:perlrrental data that had strain r~tes of ap­
proxll'l'8te Iy e: = 0 . 025, 0.05 and 0.1 are plotted In Flqure 6. It I s evident that Frrex /d h~

is stro ng Iy dependent on aspect ratio, rut Is Independent of effect Iva strain rate for the
range covered In thi s tes t progran. The results shewn In Figure 6 therefore contradict the
hypothesiS of MId"teJ and TQJssalnt (1977). The velocity effect -- the V()rletlons with vAl
dlsQJssed earlier -- do not sean to be related to the strain rate (I.e.. e: = v/4d).
The data sh""n In Figures 3 and 5 are shif ted Significantly In the vertical dl rectloo
wtlen corrpared to the expression given by Afanas'yev and others (1971). This shift Is caused
by the use of the unconfined c~resslve strength of columnar Ice for normalizing the rraxl­

m.um Ice force s.. As rrentloned prevlalsly, the Ice used for the tests 'leS colurmar In texture
and had anlsotrcplc prc:pertles. The strength o f the Ice measured during the tests was the
unconf I nee compress Ive strength wi th the fa I lure pl anes paral I el to the co lurma r orlenta­
tloo. Freder\<.lng (1977), Tlmco (1963) and Ralston (1960) determined that the confined C(Jl1­

press 1'19 strength, 0c' of colurmar Ice failing perpendicular tothe colurms I s 2 to 5 tires
hl~er than that for Ice failing along the colurms. They also reported that the difference
between the two strengths decreases slightly with Increasing strain rata. The results of
this study Indicate that 0u Is abrut 2.5 to:5 tlrres less than 0C' which should be used for
norrrel Izlng the Ice forces to have correspondence with the expression given by Afanas'yev
and others (1971). It Is also seen that the vertical offset [constants C(v) and D(v) I de­

creases with Increasing velocity. As shown In Flgures:5 and 4, C(v) varies fran 2.6 to 1.6
as velocl'ty Increases. Wlen allewance Is made for the strong anlsotrcpy of the I ce sheets
used In this stuc;y, these results a9ree reasonably with those found by Afanas'yev and others
(1971) who presllTlably used Ice that was more isotrc:plc, which did not display a difference
bet..een laterally confined and unconfined compressive strengths.
If the reason for the aspect ratio effect, n'entloned earlier, 15 correct, one shOJld
expect the maximum no rna II zed force (Frrex / mOu ) to be In the range of 2 to:5 for a lew as­
pect ratio because the Identatlon effective pressure can be related to lllconfined compres­
sive strength (Assur, 1972; Croasdale and others, 1977). &.It the results of this study shew
that the FfT8x/dhOu Is as high as 8 for SITe I I aspect ratios at lOll velocity. This SL.ggests
that the mode of fal lure Is flaking even for I CltI aspect ratios. In· later experlrrents on Im­
pact of cylindrical piles against floating Ice shoets, It was observed that flaking type
failure did Indeed occur even for aspect ratios as lOll as 0.6. It 'leS also observed that
the width of the Indentation was only slightly larger than the dlcrneter of the pile, which
again st.ggests a flaking 'type failure. The results of this study and observations I'T\3de In
the later experiments suggest that the failure of columnar Ice takes place In the flaking
mode regardless of the aspect ratio. Since the thickness of an Ice sheet Is a n Important
par~ter- r-elatecl to flaking failure, the veloclty-to-thlckness ratio (v / h) ma y be viEWed as
a flaking fal lure strain rate. This sLggestlon Is s Imilar In concept to the approxinate ex­
pression for Indentati on strain rate, E ::: v/4d, as proposed t)y' Mlrnel and Talssalnt (1977).
The decrease In maximum normalized force with Increasing velocity may be attrlruted to
a decrease In contact area as postulated by Korzhavln (1962). It m.ay also be explained
thrcugh statistical arguments as postulated by Kry (1976, 1961) In that there are multiple
zones of Ice fa Ilure around a st ructure; the probablll ty of s Imultaneals occurrence of these
damage zones decreases wIth Increasing velocity and dlaneter, and results In 1000er rraxlmum

forces.

7
 It shruld be mentioned here th~t the paraneters obtained thrwqh regression analysis
are on Iy valid for the range of variables cons Idered In this study. Any extrapolation
shOJI d be done wi th care. The ma)(lmum norma Ilzed forces as given by equation 3 approach a
constant value for large aspect ratios whereas they continue to d_e crease for large aspect
ratIos accordl ng to equations 4 and 5. There Is no reason for then to I eve I of f to a con­
stant value. Ag=Jin Invddng I<ry's (1978, 1981) statistical argunents, the ma)(lmum nonrell­
Ized force may continue to decrease with Increasing aspect ratIo.

Conclusion
Srrall-scale experiments were conructed to study the effect of aspect ratio and velocity
on Ice forces generated during Ice action on a rigid. vertical cylindrical structure. The
rrexlmum nonnallzed Ice forces were found to depend strongly on both aspect ratio and the

veloclty-to-thI dness ratio. An atterrpt to find dependence on the velocity-to-dlarreter

ratio -.-as not successful. The variation of the ma)(Imum normalized force with aspect ratio
and veloclty-to-thI ckness ratio 'fI0S defined ~ regression analysis and Is presented. WJen
allcwance Is made tor the anlsotrcplc prcpertles of columnar ice used In this study, the re­
sults of present study agree reasonably well with results of Atanas'yev and others (1971).
It Is also toond that the columnar Ice failed only In flaking mode for all aspect ratios.
The f i t of equations 4 and 5 to experlrrental data Is fOJnd to be better than that of equa­
tion 3. partlaJlarly at high a s pect ratios for which the values given by equations 4 and 5
continue to decrease with Increasing aspect ratio.

References

Afanas'yev, V.P., Dolgcpolov, I.V. and Shvayshten, Z.I., 1971 . Ice pressure on separate
supporting structures In the sea. Draft Translation 346. U.S. Army Cold. Regions Reseerch
and Engl neerlng Laboratory, Hanover, NH.
Assur, A•• 1972. Structures In Ice Infested ...aters. In Proceedings, I.A.H.R. Symposium on
Ice and Its Action on Hydraulic Structures, Leningrad, USSR, 26-29 SeptEmber, P. 93-97.
Croasdale, I<.R., Morgenstern, N.R. and f'.i..lttall, J.B., 1977. Indentation Tests to
Investigate Ice pressures on vertical piers. Jwrnal of Glaclol<>gf~ Vol. 19 (81), p.
301-312.
Freder1<lng, R., 1977 w Plane-strain c~resslve strength of columnar-grained and
granular-snOlll Ice. Joornal of Glaciology. Vol. 18 (80), p.505-516.
Freder1<.Ing, R., Sctlwarz, J., Wessels, E. and Hoffmann, L., 1982. Model Investigations of
Ice forces on cylindrical structures.. In Proceedl ngs, International Conference on ~rlne

Research, Ship Tectlnol<>gf and Ocean EngIneering (INTERMARITEC 82), Institute for Ship and
/Jerlne Technology, Technical University of Berlin, Ha-nburg, Gerrreny, p.341-349.
HlrCPfama, K., Sctlwarz, J. and WU, H., 1973. Model TeChnique for the Inv6sTIgation of Ice
forces on structures. In Proceedl ngs, Second lnternatl~al Conference on Port and Ocea ,n
Engineering Under Arctic Conditions, Reykjavik, Iceland, University of Iceland, August
27-30, p. 332-344.
Kato, 1<. and Soct'll, D.S., 1983. Ice action on pairs of cylindrical and conIcal struCTures.
CRREL Report 83-2 5 . U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and EngineerIng Laboratory, Hanover,
NH.
Kato, K•• Sodhi, 0.5., Haynes, F.Dw and Hirayama, F., 1982. Unla)(lal compressive strengthof
model Ice: A theoretical and experimental stooy. Internal Report 775. U.S. Army Cold
Regions Research and Engineerl ng Laboratory, Hanover, NH.
K orzhavl n, K.N., 1962. Action of Ice on engineering structures. Draft TranslatIon 260 •
.U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, NH.
I<ry, P.R., 1978. A statistical prediction of effectIve Ice crushing stresses on wide
structures. In Proceedings, 4th International ffisoclatlon of H)<traullc Research Symposium
on Ice Problens, UniversIty of Lulea, Lulea, Sweden, 7-9 August, P. 33-47.

8
Kry, P.R., 1981. Scale effects In continuous crushing of Ice. In Proceedings, 5th
International Assocl~tlon of H'fIrauilc Research Symposl~ on Ice Problems, Lav~1

University, Quebec, Cenada, 21-31 July, P. 565-580.

~~tta'nen, M., 1983. Dynamic Ice-structure InteractIon during contlnuQJs crushing. CRREL
Report 83-5. U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering LaborZitory~ Hanover, NH.
Michel, B. and TOJssalnt, N., 1977. M3chanlsrrs and theory of Indentation of Ice plates.
JOJrn.1 of Glaclolog,.. Vol. 19 (91), p. 285-300.
NakaJima, H.. Koma. N. and Inoue, M., 1981. The Ice force acting on a cylindrical pile. In
Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Port, end Ocean Engineering Under
Arctic Conditions, Laval Un lverslty, Quebec, canada, p.517-525.
Neill, G., 1976. OynMllc Ice forces on piers and piles: An assessnent of deSign guidelines
In the II91t of recent research. Canadian JOJrnal of Civil Engineering. Vol.:3 (2), p.
305-341.
Ralston, T.O., 1980. Yield and plastic deforrretion In Ice crushing failure. In Pritchard,
R. (ed.) Sea Ice processes and models. University of washington Press, p. 234-245.
Saekl, H. and Ozaki, A., 1980. Ice forces on piles. In Tryde, P. (ed.) Proceedings, IUTAM
Symposlun on Physics and Med'lanlcs of Ice, Sprlnger-Yerlag, Ne. York, p. 342-350.
SodhI, 0.5., Kato, K., Haynes, F.D. and Hlray1!lma, K., .1982. Determining the d'leracterlstlc
length of model Ice sheets. Cold Regions Science and Technology. Vol. 6 (2), p. 99-104.
Tlmco, G.W., 1983. UnlaxlZlI and plane-strain c~resslve strength of rode I Ice. IVlnalsof
Glaclolog,., Vol. 4, p. 289-293.

9
 lAHR Ice Symposium 1984
Hamburg

THE EFFECT OF STRUCTURAL PROPERTTES O~

ICE-INDUCED SELF-EXCITED VIBRATIONS

Mauri Maattanen, professor University of Oulu Finland

ABSTRACT

Ice-induced self-excited vibrations in bo ttom-founded structure s due to

laterally moving ice sheet were measured in model tests with about 1 : 10
scale ratio. The varied parameters were the stiffness of the structure,
the mass of the superstructure and the inclination of the structure at the
waterline. In all tests ice velocity was increased with constant rate to
cover ice failure modes from ductile to brittle. The results of crushing
tests indicate that ice-induced vibrations are the more pronounced the more
there is energy interchange between the structure and ice , e.g. with flex­
iblestructures and heavy superstructures. The' results prove that the fre­
quency of crushing force is controlled by the propertie s of ice and the
natural frequencie s of the struc_ture. The incidence angle at the waterline
has its effect on the velocity when ice failure mode changes from bending
to crushing with self-exc ited vibration s.

11
1. INTRODUCTION

Field measurements have indicated that the ice force is not constant while
a constant thickness ice sheet is crushing against a vertical or a near
vertical narrow offshore structure. Ice force histories consist both ran­
dom and continuously repeative fluctuations. The random part can easily
be explained to be a result of random variations in ice properties and ice
failure starting at random locations along the contact area. For the con­
tinuously repeative part of the ice force there still exist different opin­
ions, whether it is a property of ice, a result of the dynamic behaviour
of the structure, or a result of both the properties of ice and structure
in dynamic ice structure interaction.

Peyton 1968 was the first to pay attention on continuous ice force fluctua­
tions with a frequency of about 1 Hz. He judged it to be a property of ice
even though the structure in question had its lowest natural frequency also
at 1 Hz. Blenkarn 1970 suspected Peyton's deductions and suggested that
the structure as well has its effect on the crushing frequency. In his
model tests, however, he did not find any effect to the crushing frequency
by changing the first natural frequency of the structure. Neill 1976 and
Michel 1978 proposed that the constant crushing frequency results from the
tendency of ice to break into floes of certain size, 0.2 - 0.5 times the
ice thickness. Reddy et a1. 1975 supposed ice force to have a character­
istic spectrum of frequencies and then calculated the dynamic response of
the structure to be filtered by the dynamic properties of the structure.

Considering the dynamic ice-structure interaction Iwith the structure mod­

elled as a multi degree of freedom system and ice force dependent on the
loading rate r1iiiitUinen 1977 explained the crushing frequency to be a result
of self-excited. vibrations in which both the ice and structural properties
are as important. Toyama et a1. 1983 concluded to a similar model of self­
excited ice-induced vibrations and analyzed the results of their model
tests with a single degree of freedom system.

Lipsettet a1. 1980 conducted in-field measurements with bridge piers and
came into a conclusion that ice is having two characteristic failure fre­
quencies, a low range below 2 Hz and a high range around 20 Hz, and the
structure does not affect on the ice force. On the contrary in-field meas­
urements with offshore lighthouses by Miiiittanen 1975 and 1981 indicate that

12
the natural frequencies of the structure also control the ice force fre­
quency in crushing.

Laboratory tests to clear out the problem of dynamic ice-structure inter­

action have been conducted at US Army CRREL Ice Engineering Facility since
1978 . The first tests (M~~tt~nen 1983) all had a constant stiffness
against the ice force and a constant mass in the supers tructure except two
vibration isolated superstructure tes ts . The results indicated that both
the propertie s of the ice and the struc ture have their effect on the inter­
action ice force. The dependence of crushing frequency on ice velocity,
ice strength as well as on the natural modes of the structure were explained.

In further tests at CRREL in 1980 and 1981 structural stiffnes s and mass
properties and the geometry at the waterline were varied. Hayne s and Sodhi
1983 desribe the effect of ice velocity, thickness and strength , and of
the shape of the structure at the waterline on the ice force and on the
transition from ice bending failure to crushing with a stiff st ruc tural
configuration. In this paper the effects of s tructura l ma ss and stiffness
on the dynamic ice-structure interaction are analyzed.

2. LABORATORY TESTS

Ice- structure dynamic interaction tests that are described in this paper
are continuation to ice crushing tests, with urea as dopant to sca le down
ice streng th and modulus of elasticity, start ing in 1978 at CRREL test ba­
sin . Test set -up, proce dures, instrumentation and analyzing techniques
are the same that are reported by M~~tt~nen (1983) a~d Kato & Sodhi
(1983). A brief description is given, however. Dynamic ice-structure in­
teraction in crushing was si mulated by pushing ice sheet against a bottom­
founded model structure. Model scale was about 1 : 10. By positioning
the foundation support clamp to different level s and by changing the super­
structure mass both the stiffne ss and mass properties could be varied. By
chan~ing the inclination of the test pile at the waterline the ice failure

mode could be changed from crushin g to bending. In strumentation included

strain gauges to measure ice forces and accelerometers to measure the dy­
namic response of the structure. Direct analog plotters, digital signa l
analyzers and desktop computers were used to analyze the frequency cor.ten~
of signals and to refine the ice force records from dynamic inertia effects
of the model structure itself.

13
The objectives of these tests were the effects of structural properties on
ice-induced vibrations. Two different pile stiffnesses and three different
superstructure masses were used in tests and in each case also the pile
inclination angle was varied. The pile width was kept constant 103 mm.
All test s were conducted by linearily increasing (constant acceleration)
the ice velocity from 3 to 100 mm/s. The compilation of test conditions
and some re sults are given in Table 1.

Table 1. Tes t conditions. of is fle xural st rength with a cantilever

(push down), B i s pile inclination angle from the horizon, fo
is the lowes t natural frequency of the structure as measured in
separate calibration tests, Fma xi s the maximum ice force of the
whole test, Fav average value and Fstd standard deviation for
the ice force during a 1. 8 second samp le in the most significant
vibration phase. The pile stiffness in tests 73 to 78 was
1. 25 kN/mm and 8.1 kN/mm in tests 79 to 87.

Test h of ,
mm kPa
B
deg
fo
Hz
Fmax
kN
Fav
kN F~~d
73 43 77 87 6.0 3.10 1. 70 0.50
74 45 77 52 6.0 0.70 0.70 0.30
75 47 77 69 6.0 2.00 0.84 0.38
76 50 78 52 7.5 1. 10 0.63 0.22
77 50 78 69 7.5 2.60 1.10 0.78
78 50 78 87 7.5 4.50 2.50 1. 10
79 52 77 87 10.0 3.00 2.10 0.61
80 52 77 52 10.0 1.30 0.69 0.23
81 52 77 73 10.0 3.30 1.40 0.64
82 48 128 87 24.0 4.50 2.60 0.83
84 48 128 73 24.0 6.50 3.60 1.80
87 46 96 52 24.0 0.70 0.24 0.14

Ice was very homogenou s and thickness variation s very small in all tests
from 73 to 87. Flexural st rength was practically identical except in tests
82, 84 and 87. The modulus of elasticity wa s measured by the infinite
plate on elastic foundation method. The E/a ratio was always better than
1200.
In all tests at low velocity range a saw tooth like ice force pattern ap­
peared first. At higher velocities continuous vibration s occured with the
l owest natural frequency of the pile except in tests 82, [4 and 87 regard­
les s of whether ice wa s failing by crushing or by bending. In these two
cases the pile had its stiffest configuration with no superstructure mass
and with ice failing by bending.

14
3. THE EFFECT OF PILE STIFFNESS

Tests 78 and 79, see Table 1, are used to analy ze the pile stiffnes s ef­
fect. lJith ice velocity less than 30 mm/s there is no significant differ­
ence between the two ice force records. Both can be described as a saw
tooth 1 ike with some randomness included. \·Iith increasing velocitv, after
continuous vibrations - resonant type - develo~ the effect of stiffness
becomes evident. Regardless of otherwise identical conditions the crushing
frequency is different. In both cases it is the natural frequency of the
test pile, 7.5 and 10.0 Hz. In earlier test (Maattanen 1983) the pile
stiffness was 2.3 krUmm, \~hich is between the present values, and then the
crushing frequency was in similar conditions 8.5 Hz, which was then the
natural frequency of the test pile.

In the case of the more flexible pile, test 78, resonant vibrations start
at 30 mm/s ice velocity and then persist through the rest of the velocity
range up to 100 mm/s which was the maximum available in these tests. The
maximum dynamic response occurs at a wide velocity range around 70 mm/s
with no definite peak amplitude velocity. In the case of stiff pile, test
79, resonant type vibrations start also at 30 mm/s ice velocity but this
state vanished with velocities higher than 90 mm/s. Also in the resonant
range the ice force repetition is not clean but includes some randomness.
Also vibration amplitudes are much lower, compare the standard deviation
values in Table 1, and ice force history samples in Fig. 1.

4. THE EFFECT OF SUPERSTRUCTURE MASS

Tests, 73, 78, 79 and 82 are used to analyze the effect of superstructure
mas s on ice-induced continuous vibrations. These tests present two differ­
ent superstructure masses on piles with two different stiffnesses, see
Table 1. Hence two comparison pairs are available. In both cases the in­
crease of superstructure mass results in the increase of resonant type of
vibrations.

Considering the more flexible case, tests 73 and 78, the increase of super­
structure ma ss , that reduced the natural frequency by 20 %, increased the
dynamic response by 35 %, see ice force samples in Fig. 1. In the case of
the stiff test pile, tests 79 and 82, the decrease of superstructure mass,
that increased the natural frequency form 10.0 to 24.0 Hz, reduced the dy­
namic response dramatically: continuous resonant type vibrations vanished

15
 I ! I I

i;L ',:,' '::, >, :"~ 'S '-'-, , c :iEF'i; ,,(-<!T:':;;: :,,,i ,: H:~'j.

, . l~.
i~~' .' ':'I; - J:O·- ,·" p·d:::''' :,~r..: ·· ,;', . ,I. " :: . -" i-. =j§
;&: ;1'.. -:: ~ ,- .. ,,;, -. I ~
I. ' - , b~~ .. ,":'."'1: A: ~ -' . - -j- ~. -j::..__
0t':~>. , :::,::: :: ... _" . :'.~=-'-

TeST .,~ .".:

'6 ",'"Is

: ;

i ,.
L ,i:

Fig. 1. Examples of ice force plots.

16
at 24 Hz. However, after each ice failure by crushing, there was an ini­
tiation of vibrations at 24 Hz during the load transient, but these vibra­
tions were soon damped out. Hence the stiff structure with a light super­
structure is insensitive for ice-induced vibrations during crushing. Later
a theoretical analysis according to the theory of self-excited ice-induced
vibrations will be carried out to determine whether the natural mode in
question is dynamically stable for ice-induced vibrations.

In test 82 a more pronounced ice force pattern appears with low velocities
once every 0.8 s. The dominant vibration component is at 2.5 Hz, which
happens to be the natural frequency of the ice-pull ing mechanism-carriage
system (11ai,atanen 1983). In all other cases the frequency of ice force,
while the continuous vibration occured, was the natural frequency of the
test pile, just as in the case of varying the pile stiffness.

5. THE EFFECT OF PILE INCLINATION

The test cases in Table 1 indicate the effect of the pile inclination giv­
ing four different stiffness or superstruc~ure mass comparison cases while
the pile inclination was varied between 52 and 87 degrees from the horizon.
Only the cases with almost vertical pile, 87 0 , ice failure was by crushing,
othrrwise by bending. In some instances buckling initiation was observed
and subsequent flexural wave development in the ice sheet, but this was not
a significant feature in these tests.

The general trend is that with tee decreasing tilt angle ice forces and
vibration levels decreas~. This is true for both maximum and average val­
ues as well as for the standard deviation which are the measure of vibration
levels. The exception is test 84 which has also otherwise highest ice
strength. Maybe this is the factor which promotes crushing instead of
bending failure with 73 degree inclination and thus increase ice forces.

To geta figure on the reduction of vibration levels with the inclination

angle the following examples are given: ~ith the flexible pile vibration
levels reduced to 89 and 34 % from the near vertical case with inclination
angles of 69 and 52 degrees. In the case of stiff configuration the cor­
responding reduction figures are 67 and 40 %. An interesting observation
was that continuous vibrations at the natural frequency of the test pile
persisted regardless of whether ice vias fail ing by crushing or by benrling.
The vel.ocity range of resonant vibrations was even wider with ice failure

17
in bending than in crushing.

The effect of the inclination angel with flexible structures is similar

as reported by Kato & Sodhi (1983) for stiff structures. With decreasing
inclination the maximum ice force always reduces. The transition velocity
of the ice failure from bending to crushing increases with decreasing in­
clination angles.

6. CRUSHING FREQUENCY

When the continuous vibration pattern developed in these tests the crushing
frequency was always that of the lowest natural frequency of the structure.
Also the natural frequency 2.5 Hz of the ice pushing mechanism was observ­
ed in these tests with the stiff pile. This proves definitely, that crush­
ing frequency is not a property of ice to fail into floes of certain size
or that ice is having a characteristic failure frequency, but that the
crushing frequency is controlled at a wide velocity range by the frequen­
cies of dynamically unstable natural modes of the structure. This is in
conjunction with the theory of self-excited ice-induced vibrations.

At the beginning of tests with low velocities a saw tooth like an ice force
pattern is repeating itself. Then the cru~hing frequency is controlled
both by the properties of the ice and the structure as explained by Maat­
tanen (1983) The effective stiffness of the pile and ice pushing mecha­
nism have to be observed. In this context no detailed analysis on the ini­
tial crushing frequency is performed.

7. DISCUSSION

The continuous ice-induced vibration always occured at the lowest natural

frequency of the structure. As this took place whether the pile stiffness,
s~perstructure mass or pile inclination was.varied it excludes the possi­

bility that ice properties or failure floe size could control the crushing
frequency with increasing ice velocity.

Th~ tests with different structural properties indicate that ice-induced

self-excited vibrations - especially the continuous phase - are more likely
with flexible structures and with heavy superstructures . (This is true
only for conventional structures, not for a structure with a vibration iso­
lation system.) The common result due to decreasing stiffness or increas­
inq mass is the decreasing natural frequency of the structure. However,

18
this is not a sufficient reason to judge which structure is susceptible
for ice-induced vibrations and which is not.

Considering the energy balance a more obvious "explanation follows : the

easier the energy interchange from the ice to the structure and back to ice
crushing is, the higher level vibrations are to be expected. The structure
behaves in this process like an energy storage. Whether it is elastic
energy or kinetic energy it can be later retrieved in the crushing phase.
Because a flexible structure stores more elastic energy than a stiff struc­
ture it is more susceptible for ice-induced resonant type vibration . A
structure with a heavy superstructure is capable to store more kinetic
energy than a light superstructure and is therefore more prone for contin­
uous vibrations. Of cause in this case the kinetic energy has to be con­
verted into elastic energy at the points of maximum displacements during
vibrations, but anyhow during the load build-up period and the crushing
phase it helps energy transfer between the ice and the structure.

There is even full scale experience on the mass effect on ice-induced vi­
brations in Finland. The first Kemi II steel lighthouse was originally
very sensitive for ice-induced vibrations. After the vibration isolated
superstructure was changed on the original foundation the vibration levels
were significantly reduced and with thin ice totally suppressed. The main
difference was that the superstructure mas; was not any more capable to
participate into energy interchange. The effect of increased damping was
of minor importance when compared to stiffness or mass forces during vi­
brations.

CONCLUSIONS

Laboratory tests for ice crushing or for bending against a vertical or an

inclined pile structure have indicated strong effects of pile stiffness
and superstructure mass on developing ice forces. The data proves that
continuous resonant type crushing occurs at a frequency which is control­
led by the natural frequencies of the structure and that ice is not having
any characteristic crushing frequencies or tendency to break into floes of
certain size, which would then determine crushing frequencies.

With decreasing pile stiffness or with increasing superstructure mass vi­

bration response becomes stronger. Energy interchange from ice to the
structure during the ice force build-up, and vice versa in the crushing

19
phase, is the decisive factor for the occurence of self-excited ice-induced
vi brations. Energy interchange is easiest with flexible structures with
heavy structures and hence they are most susceptible for ice-induced vi­
brati ons.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author is grateful for Dr. D. Sodhi and Mr. D. Haynes, and for the per­
sonnel of CRREL Ice Engineering Laboratory for conducting the actual test
work at the CRREL ice tank.

REFERENCES

Blenkarn, K.A., 1970. Measurement and Analysis of Ice Forces on Cook Inlet
Structures. Offshore Technology Conference, D"allas, Texas.
Haynes, F.D. and Sodhi, D.S., 1983. Ice Forces on Model ~larine Structures.
Proc. POAC-83. Technical Research Center of Finland, Espoo.
Lipsett, A.lL and Gerard, R., 1980. Field ~1easurements of Ice Forces on
Bridge Piers 1973 - 1979. Report SWE 80-3, Alberta Research Council,
Edmonton.
Michel, B. and Toussain, N., 1976. Mechanisms and Theory of Indentationof
Ice Plates. Symposium on Applied Glaciology, Cambridge.
Maattanen, M., 1975. Experiences of Ice Forces Against a Steel Lighthouse
Mounted on the Seabed, and Proposed Constructional Refinements. Proc.
POAC-75. University of Alaska, Fairbanks.
Maattanen, M., 1977. Stability of Self-Excited Ice-Induced Structural Vi­
brations. Proc. POAC-77. Memorial University of Newfoundland, St.
John's.
Maattanen, M., 1981. Experiences with Vibration Isolated Lighthouses.
Proc. POAC-81, Universite Laval, Quebec City.
Maattanen, M., 1983. Dynamic Ice-Structure Interaction in Continuous
Crushing. CRREL Report 83-5, Hanover, NH.
Neill, C., 1976. Dynamic Ice Forces on Piers and Piles. As Assesment of
Design Guidelines in the Light of Recent Research. Canadian Journal of
Civil Engineering, Vol. 3, p. 305 - 341.
Peyton, H.R., 1968. Ice and r~arine Structures. Ocean Industry, Parts 1
2 and 3, March, September, December.
Reddy, D.V., Cheema, P.S. and Swamidas, A.S.J., 1975. Ice Force Response
Spectrum Modal Analysis of Offshore Towers. Proc. POAC-75, University
of Alaska, Fairbanks.
Toyama, Y. Sensu, T., Minami, M. and Yashima, N., 1983. Model Tests on
Ice-Induced Self-Excited Vibration of Cylindrical Structures. Proc.
POAC-83, Technical Research Center of Finland, Espoo.
20
 IAHB Ice Symposium 1984

Hamburg

MODEL TESTS AND IN SITU BE1~VIOUR OF PRESTRESSED

ANCHORS IN SNOW AND ICE

Hans L. Jessberger
Professor of Civil Engineering Ruhr-Universitat Bochum \~est Germany

Karl-Heinz Bassler
Dipl. -Ing. Ruhr-Universitat Bochum West Germany

Abstract

The new anc hor system consists of an inner steel rod with a base plate
which is lowered into a drilled hole. The hole is partly filled with pow­
dered snow on top of which a stcel ,ube is placed with a diameter equal to
the hole diameter. The steel tube is closed at the bottom. By pullin g the
inner rod against the tube the snow inside the hole is prestressed forming
a stopper. The long time bearing capacity and the creep deformation of this
anchor system is simulated in model tests. The one year behaviour of anchors
of such type being installated near th e Georg-von-Neumayer-Station in the
Antarctica is reported.

1. Introduction
Increasing engine e ring designed structures are built on top of snow or ice
in arctic or antarctic regions. Several types of structures like masts or
hangars need to be kept in position by mean s of t e nsion anchors. This
paper describes an anchor system which was developed for tension forces of
10 to 30 kN. It was intended that the anchors can easily be installed wi thou
special equipment or materials. Model tests were performed in the labora~

tory. The test results are presented and discussed. The anchors for a 45 m
high meteorological mast at the Georg-von-Neumayer-Station in the Antarc­
tica were designed and during the 1982/83 Expedition placed on s ite.
Measurements of forces and deformations were taken during an one year
period. ThQ results are reported and discussed.

21
2. Description of the anchor sxstem
The basic principle of the anchor is that of the well known tent-peg. The
tension for ce is acting not in the direction of the anchor's axis but in­
clined to the axis. The reaction of the anchor can be subdivided into an
- almost - vertical tension and into a horizontal compre ssion. Fig. 1 shows
schematically that the vertical tension is transfered to the surrounding
snow or ice by a column of compressed snow and a base plate-anchor rod
system similar to a grouted and prestressed earth anchor. The horizontal
compression is taken over by a steel plate which pushes against a mass of
refilled and compacted processed snow.

Fig. 1: Schematic drawing of the new Fig. 2: An anchor consisting of two

anchor system anchor rods and one compres­
sion plate
The precompressing of the snow column takes place between the base plate
and the lower c losed end of a tube by means of a rigging-screw. This pre­
compressing leads to an ex c ellent contact and immediate stress transfer
from the anchor to the surrounding snow Or ice.

Depending on the tension force the anchor con s ists of one, two or more
tension members. The compression plat e is also dimensioned according to
the external load. The anchor of Fig. 2 has two tension members of 4 m
length in total and a compression plate of an area of 1 m'.

22
For inst~llation of the anchor a hole is drill~d down to the requested
depth by using the SIPRE-drill (s~e Fig. J). The anchor rod with base
plate is l owered down into the hole. The hole is filled with snow up to a
precalculated length. The snow sho uld be compacted by tamping before the
tab e is slipped over the rod. After placing the steel plate and mounting
the head beaQ (U-steel) the snow is precompressed additi ona ly by driving
the rigging-screw. After this a pit is digged our large enough to place
the steel plate in front of the tubes and to connect it with the head
beam. Than the pit is refilled with snow which i s also compacted. After
one day the compressive strength o f the snow can reac h about 0, 3 MN/m'
which is sufficient for the horizontal bearing capacity of the plate.
Details for a first approach analy s i s i s given in Chapt er 4.

- ~- '
..--- -- .----- --~

- .­
....SIPRE DRILL

-~ - , ----­
Fig. 3: Drilling for the anchor rod

J. Model te sts
3.1 Tension tests
Prior to the in situ application the behaviour of the anchor system was
studied in plane strain model tests. The model container (Fig. 4) has the
inner dimensions of 20.4x25.4x2.0 cm. It is made of polyethylene with a
perspex front plate. The inner surfa c es except that of the front plate
are covered with sand -paper in order to produce wall friction. The anchor
ha s a cross section of 2x2 cm; the precompressed snow portion has a length
of lA = 9 cm.

Antarctic firn wa s crushed and than placed i nto the coutainer and compac­
ted to a density of 0.55 g/c~. The space for the anchor was excavated and
after placing the anchor rod the r emain ing volume was carefully refilled
and compacted. With the polyethylene-"tube" the refil led snow was precom­
pac ted by driving the rigging-screw reducing the length lA from 10 cm to 9 cm.

23
 V ANCHOR ROO

RIGGING SCREW
r 0 0lAL GA'-'GE

PC:RS?E X
'ZE J /'
I":" - -- - -- -
I

I ~'
v ?E·",UBE "
I
t SANDPAPER/'

~j
I
r, ., 1!J,4 em
r- :;>SANOPAPER I! I

n
I
~ PR ECOMPRES5@
~SNOW
I
I

r
0
.' 1-
2em ':""-f 25,4cm- - 1

OEAO
WE IGHT ----.;

Fig . 4: Schematic drawing of th e mode l container

a) b)
Fig. 5: a) The model in t he first s tage of lo ading of te s t V1
b) The model a t the end of test V1

24
The picture of Fig. Sa shows the already loaded model anchor in the con­
tainer during the first stage of test VI with a load of P 230 N. (The
v
"tube" is hidden by the ruler). Fig. 5b is a foto taken after test VI and
the uplift of the snow surrounding the precompacted snow column is visible
as difference between the horizontal lines marked at the surface of the
snow and at the surface of the perspex fron plate. In test V2 the marking
lines had a smaller distance. Therefore the deformation pattern in the
vincinity of the anchor at the end of test V2 is clearly shown in Fig. 6.
But it should be mentioned that pressumably the precompressing procedure
has generated a symmetric deformation pattern related to the horizontal
center line at O.SolA. The c reep deformation in the verti cal direction
of about 5 mm changed this symmetric pattern to the shape of Fig. 6.

Fig. 6: Test V2, foto taken after th~ test

The time dependent vertical deformation 6 s of the anchor of the model

v
tests VI and V2 are drawn in Fig. 7. Both tests started one day after
model preparation. Based on the assumption of a correct plane strain model
the shear stress over the anchor length lA is as follows:

Test V1 P 230 N T 6,4 N/cm2

v
Test V2 P 136 N T 3,8 N/cm 2
v
P 186 N T S,2 N/cm 2
v
P 236 N T 6,6 N/cm 2
v
The deformation-time-curve of test VI shows a fairly linear creep behaviour.
The creep curve of test V2 is also almost linear for the lower forces.
After two days the highest tension force leads to an increasing deformation

25
 TEST V1 TEST V2
l'.sv[mml 6s v'lmml
6.0 60

~ 0 /.0 I 236 j/
20
23~
V
2.0
Zl186 J/ Y

0
~-
1 2 3
t Ihl U
Y 2 ~ 6

t[DAYSI

Fig. 7: Vertical displacements versus time for test VI and test V2

rate but still with a much lower deformation rate as in test VI. This re­
s ult of test V2 makes obvious the dramatic influence of the age of proces­
sed snow including the influence of precompacting introduced by the two
lower tension forces of 136 and 186 N. Surprisingly there is no quick
response of the system to the load increase.

After unloading the test V2 was restarted with a tension force of 136 N.
The time deformation curve of this test V2a is given in Fig. 8. During
this test lasting for 67 weeks the total deformation was 15 mm with the
tendency of reduc ing deformations rate. This again indicates an incr ease
in strength with age and probably with increasing density caused by the
loading.

10~r-----~-----i ------t------b
lS r-----~----_+------~
' ----__+
y---­
10 I-­- -f-- --:;;".-f<'--::::..---1-----+ 10' r-----t-----~-=~~----__r
f..--­
LV 10'/

tlDAYSI I[DAYSI

o lGQ 200 )00 ' 00

Fig. 8: Vertical deformation and s hear viscosity versus time for test V2a
The shear viscosity ~ for the test V2a was calculated according to equation
(1) .

The data are plotted in Fig. 8. The time effect is obvious, an influence

of density increase could not be determined.

26
3.2 Compression tests
The horizontal bearing capacity of the plate-pile system (see Fig. 1) was
investigated in a sand bed rather than in snow because of pract i ca l reasons.
The results of these tes t s indi cated a remarkable influence of the vertica l
compression pla te to the bearing capa city compared with test per fo rmed
only with horizontal loade d pile s but without a compression plate. This
finding is vali ed only in th e range of small deformation s because t he in­
fluence of the plate is a lmost lost when the passiv earth pressure in front
of the plate is reached . The tests are not described herein.

4 . Anchor design for a 45 m- mast

In th e winter 1982/83 at the Georg- von-Neuma yer - Stat i on a 45 m- mast was t o
be built with th e con f igura t ion show n in Fig . 9. The design loads caused
by wind for ces are indi cated a t th e l e ft site of th e figure whereas at the
ri gh t site the prestressing forces are give n wh i ch should be ef f ective con­
tinously.

DE SIGN LOADS PRES TRE SSING LOADS

Fig . 9: 45 m-mast
It was proposed to use for the outer anchor point s an anchor with two
anchor rods corresponding to Fig. 1, and one steel plate. For the inner
anchor point s one anchor rod is suf ficient. The dimen sions are given below.

I/J length
base plate anChor rot tube steel plate
cm cm cm cm
11 400 + 20 300 100 x 100

27
4.1 Vertical forces
The short term bearing capacity of the a nchor can be determined using tests
results published by Kovacs (1967). The data where analysed with the
assumption that over a certain length leff of the anchor the ultimate shear
strength Tult is acting. Tult was t a ken from Jessberger and Dorr (1981) as
460 KN/m2 for the density of 0.55 g/cm'. The effective length leff accor­
ding to the anchor tests by Kovacs (1967) are calculated from equation (2).
P - (QA+QS) (2)
Tu I t ' 1f • D

with P = extraction load

self weight of the anchor of the
length I in c luding snow
D = diameter of the anchor plate

The data are summarized in Fig. 10. The extrapolating of this relation to
the new, more slender anchors leads to an ultimate short term bearing
capacity of 111 KN for one 4 m anchor rod. It was not examined how far the
relation of Fig. 10 can be extrapolated, but the calculated safety factor
o f 8 seems to be sufficient in nny case .

--CALCULATED
AFTEn I KOVACS, 19671
1. - - ­
----EXTRAPOLATED

Fig. 10: Evaluation of the anchor extraction tests reported by Kovacs (1967)
The long term beh av iour of the anchors related to vertical forces can be
estimated with the assumption of viscous creep. For evaluating equation
(1) the magnitude of the shear viscosity ~ is to be known. In Fig. 11 the
shear viscosity versus density is plotted using data from various sour c es.

28
 N·s
Il ICrfiLl
10'0 -- I
T- 01 ­
0/_
0/._
.... ~
G) I (2)
-- "'01 0
//
10 9 - -. . - -- ._ .

10 8
o "'-'~ITG
-_.
I
1-- ­
)

--
I

10' A
v 0.'
I

06 CIS
PIg/cm31
Fig. 11: Shear viscosity versus density

Curve 1 model test V2a (see Fig. 8)

Curve 2 equations reported by Mellor (1974) are modified to equation (3)

3'v
1.5 (1 - \*1)
(3)
3 - 2' b
vtl
The compactive viscosity nc as function of density is taken from
Dorr (1984) and V is taken from Mellor (1974)
Curve 3 ac cording to Mellor (1974) the shear viscosity can be expressed
as function of the "uniaxial stress visco s ity n and the compa~­
E
tive viscosity n ~'which leads to equation (4).

~ ~ i· [(~ + 3 nc) +~nE2+22' nc • T"lE + 9 n~1 ] (4)

nc and n were taken from Mellor (1974)
E
Curve 4 according to Ambach and Eisner (1981)

Dorr (198 4) measured the density of the upper portion of the Ekstrom-Ice­
shelf and he found in the depth betlveen 3 and 4 m a density of 0.525 g / cm'.
With this number it seems reasonable to chose from Fig. 11 the shear vis­
cosity ~ ~ 10 ~~;
9

According to Fig. 9 the prestressing force for one anchor rod is not
higher th a n 7 . 5 kN. Hith this the vertical extraction deformation ca n
reach ~sv ~ 3.4 cm per year, which is a tolerable amount.

4.2 Hor izontal force s

For the analysis of the short term bearing ca pacity in the horizontal
direction data of the compressive strength ~f sintered snow reported by
Butkovich (1956) are used. In a ¢ ~ a-analysis and with a reasonably
assumed s lip surface, the safety factor a gainst hor i zont a l failure i s
about 1.5 after 1 da y and about L, after 20 days.

29
,
 The long term behaviour is gouverned by th e compression of the snow in
front of the steel plate. It is assumed that the influence of the hori­
zont a l l oad has an effect to the distance which is three times the plate
width. Over this length a mean stress 0 of a bout 1/3 of the stress in front
of the plate leads to compression of the snow, which can be calculated
with a known compactive viscosity nc o Taking into account the refillin~

and compaction of the snow in the pit in front of the plate a mean densi­
ty of 0.5 g/cm' was chosen. For this density according to Dorr (1984) the
compactive viscosity is nc ; 1.5 10 9 No; . Although
0 the data repor­
cm

ted by Dorr (1984) are valied for undisturbed snow this value is chosen

also for the snow mass in front of the plate being partly processed and

partly undisturbed snow.

The time dependent horizontal displacement is calculated using equation (5):

€; a ° t (5)

nc

with 1 chosen as 3 m and with the horizontal component of the long term

acting prestressing force (see Fig. 9). After 1 year horizontal displace­

ment can r each about 2.4 cm.

5. In situ-behaviour of the new anchor system

The design calculation showed that the anchor system is safe if the short

term bearing capacities are compared with the tension point forces resul­

ting from wind loads. On the other hand it was made evident that thcre

will be deformations which cause the need of adjusting prestressing loads

of th e tension wires. Parallel to the adju s tement the load and the d efor­

mation in one anchor point was meas ur ed. Fig. 12 shows schematically the

measuring s ystem with a load cell and a device for measuring the horiz on­

tal and vertical displacement relativ t o a tube driven in the snow in a

distance of 3 m apart from the anchor point.

Fig. 13 gives the mean vertical load for one anchor rGd of an outer anchor
point. During the first 2 months after installation the prestressing l oa d
was adjusted several times but later it was not possible partly because
of the darkness. The measurements indicate that there is a.\ instantanious
displa cement which is not dedec tible by the analytical model. But the time
dependent vertical deformation rate can be described using s hear viscosity
9
of ~ ; 10 ~.
em'

30
 _._ . - . ­
1'-'-'­ 1. tube
\ i 2. steel plate
i 3. wire eye
i 4. load cell
I 5. anchor rod with
rigging-screw
I
i 6. surveyor's rod

,
y.~
o~o
'L.!:c.0 ~ D

7. fixed tube · as
reference point
8. supporting ring
for the surveyur's
rod
9. spirit level
10. protection cover
Fig. 12 : Device for in situ-measurements
The horizontal prestressing load at the outer anchor point is shown in
Fig. 14. Similar to the top diagram of Fig. 13, Fig. 14 contains also the
measured and calcu:ated time dependent ho rizontal displacement. The calcu­
lation was performed according to Dorr (1984) using the density dependent
compactive viscosity nc and regarding the increase of nc with compaction
induced by the increase of the density. The calculation started with the
density of 0 . 42 g / c m3 in order to match approximately the measurements.

5 Pv [kN)
\

2.
12 h i IrJ
o 100 200
I [DAYS]
300 LOa
8 I I I
50 6s [mm)­
v
MEASUR~
~ --® a
I
t[DAYS]

I 1---­
100 200 300 LOa
La
®"""- ­ - -­
30 -­ - ­ 30 f-- - I -- -h C"'"ACCuhr-EO­ ;
I _-- -(
MEASURE r)

:::~:~,':-:~"-~~-~:::~~+-~
20
C ~CULATE V
~
10
~ t[DAYS]
t[DAYS]
o
/ 100 200 300 LOO
~~~100~~~2~00~·L-~3OO~~~
Fig. 13: Vertical load and vertical Fig. 14: Horizontal load and hori­
displacement versus time zontal displacement versus
of one anchor rod in-situ time of an anchor in-situ

31
6. SUIIDD<l ry
Recently a new an c hor system for use in snow or i c e was developed. The
system was tested in long term model tests. The results of this model tests
and also the results of in situ-measurements are reported and discussed.

A design method is presented which makes it possible to precalculate the

ultimate bearing capacity and also the long term deformation behaviour of
the anchor.

The comparison between measured and calculated deformations gives a good

confidence for practical application of the anchor system. Further obser­
vations should reconfirme the results.

7. Acknowledg ements
Financial and logistical support was provided by the Alfred-Wegener-Insti­
tute for Polar Research, Bremerhaven. During 1983 the in situ-deformation
measurements were taken by the station's crew.

References
Ambach, W., Eisner, H., 1981. Effective shear viscosity and effective bulk
viscosity of firn of a temperate glacier (Ke s selwandferner Oetztal
Alpes 1967-1978). Second Symposium on Applied Glaciology, New Hampshire,
U.S.A.
Butkovich, T.R., 1956. Strength studies of high density snow. CRREL-Report
RR 18
Dorr, R., 1984 . Zeitabhangiges Se tzungsverhalten von Grundungen in Schnee,
Firn und Eis am Beispiel der deutschen Georg-von-Neumayer- und Filchner­
Station in der Antarktis. Schriftcnr2ihe des Instituts fur Grundbau,
Wa ss erwesen und Ve rkehrswesen, Ruhr-Universitat Bochum, Serie Grundbau,
Heft 7.
Jessberger, H.L., Dorr, R., 1981. Untersuchung des Bruch- und Verformungs­
verhalten s von antarktischem Sc helfeis. Die Bautechnik 58 (11), p. 388­
394
Kovacs, A., 1967. Feasibility study of buried anchors in polar snow.
CRREL-Report, SR 107
Mellor. M., 1974. A Revi ew of basic .snow mechanics. International Symposium
on Snow Mechanics, Grindelwald, Switzerland

32
 WiR Ice Symposium 1984
1ft
•
Hamburg

ICE SCOUR AND ICE RIDGING S7UDIES

IN LAKe: ERIE

James D. Grass Ontario Hydro

Senior Engineering Geologist Geotechnical Engineering Department
700 University Avenue
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5G lX6

Abst ract

In 1980, Ontario Hydro proposed construction of a high voltage transmis­

sion cable system across the eastern basin of Lake Erie to connect the
Nanticoke generating station in Ontario, Canada to the presently undevel­
oped Coho site in Pennsylvania, USA. During marine geophysical surveys of
the lake bottom, ice scours were discovered in soft sediments in 13 to
25 m water depth on both the Canadian and American sides of the lake. The
ice scours were approximately 4.5 to 6 km long, 60 to 100 m wide and up to
2 m deep. Correlation of survey observations, gas pipeline dama'le and
diver observations of ice scours on the Canadian side confirmed their re­
cent age. Presh scours found on the American side were formed during the
winters of 1980/81 and 1981/82. Scours on the Canad ian side were pre­
served while scours on the American side Were obliterated from year to
year.

A helicopter supported ice observation program was carried out during the
winters of 1980/81 and 1981/82 to map ice ridges and measure ice thick­
nesses. The ice ridging process was observed and filmed during February,
1982. The location of scours is related to the occurrences of major ice
ridges which form at the edge of fast ice masses.

It was recommended that the proposed power cables be buried in shallo'.

trenches, excavated into the lake bottom materials to various depths to
protect the cables against damage from ice keels.

33
1. U [N rrlUDJCI' [ON

Lake Erie is one of the five Great Lakes situated on the international
bouler b e tween Canada and the !Jnited S tates. The lake is located at
longitu~e (:ig.
0 0
approximately 42 N latitude and 81 ,</ 1).

The lake is 388 km long, 92 km

~
i'j at it's maximum width and has
~ a surface area of 25719 km
2

( Hough, 1958) • The western

and central parts are quite
sha llow generally less than
20 m in dept h. The eastern

basin is much deeper with a

maximum depth of 64 m. The
mean water level elevation of
Figure 1 : Key Plan the lake is 174 m above sea
leve 1.

In 1980, Ontario Hydro proposed construction of five high voltage trans­

mission cables across the eastern basin of Lake Erie within a preselected
(;orridor 105 km long and 4.5 km wide. The power cables were to connect
the Nanticoke generating station located on the north shore of the lake in
an~ario, Canada to the presently undeveloped Coho site near Girard,
Pennsylvania, uSA on the south shore (Fig. 2). 'rhe selection of the opti­
mum cable routes was to be made based on lake bottom conditions determined
by geophysical surveys, bedrock drilling and soil sampling in the corri­
;Jor. During the geophysical surveys ice scours were discovered in the
corridor and adjacent areas. These scours and the related ice action
posed a serious threat to the long term continued operation of the power
cables upon their installation.

'rhis paper describes the methods and results of the ice scour investiga­
tions and related ice observation program. Preliminary results of a 1984
satellite monitoring program to track ice movements in Lake Erie by the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of Ann Arbor,
Ihchigan, iJSA are also discussed. A method of protecting the cables
against ice damage is briefly outlined.

34
The data collected during the summer and winter in vesti ga tions in Lake
Brie are considered to be of significant value to both the scientific
and engineering community even
though the cable crossing pro­
ject was cancelled in 1982.

2.0 MBTHODS OF INVESTIGATION

Extensive offshore investiga­

tions were carried out by the
Geotechnical Engineering
Department of Ontario Hydro
during the period June 1980 to
May 1982 to determine the lake
bottom cond i tions. These
investigations included (1)
£. A K e
marine geophysical surveys
utilizing side~scan sonar and
ec ho sound i ng equ ipment, ( 2)
sampling of soil and bedrock
using diamond drilllng equip­
eG1,.e. rd
ment mounted on Spud leg and
floating barges and ( 3) soil
sampling of soft mud using a
Benthos gravity samp ler.
Figure 2: Proposed Cable Corridor

The initial geophysical surveys in 1980 which covered the entire corridor
discovered long, wide, shallow gouges in the soft sediments in the near­
shore portions of the Canadian and American sides of the corridor. These
ice scours are a re s ult of ice keels grounding on the lake bottom and
leaving ploughed-out furrows in the sediment. Further detailed studies of
the scours were required to determine their maximum depth of penetration
into the sediment s , their location and reoccurrence patterns and the maxi­
mum depth of water in which scours occur. This data was necessary in
order to determine the most practical method of protecting the cables
against ice damage.

In 1981 and 1982, geophysical surveys were concentrated on the Canadian

and American nearshore areas which were considered to be susceptible to

35
ice scou r. The most prob.able locat ions fo r ice scour we re based on ice
ridge locations mapped while on helicopter surveys made during the pre­
vious winter. Scours were
t racked along their full
lengths and frequent depth of
penetration mea s urements were
made along each scour. Water
depths were measured contin­
uo usly along each survey
line. The s urvey vessel was
positioned u s ing a MINI-RANG8R
Fig ure ]:

surveying system. The loca­

Si d e-S ca n Son a r Record of Ice Scour

(Am er ic a n Side)
tions of the ice scours were

I-- n_-l determined from the survey

vessel's position.

Two Klein side-scan sonar

systems (100 and 500 kHz), an
Ocean Research Equipment (ORE)
s ub-bottom profiler and an
Atlas Deso echo sounder were
used for the geophysical

Figu r e 4:
s urveys. A single survey line
Sub b ottom Pro fi ler Record of Ice Scour
using the 100 kHz side-scan
(Canadi a n Si d e )

sonar covered a 100 m wide

area of the lake bottom. A high resolution examination of particular
scour s was made using the 500 kHZ unit. Figures 3 and 4 are examples of
ice scour r e cords obtained using the 100 kHz side-scan sonar and
sub-bottom profiler equipment respectively.

Further reference to the results of the ice s cour investigations can be

fo u nd in Ontario Hydro report nos. 80463, 81317 and 82032 filed with the
Ge o technical Engineering Department.

3.0 IC8 SCOUR OCCURR8NC8S

3.1 Canadian Side

Ice scours were found in soft, silty clay sediments in the southern part
of the Nanticoke approach area and in the area to the south of Nanticoke

36
Shoal. The scours that ran throu1h the :J Ullthern part of ttlP. c3bte · ~\)r-

ridar continued northeasterly into 3.n intensely scoured are.) .)dj.]c,~nt tr)

the c orridor (~ig. 5).

LAKE ERIE IW.L.I74 .1m!)

Figure 5: Ice Scours on Canadian Side

Ice scours appro~imately 4.5 to 6 km lon> and from 10 to 100 n wide were
observed. Some areas consisted of many scours overlapping one another.
The intensely scoured areas located northeast of the cable corridor were
up to 140 m wide. Scou r penet ra t ion dept hs We re measured on sub-bott01)
profiler records relative to the undisturbed, flat-11in> lake bottom
muds. The ma~imum measured singular depth of an ice scour was 1.7 m with­
in the intensely scoured area northeast of the corridor. Other scours
were generally less than 1 m deep with the corridor. Ice scou rs founcl
within the corridor were in water depths ranging from 13 to 20 m w~ile top
scours in the area to the south of Nanticoke shoal were found in water
depths from 13 to 25 m.

37
l':l e i ~.;e SCOdC; on ttl':' C,Jrl ,l,i ian :" irle tu~n·1 in a northeasterly to easterly
.Ji(~cti0n in the corridor and a northwestf?rl} dir ec tion in the area south
,}f ~ J.3nti..:oh~ Shoal ( ~·i ' l. 5). i~o s cour;"; '.-Jere foun d in the area immediately
.. ast of the Sh0ill. ro e~oldin this ice scour oattern, it is proposed that
the rock s hoal acts as an obstruction to ie '"! l:lovin1 into this area. A
fast ice mass forms on the shoal and ice mO \li n'1 into the area continually
j . l r~ l ::; into th~ E3st ice, Eormin9 an even larger ice mass around the shoal.
Ice ridges and associated ice keels movill') into this area with the ice
pack would be deflected by this fast ice barrier to the northeast or
s0uthwe st direction. Any ice keels [lenetrating the lake bottom could pro­
juce a similar scour pattern as the one observed. The area to the east of
t~e sho al appears to be protected fr o;n ice scour activity. Fast ice con­
ditions around Nanticoke shoal were observed and pho tographed during the
ice monitorin~ pro,)ram in 19B1 /d2 (see Section 5.0).

In Jeneral the penetration of ice scour s in the soEt sed iment s are ve ry
s ha llow in deep water, becoming pro1ressively wider and deeper as the
water becomes shallower. Side-scan sonar rec ords of scours that were
traCked along their entire lengths illustrate this fact guite clearly.

3.2 American Side

The 19BO geophysical surveys located in-filled scours in the cable cor­
ridor in 16 to 20 m of water about 7 to 9 km offshore. In the spring of
1981, further surveys were carried out in the same area of the corridor as
the 1980 surveys and in nearby areas. The 19 81 surveys revealed new,
fresh scours in the same ge neral area as the in-filled scours. These new
scours were oriented sub-»arallel to the shoreline in 17 to 22 m of
water. They were appro~imately 3.5 to 4.5 km long, from 10 to 60 m wide
and less than 1 m deep (Fig. 6 ).

'rhe s ide-scan sonar records showed piles of displaced soil at the end of
some scou rs (Fig. 3). Such piles could only be formed by the ice moving
and ploughin. soil by a 'bulldozing" action. These piles clearly indicate
that the ice was moving in an eastward direction during the scouring
process. rhis eastward movement of ice is consistent with the prevailing
westerly winds in this a rea.

38
 /

•N
LAKE ERIE IW.L. 174.7m!1

LEGEND

Bathymetric Co" tou rs

- - Ice ScOlJr (1911 Survey)

PENNSYLVANIA Ic40 Scour (1912 Survey)

Bedroc k

1~

Figure 6: Ic e Scours on American Side

A major scour was found in 16 m of water, 3 km off s hore from Pres qu'I s le.
The scour ran in an east-west direction, s ub-parall e l to the shoreline.
The side-scan sonar records showed that the ice scour c uts across large
dredged spoil piles excavated from nearby Erie harbour.

In 1982, a third ice scour survey c arried out over the same area as the
1981 survey and in other areas outside of the corridor showed that the
fresh scours found in 1981 had been obliterated. The earlier scours were
probably reworked by strong lake currents whi c h occur in this area.

The 1982 survey showed another series of new s cours at approx imately the
same location as the scour s found during previou s surveys. These scours
were oriented in an east-we s t direction parallel to the shoreline. They
all appear to be loc ated with a narrow band which corresponds clos ely to

39
the location of very hi'lh ice ridges which form at the edge of the fast
ice front about 7 to 9 km offshore.

4.0 AGE DATING OF ICE SCOJRS

4.1 Canadian Side

Scours on the Canadian side seem to be preserved from year to year, in the
low energy environment which prevails in the leeward side of Long Point
sand spit.

The relative age of some scours was determined by reviewing records of ice
damage to natural gas pipelines. The pipelines e~tend for several kilo­
meters in a distribution network in and adjacent to the corridor. The
1965 installation date of the pipelines provides a time reference point
for establishing the age of ice scours that cut across the pipelines. A
large nu:nber of pipeline breaks have been teported in the intensely
scoured area northeast of the corridor during the period 1967 to 1971. A
diver's observation of an ice scour cutting across a severed pipeline
located in this area provided the evidence to date a specific ice scour.
This particular pioeline break occurred in the winter of 1970/71. Other
scours located to the south of Nanticoke Shoal also cut across pipelines.
However, these pipelines have not been damaged since their installation in
1965. These scours must, therefore, predate the pipelines.

4.2 American Side

Scours on the American side were dated by comparing consecutively run geo­
physical survey records in the same areas of the corridor. The records
showed that new ice scours were formed during the winter of 1981 and again
in 1982. The 1981 scours appeared on the side-scan records as fresh
scours, which did not appear on the 1980 records.

The 1982 survey records showed that the fresh scours formed in 1981 had
been destroyed. However, new scours had formed sometime during the winter
of 1982 in the Same general area as the 1981 scours (Fig. 6).

rhe American side is more susceptible to ice scour activity than the
Canadian side since the American side is unprotected from strong westerly

40
winds and the movement of massive drifting ice floes whict, enJulf tlli s
area during the winter months generally every year.

5.0 ICE OBSERVATION PROGRAM

A helicopter sup?orted
ice observation program

- I£~~ was carried out in the

. ' ~C.\ :, \
.<
~.. f/I.:
4
'Ji eastern part of the lake

-~-1~-:r.' ,,,' / -.;llJ"

• . .' tf_" ,.. ....

. . '., .. (,~ ,..,..?" . . ,....~..:.

...... du ring the wi-nters of
• . -.' .J..:,,~. t'~' r. .+ 1980/81 and 1981/32.
'r;..:J. . ...... ~.}...~#..
'" ~. '.. - ~ ,.
<
"'~. ,---"'~"
.~- . ..
~
.
'.
This prog ram was intended

- . «--\ ~. ~.;, '-~ to locate and measure the

heights of ice ridges and
reca rd ice thicknesses.

Figure 7.­ Positioning of the heli­

Ice Ridge Formation copter was made by an
(ice blocks 45 cm thick)
onboard LORAN C naviga­
tional system.

General ice observations

of ice on Lake Erie, made
over the two year period,
indicated that ice condi­
tions change d ramat ica lly
on a daily basis. The
Figure 8.­ lake was frozen over com-
Schematic Illustration of Ice Ridge
Forma tion pletely during the months
of January and february in 1981 and 1982. Ice ridges form as a result of
wind-driven ice rafting and piling up in a manner similar to that shown in
Fig. 7 and fig. 8. Spectacular ridges of up to 10 m in height were
usually found at the edge of fast ice masses as on the American side and
on the Nanticoke Shoal on the Canadian side. These very high ridges
occurred in 16 to 22 m of water and were definitely grounded in these
areas. Ice thicknesses measured on large ice blocks in ridges or from
holes augered through the ice pack ranged from 20 to 60 cm.

41
Jurin') one of our helicopter surveys in februar y 1932, an oval-shaped ice
island (estimated to be 100 m wide ilnd 250 m long) was observed in the
mid-lak e area, about 40 km west of the corridor (Pig. 2). The surface of
the ice island was very rugged with ice pil"s and ridges reaching up to
10 In in hei,ht. Upon closer examination of this ice island, it was
noticed that the flat ice surrounding the island was moving quite rapidly
( est imated at 0.3 m/s) under strong westerly winds (estimated at
28 km / s). The ice island was acting as a barrier to the moving ice mass
with the result that a lee side slot was being cut out of the lake ice
forming a large tear drop shaped open water area at the ea s t end of the
i s land. The island was oriented with it's long axis in an eastwest direc­
tion. On the windward side of the island the flat ice sheet was moving
and collidinJ with the island causing the ice to break and pile up into a
2-3 m hi g h ridge (~ig. 71. The moving ice sheet was also being driven
down beneath the ice ridge to help form the deep ice keel (~ig. 8).
Bottom mud was observed being churn e d up into the water column by the

action of the descending ice blocks. Some ice b locks in the ridge were
clean but most were discoloured with fine silt and sand. The Ice dynamics
during the ice ridge formation and particularly the action of the flat ice
sheet being thrust down beneath the ice ridge was recorded on film. A
video tape of this film has been made and is available from the author.

Subsequent to this interesting discovery, an ice scour survey was carried

out in the area of the ice island. This survey revealed that an ice scour
had been formed by the grounded ice island. This ice scour was 2.5 km
long, 30 m wide up to 1.5 m deep and was found in 16 to 19 m of water.

5.2 Ice Movement Measurements in Lake Erie

Jurin, the 1984 winter season, NOAA carried out a monitoring program in
Lake Erie to measure ice movements (Greene and Campbell, 1983). They
found t hat the ice moved in the lake generally from east to west and that
during the period from January to Pebruary 21, 1984 the greatest 24-hour
movement of an ice floe against ice cover resistance was 17 km (average
0.2 m/ s). This average velocity is not significantly different from the
estimated speed of moving ice in ~ebruary, 19 8 2 during the formation of
the ice island previously described.

42
6.0 ICE SCOUR AND CABLE PROTECTION

It was recommended that the cables be buried in shallow trenches excavated

into the lake bottom out to the 25 m bathymetric contour to protect them
against ice damage. A conse rvati ve bu rial dept h of from 1 to 1. 5 m was
recommended for hard soil and roci< and from 2 to 3 m for very soft soil.
The cables would be buried 1. 5 m in the central part of the corridor to
protect them from fishing trawlers.

7.0 CONCLJSIONS

The ice scouring process is a present day phenomena. In the study area
very deep ice keels have scoured the bottom of Lake Erie in water depths
up to 25 m and have penetrated the soft sediments up to approximately
2 m. Some scours, in protected areas, are preserved from year to year

while other scours in unprotected areas are obliterated each year. Ice
keels are responsible for extensive damage to gas pipelines on the
Canadian side of the lake in the winter period and pose a threat to other
services (i. e. power cables) which may be installed under the lake in the
futu reo

ACKNO~LEDGEMENrS

I would like to thank Mr. J. BOlollby and Mr. O. Johnston of the Geo­
technical Engineering Department of Ontario Hydro for their critical
review of this paper and stimulating discussions. Special thanks to
,~r. Manfred Hoelzle for his efforts in preparing the figures.

REFeRENCES

1. Greene, G.M. and Campbell, J.E. Results from 1984 Lake Erie Ice
Dynamics Experiment (LIDEX), U.S. Department of Commerce, National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA,
(manuscript in preparation).

2. ilough, J.L., 1958. Geology of the Great Lakes, University of Illinois

Press, 313 p.

43
 lAHR lee Symposium 1984
Hamburg

ICEBERG COLLfSION WI'J'II SU'll - SUB~ll[(SIBL[

lllULLlNG UNIl

Eiichi Kitami

Kazuaki ~ujishima

Yoshiaki Taguchi Mitsubishi Heavy

Japan
Industries, Ltd.
Takuo Nowata

Tetsuro Kawasaki

Fumi ka zu Sa ka i

Abstract

This paper discribes the investigation results concerning the structural

safety at cOlliding a semi-submersible drilling unit with the bergy

bits. It was concluded that the semi-submersible drilling unit would

endure a collision with a few thousand tons of bergy bit.

I. Introduction
In order to keep the safety of the offshore structures in sea ice areas,
the every effort and study have being made to detect the icebergs [I].
The risk of the iceberg cOllision with the offshore structures cannot
be ignored. Therefore, it was the most important for the offshore
structures operated in sea ice areas to investigate the problems con­
cerning the bergy bit cOllision.
In this paper, the bergy bit collision with the semi-submersible
drilling unit was studied. It is necessary to adopt the non-linear

.
analysis method in the bergy bit collision.

Relations between load and deflection of the bergy bit were decided in

consideration of the penetration test results.

Relations between load and deflection of the structure were decided

from the results of the elasto-plastic analysis of it.

This study has aimed to confirm the effects of size and impact speed

of the bergy bit on the extent of the structural damage.

45
 2. Analysis of bergy bit collision
2 .1 Theo ry of the ana lysi s

In the collision analysis, the semi­

submersi ble drilling unit wa s modeled

as shown in rig. 2.1.

The equations of motion can be written

as foIIO\;s.

(l+mxJ.) ~::U1+ Kx~ + P - 0

x

'Ii:! ddt" 1+ Ky"l - P - 0

(l+myl ) It y Ice

(l+mal ) J :t2
e1
+ Keel + PxY
c
- Px = 0
y c
Fig.2.l Calculation
model

(l+m )
2
~2:!U2_ P
x
= 0
(1+m )
2
.!?6+
g dt
P
Y
- 0

Where,

WI Weight of the semi-submersibl e drilling unit

W2 : Weight of the bergy bit

.J : Mass moment of inertia of the rotation

Kx, Ky, Ke : Spring constant of the mooring lines

mxl, myl, mel: Added mass coefficient of the semi-submersib le

drilling unit
m2 : Added mass coefficient of the bergy bit
Px, Py : Impact lo ad
ul, vI, e l : Dis placement and rotation of the semi - submersible
drilling unit

u2, v2 : Displacement of the bergy bit

g : Acceleration of gravity

2.2 Rel ati on between load and deflection of bergy bit

2.2.1 Basic formula
The configulation of the icebergs is classified into the tabular ice,
pinnacle ice, dome ice, drydock ice, and blocky ice according to
International Ic e Patrol [2] .

46
 In this paper, the most basical iceberg of the tabular ice was consid­

ered for the bergy bit co lli sion analysis.

Relation between lo ad and deflection of the tabular ice can be written

by equation (2).

Where,
Pi Load on the bergy
bit Ice
lli Deflection of the
bergy bit
~. h Ice
I
R Radius of the co lumn

h Thickness of the

bergy bit

fcr : Crushing strength

Plan view Side view
of the bergy bit
Fig. 2.2

(xlOOOO ton)
Relation between load and
Thicme88 ot the ice
deflection used for the bergy
bit collision analysis are 1'("

s hown in Fig. 2.3 .

Where, the crushing strength
( warm value) proposed by
Ship Structure Committee [3] 1.5

was adopted in the calcula­

1.0
tion.

0.0 0.1 0.2 0.' A

o..nection I

Fig.2.3 Load - Deflection Curve

of the ice
2 . 2.2 Penetration test
The calculation results by the use of equation (2) and the penetration
results [4] are shown in rig. 2.4 and rig. 2.5.
The penetration tests were carrie d out by the use of sea ice, and

47
 the outline of the penetration test is shown in Fig. 2.6.

(ton) ( ton,.;)...,...._ _........,._ _----.

4. -~I---"""---'" 4.

:Ilc400mm lr..lOOmm

I
I V=2Omm/sec
-- --
2. 2.

V=o.2mm/sec

o. 0.L-L­ ____-J------~
40. 80. o. 40. 80.
Penetration(lDIR) Penetration(mm)
Yig.2.4 Penetration test result Fig.2.5 Penetration test result

The calculation results by the

use of equation (2) showed good
coincidence with the penetra­
tion test results in the
objected region.

Fig. 2.6 Outline of penetration test

2.3 Relations between load and deflection of the structure
In this study, it considered
that the bergy bit was collided P
(",.) (0)
only with the column of the semi­ BOO.

submersible drilling unit.

Relations between load and deflection
of the structure were obtained from 400.

the results of the elasto-plastic

200.
analysis of the column structure as
shown in rig. 2.7. .00. .DC .06 ( • .d
D.n..c:t10D
Fig. 2.7 Load - Denection
Curve of the co 1umn

48
 -

3. Results of the bergy bit collision analysis

3.1 Semi-submersible drilling unit
Rough arrangement and principal particulars of the semi -subme r sible
drilling unit used for the analysis are as follows.

F'ig.,.l Rough general arrangement

Length of the lower hull : 81. 00 m

Breadth of the lower hull : 16.00 m
Depth of th e lower hu ll : 8.00 m
Diameter of the column : 12.50 m
Operating draft : 20.00 m
Displacement : 27000 tons

3. 2 Condition of the analysis

The conditions used for the bergy bit collision analysis are as follows.
Weight of the bergy bit 500 ~ 10000 tons
Thickness of the bergy bit 1.0 ~ 13.0 m
Impa ct speed I . a ~ 5. a knots
Where, the tabu la r ice wa s only adopted for the analysis.

49
 3.3 Calculation results
3.3.1 Behaviour of the bergy bit and semi-submers ible drilling unit
after COllision
For the example of the calcu­
lation results, time history
curves of the impact load, Impact speed 2.(kt)
deformations of the bergy .d P Weight of the ice 2000(ton)
bit and the column, and o Thickness of the ice
.....
the speeds of the semi­ ci 8 ---_ 2. (m)
"
submersible drilling unit ~
•• , '.....
-_ __-­ LI G
and the bergy bit are shown
:~ ...-."'"

in Fig. 3.2.
.' '''' P

Vice Speed of the i ce

Vrig Speed of the semi-

submersible drilling

unit

lli Deformation of the

'rime
ice

llc Deformation of the

co lumn

p Impact load

3 . 3 . 2 Deformation of the column

The calculation results of the deformation of the column are shown in
Fig. 3.3 and Fig. 3.4.
From these figures, it is understood that the maximum deformation of
the column was occurred at the portion of comparatively thin thickness
of the bergy bit.
Thi s is caused that numbers of the ring frames collided with the bergy
bit became smaller with decreasing ice thickness.
Though it is difficult to define the allowable deformation of the column,
it was decided as about one percent of th e column diameter ( 12.5 m )
in the permanent deformation.
From Fig. 3.3 and Fig. 3.4, the s tructure can endure the collision of
the bergy bit in the following condition.
Weight of bergy bit 2000 tons

Impact speed 3.0 knots

Thickness of bergy bit 2.0-3.0 m

50
 (m)
: \
.

" Weight of the ice thickness of" the ic

= ( ton)
0.2
: \
, \ 2000( tons )
'. Impact speed
18 0•J

\. 4.0(kt)
.
Z
Impact sp""d

s:: , ...o 2.(kt)

§
....o 1\ \. ~
. 0.2

.,
CI
I \ \, '"
.Q
\ 3 1 0 )""
... 0.1 '~kt ".
....o o ..
0.1
l.(kt)

1i.,
A 00
I'
",
'-.
"'"
I~
O. 2. 4. 6. a. 10.
"'. 2.0(kt) (><1000 ton)
"'-. ... P'ig.J.+
,..-......." -).O(kt)
Dent of" the
column - Weight
the ice
of"
Curve

0.0 2. 4. 6. 8. 10. 12. (m)

Thickness of
the ice
Dent of the column - Thickness
of" the ice CUrYe

3.3.3 Crushing of the bergy bit

Calcula ti on results of the
deformation of the bergy (m)
Weight of" the ice
bit are shown in Fig . 3.5. 0.4 200Q(ton)
Natura ll y, the de f ormation
\I
Impact speed
of the bergy bit became 0.3 \• 4. (kt)
larger with decreasi ng ice 0.2 \
thickness, a nd with increas­
ing impact spee d. 0.1

0.0 2. 4. 6. 8. 10. (m)

Thickness of the
ice
F1 .3.5 Penetration o£ _ Thickness of Curve
g the ice the ice

51
 3.3.4 Effect of crushing strength of bergy bit on deformation
of the col umn
In this paper, the detail i nve s ti­
ga tion wa s not carried out about
(m) ThickneBs of the ice
the crushing strength of the bergy
bits.
J
o
u
0.2 2.(m)

Therefore, the crushi ng strength

of the bergy bits was checked for ..
CD
.c mpact speed
,.(kt)
the effects acting on the deforma­ Weight of the ice
tion of the column as shown in 2000.( ton)
Fig . 3.6 and Fig. 3.7.
From these figures, it can be
understood that the crushing
0.0 1.0 2.0 e
Fig.,.6 Effect of ice crushing
strength only affects slightly on Btrength on the structure
the deformation o f the s tructure,
provided the appropriate value is
chosen as proposed by Ship Struc­ ~(m) Thickness of the ice
ture Committee. ] 0.2 4.(m)
o Impact Bpeed 3.(kt)
u
Notes :
CD
S = fcr/(fcr)cal. ...
.<:

fcr : Crushing strength of the '(; 0.1

ice
(fcr)cal.: Crushing strength of
the ice used for the
bergy bit COllision
analysis 0.0 1.0 2.0 13
Fig.3.7 Effect of ice crushing
strength on the structure

4. Conclusion
In this paper, the allowable limit of the structural damage was not
described, and also the in vestigation results of the dynamic stress
working on the s tructure were not rep orted .

The useful results were obtained in order to design the semi-s ubmersible
drilling units operated in sea ice areas.
(1) No fatal structural damage occured at the collision with
the bergy bit weighing at 2000 tons and impacting at a
speed of 3 knots.

52
 (2) The crushing strength of the bergy bi t did not affect

markedly on the deformations of the structure, provided

the appropriate value as proposed by Ship Structure

Committee was chosen.

References

[l] R. D. Worsfold, D. Strong, E. Wedler : PROJECT SAR 77

(2] L. D. Brooks: ANOTHER HYPOTHESIS ABOUT ICEBERG DRAFT. POAC 79
[3J Clyde T. Lask, Jr : ARATIONAL BASIS FOR THE SELECTION OF ICE
STRENGTHENING CRITERIA FOR SHIPS - VOL. l,
SHIP STRUCTURE COMMITTEE 1981
[4J T. Kawasaki, Y. Taguchi, eta1. : MODEL TEST AND ANALYTICAL SIMU­
LATION OF FRACTURE MECHANISM OF ICE, Private report
of Mit subishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.

53
 lAHR Ice Symposium 1984

•
'A Hamburg

SlJ.1MER "1PACT LOADS FR(l1 ~ULT IYEAR FLOES

John R. KrC'!ldor, Vice President AACTEC, Inccrporatcd USA

I mpact loads dur I ng the Slfnmer trom large. storm-dr i ven mu I t i year f r 0(;5 ere an
Important consldoratlon for gravity s tructures In the baaufort Sea. This D~pcr dcscrihc s
a numerical, time-domain solution for floe Impact forco In ",hlch the predominant Icc
failure mode Is crushing.

As the floe Is crushed during Impact, floo velocity decreases and cont<:lct (trea In­
creases. As a result, parameters In the crushing equation vary ... ith tirac. Pressure dnc
force are non-linear with tIme or penetration. 'f the force excoeds f('lundation reslst-­
anca, the structure may bagln to slide causing addltionlll non-linear effoc ts.

The model uses a Runge-K t.:tta tochnlque to 50lve the ooo-fiimensional ((,uatlons of
motion tor the floe and the structuro. The solution mothod Is efficient cOC'lpnrod tc
f Infte-element techniques and includes noo-I insar offocts of ton ignort1d in -;1r.'1Plor
approaches.

The paper descrillos model components and assumptions. Tifle tdstoric s c- ~ · "rcc.
penetration, and velocity are presented for typical Inpacts. Pr~dlctcd c.cak leeds [TC

presented for a range of floe dlamoters, floo velocities, floc thlcknGss ~s . ~n d structure
diameters .. The Influenco of uniaxial crUShing strength versus strain r ~ tc and brittlo
failure are described. The effect of foundation resistance 00 peak force Is ~cscrlhed by
modeling the soil as rigid-perfectly plastic and allowing the structure to r.ove if ultlr:\atc
reslstanco Is exceeded. The paper describes applications to summer nultiyear floo Inpacts
In the Beaufort Sea although the model could easily be adapted to othE:r c.:Jsos of I ntcrcst,
such as j coberg Impact s or wave-dr I ven Impacts of f I rst-yoar Icc f I ocs.

55
 I\rctit: offshore structures ml;st ~e (signed for sC""'eral dlfforent types of Ice
loads ~urlng freezour, . wlntor. Drcakur. and summor. M il :portant loading condition re­
sults frQr.1 impact rlurin') SLlTlmer of 1,1rgo, storm-driven multiyear floes. Depending on
structural configuration and watcr depth. floo Impact loads could govern total load on
the structure. Peak load during the i •.lpact depends 00 II...,e characteristics (diameter,
thicr.noss, strcngth>, Initial velocity, eccontriclty of impact. and structural charac­
tcrlstics (geometry, diamoter, foundation roslstance).

Existing data on ~Istributlons of 1100 diameter, floc tf1IcJcl'less. and current velocity
indicate that /OIUltlyear floes can attain high values of I jnetlc anergy dur-Ing summer and
ear I y f rcelcup In' he I:kla ufort Soa. The Inportance of the r"Csul t I ng Impact loads depen~s

on structural configuration. Impact loads are of 11r:1lted Importance tor- gravel Jsl~nds

bccaust the gr~vel can filii locally. absorb energy during Ir:lpact, and promote fle)(ural
fill lure of 1ho floe at lower load. Inpact loads are of r;r-eater concor-n for gravity-based
structures Such as taiSsOfls, cones, and ronopods In which the rrajorlty of ;~ Inetlc energy
Iz <:' isslr:utcd t-v icc ti'd luro at ·he . ~ructuro.

F0r .- tru CTI. n s with vertic;)1 or ·(.arly vcr-tical '/'ICOS, 'ft.e rrlmary ico fAilure node
Is crusril f': .. ~ ~~ r-. ·100 (r-ushc: (Irina ir ' pact, '100 v("'loclty ~ecr-cases and c~ntact area
ir-cr c.. ) ·,,: ~ . 1\..... , s ui ... . irr'cnt .: ti on If!ctor (I), ccntact 'DC tor (. ), s1raln r~te, and ke
crushif 'J ~ tran Cj rl c(',ntlr ··..c1 1Iy ..::-ange. Th· [IOSsuro and force ara tt-us ron-linGar with time
or r·o netr .l 1 ion. If t .' e :(·rco oxcoeds foundation r('slstan c e, t"'e s'rructuro mflY t"Icgln to
slldo, c,Juslnr; ac.· ditiona l "on - I Ilear effects.

The impact nay I.e 'odeled approxir.lately tv /" glectlng t~e tir.lo- v rylng effects and
s c i cct i n~ con stant '1('11 \les a t ' /' ~~ :' rl/or i ("c : ~rength dl'r I ng tr,e il'pact (C;:wr.1aert ;,nd
T!>lnkor, IC;;SI; and c. . r'~ r.laer't . et .- 1., . / (, ~). i\5 s umlng constant ico pressure h<,s t"'e
advantilgc of .rovldln'l i!I closed-' ( rn ,•. 11, · However. strain rate and c(.ntact geometry
change ~ lgnitic,Jntly from tJeglnnin~ 'te, 1 . act so "hat sclectioo of the appropriate
constants is ...;lffJcult, and foundation ('I . ·, t<) cannot be rrodeled. A rode' presented by
P.ojansky (1982) considered some tir.le-v,'ryina effocts, but neglectod changing fc ~nd re­
quired an Iteratlvo solution.

This paper describes a nllnerical tlmo-dooaln solution tor floc Impacts In which
the predominant Ico failure mode Is crushing. The rodel Includes non-llnearities In Ice
crushing forco and can accOfrWOOdate sliding of the structure. Predicted Ice loads are pre­
sonted for a r<lnge of !Ioo sizes, floe velocities. leo strength relations, and structure
diameters. Effects of e lfferent types of ico behavior and structure sliding are also con­
s Ider()~.

2. ~·WDEL OcSC~IPTION
. ------­
Force o xerted on 1ho structure dL:rlng Inpact Is -:'ctermlned by solving In ooe dimension
the aQ uation ot rotlon for the floo. Icc failure Is I'ls sumed to r('cur ~t "'he Icc-structure
contiJC~. For j1 d'roct, t.cad-(1r- erillsion, H·e oc,uatlon 0' rotlon can!:..c written as ~ol-

I ('ws:

(I)

w! orc: t loc r:-ass

,?I,'dad r.1i'\SS of (1m
~~a
)' .x, x, floe t= lspiacomcnt, ·.'.' Iocl ty. a('celer?ltion
Icc crushlr-,g fercc
'W i" tor (<"I.:rrant) drag o:: n flOG
<'Iir ( .... Ind) drag on floe.

56
 2'5~
I 2.0
1.5

1.0
Ie1.0
0.5

o G :L Uu(MPa)
2

1
o 1 234 5 6 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 -7 -6 -5 ' -4 -3 -2 -1
O/H log E log E
( 1a) (1 b) (1 c)

Figure 1 Indentation factor (1 a). Contact factor (1 b). and uniaxial compressive
strength (1c) used in impact model

For typical parameters of floe collisions In th e Beaufort Sea, F~J and FA are m:1("h
smaller than F I , and added mass Is 1yplcally loss than a f r w rcrcent of -otal floe fn(")ss
CDanlelewlcz, ot (': 1., 1963). Thus, Equation I C<Jn tx: :. Impllfled to

(2)

F I I s a f unct Ion of x ar.d since the chang I ng geometry and stra I n rate dur I ng Inpact
affect Ice force calculation.

The Impact model uses a 3rd order Runge-Kl.otta Technique to solve Equation (2) In the
time domain. It accommodates movement (sliding) of the structure by solving sImultaneously
a second equation of motton for the structure. The model provides an eft fclent solutIon
wh I ch can accoovnodate non-II near I ti es I n Ice force ca I cu I at I on and structure roovement
dur i ng f loa Impact.

Model results presented In this paper assume that the lee falls In crUShing at the
Ice-structure Interface. F, Is calcull!lltod lilt each time step besed 00 Instlllntlllneous -nslues
of x and~. The equation for F, Is:

(3)

where: Indentation factor

fc contact factor
Cu un I ax I a 1 compress I ve strength
D width of ('ontact zone
H Ice th Ickness.

The indentation factor, a function of O/H and ke type, typically Is (' valuated from
plastic limit solutions of indentation. The nultlyear Ice Is , ss um ed to le j · otroplc. I,
plotted In figure la. Is calculated from the following 9(luatlon (Re lnlcke and RC1flr, 1~76):

1.4 + .97 t1/D D/H

I = (41
{
2.37 D/H <

I Is cut off at 2.37 for D/H < 1 becau se the contact geometry of very small D/H Is con­
sidered unllkoly.

The contact factor, a function of strain rate, is an empirical factor to account for
different fallur.e roodes. Strain rate (€ : ) I s calculated as follows from Instantaneous
relative velocity between floe and structure (v):

E = v/4D (5)

57
 fc as a fl 'nctlon of ~traln rate Is ' hown In Flaure 1 lI'd calculated from:

0.3 £; > 10- 3 s-l

:(' = -.2~ 1('9£ - O.I~ '0- 5 < " < lC- 3 s-l (6)
{
c.e £ < lr- 5 s-l

Michel and Te. ssalnt (1977) 1'Ind other Investigators have ~roposed discrete steps In f •
c
The smooth tran s ition In fc Is assumed l>ecaus() the gradually changing strain ri"lte dlrlng
'I.lpact is ·-xpectcd to ~osult In .' gradually changing contact factor.

Uniaxial strength as t. function of ~traln r?lte (Finure Ie) , ... ~rscrlbed as fellows:

£; > 10- 3 s-l

(7)
i: < 10- 3 s-l

The relation for € < 10- 3 s-l Is based on laboratory data at -5°C from Cox, et al. (1984).
0u Is asslll'led constant for brlttlo failure at higher strain rates.

Width of contact zone Is calculated from geometry of NO Intersecting circles based on

rolative penetration,

D 2 1"0 (2R S - "0)

(8)
X (2R F - x)
Xo
2(R S + RF - x)

whero: Rs rad I us of structure

RF radius of f 100 ..

for comparison to lhe non-linear solution, a closed form solution to EQL:otlon 2 can
be obta I noel if ice pressure Is T·ssumed can st?lnt, I~ renetrat i on Is Stla II wi th respect to
structure radius, and If floe curvatllre Is rcglectcd. By equating floe kInetic energy and
work done the peak forcEl (FI=') can be .: ~Iculated as fol lows:

(9)

where: = avrrage Ice pressure = Ifcov (P~)

VI • Initial floe vRloclty (t:l/s)

IH,RS,RFI = m; IFpl = N; "od IPI' = i<{J/m 3

Equation 9 I~ dimensionally consistent so that other units could be used.

3. ASSlJ.1PT IONS OF MODEL

For any ana I yt I ca I mode I of i co str ucture I nteract Ion I It I s Important to recagn I ze
assumptions and limItations of the model .. The roode! as presented has the fOllowing
assumptions:

1. Assume crushing failure occurs at Ice-structure contact zone and force

Is described by Equation 3.
26 Assume floe Is free-floating (neglect floe-floe Interaction) and neglect
wind and current drag.
3. Neg I act floe added mass.
4. Neg I ect hydrodynam I c et facts between floe and structure or sea t I oor.
5. Assume impact is r-ead-on ~o That friction and rotation are Ignored.
6. Ignore local structural dcformi'1tion (rigid structure).

58
I

Figure 2.
..

.....
E 1.0

Time History of Force, Velocity, >­

to
0.8

Penetration for Os =91.5 m, (j

06
OF =610 m, H =6.1 m,
0
w 0.4
...
Initial Floe Velocity =0.92 mls >

w
0.2
...
0
IL 0
1 2 3
TIME ( •• c)

AsslJrIptlon 1 i: ,robably r"lOst if.lportant. FIrst, a!ter-native' ~i":i'u"c ndes ( :.pllttlng

or bending) are neglected. An'? IWl: ak spots In floe. ~' L. ch ,-!S ! elt ,()ndS Or r" ' cks, ,,' uld
Induce alternative failure modes at lowor loads. $a -c nd, fq , atlon ,) Is o~' 5umed ... , lld fer
crUShing at high strain rates and w{'Inn ~emperatures, ('ven H~ ough r Is t..:' ~ ed Or> ;li>stlc
limit theory and f( Is an rr.plrlcal factor based on ~(s ts a1 .10GL Fi na lly, ~,",e rrdel
aSSumes that leo Is continually fc1fllng. In olher 'lK:rdS. Ice ,C,-ossuro Is (.'Iculated
assuming stress In the Ice Is .l lways at ' he mr.xll'lllMl'l i': llowablo stress corrospondlng to He
Instantaneous straIn rnta. N:>n-slnult<lneous failure across the contact zone i~ l!lnorad .
lhese of focts are add ressed further In Sect Ion 4.7 ..

The model considers only a head-on collision (Assur.tptlon 5). For fl glClnclng Inpact.
the force may be reduced because the normal velocity Is less and some translational kinetic
energy may be changed to .rotatlonal anergy. !-bwever, a simple elastic analysis Indicates
that a large offset Is required to reduce significantly the lr:1pact force. In addition, a
frictional component would be added to .. t,e normal force component due t o crushing. fE.-gard­
Ing rotation, design loads will be caused by large floes (order of 3000 m diameter) so that
the mass moment of Inertia Is vory large and rotations (pitch, roll, )~'W) s~·ould be mini­
mal. The one-d l r.lenslonal oQuatlon of !'"Otlon Is 1toerefore appl !cable ..

4. RESULTS

4.1 lyrical Results - figure 2 Illustratos a t;r.lO ~istory plot <"'f "rce, v. loclty, ?InC:
penetri'ltlon for structure diamet~r (0:, ) 0: ..... ,.~ 0, floe diameter (OF) 0: (II. I) if Itlal
floe velocity (V f ) of (:.97 r:l/: :-I d froe 1hlckness (H) of (,.1 m. Thes e conditions, r('pro­
sentatlve of i loe Impact with" c aisson, are referrod to ~ ... .. c "R.· .... o Q,!::~n.. lr.1pact o:':. r3 h

tlon to t": rlng floe to 0 halt is e.!,out 4 seconds a,..d "'~XIr.llB : tnetration I~ ·u t (",~r ;: r.1.

Peak torco Is . bout 490 MN 0 1 d GCCUrs at ~ ,..d of it i'lct. Strain r;"'to . cc roases tJrou9hout
the Impact. AI~hough ice strenglh docroases 'WIth ··ecroaslnCl s·ro.ln r r tc, Increases rrc.rc
rapidly so 'hat the .croduct of .Ou peaks at; s1roln r<:te of x If,·tt ~-l. Fo' ("rn parlson
to the approximate solution of (; t.atlon 9, If v."'luos ai f.. = I x lr··4 s-l ,'n~ I 1.6 ar( =
aSSLmed, predicted peak force Is :33 ~·HJ. Difference Is ,-.lout 91.

One charac10rlstlc typical of I,-'ny of 1t:e forco tlmo ~Istorlcs p,·odlctori b " . , r.xAdei
Is a slight Incroase In jorce at 'he (nd of ' '''e collision (Fi s uro 2). this i:crcase occurs
because of lhe charactorlstlcs of the ~roduct of f(ou. This feature may hr rl nr..rnerlcal
artifact rosultlng frClm the asslJnptions rather than a r~ al charactorlstlc, bu1 the effoct
Is relatively SCola" (typically loss than 10% Incroase In force).

Figure 3 Illustrates force as <:: flinctlon of penetration for hio additional cases. In
Case 1, the wider structure brings the thicker floe to a rapid stop with 01 peak force of
nearly 1400 MN. In Case 3, the narrow diameter structure (15. 3 m) and t"ln floc (4.6 m)
combine to cause a long dura~lon Impact 'WIth lower peak force of 72 5 Mtl. In all C<"1ses, b·,
conser v ation of energy the Integral of torce with displacement is u,ual to lh~ Ir:ltl?1i tloe
kinetic energy. Th r:.. approximate solution of i{,uatlon 9 I : tdgh b..· 15$ fC'r CJso 1 and 5~%
for Gase 3.

59
 1500

.
CASE <D C2> ~
ClAM. STRUC. (M) 183 91.5 15.3
~..
"
"" ClAM. FLOE (M)
THICK. FLOE (M)
610
9.1
610
6.1
1220
4.6
Z 1000
VEL. FLOE (MIS) 1.83 0.92 0.92
..
!
u
a:
~ 500 /' g?_"
:/ 0)
I __--------~-----------
o ____
~ ~ ____ ~ ____ ~ ____ _ L_ _ _ _ ~ _ _ _ __ "

o B 10 12
PENETRATION 1m)

Figure 3. Force Versus Penetration for Example Floe Impacts

f netlan of 'Ioe vrloclty

and floe dlamotcr. Decrcaslng velocIty from the B.-se C. 'e t-y il f."' ctor n ' ~ d croases poak
forco by , hout 33$. Ooubllns velocity Incroases peak torce b... /" ~O % for floes with
d lamctors ur · 0 ,-bout 2000 m. For '"rncr floos, Incrcased ve locity has fl less significant
effect. For OF = 30001':". Joublln9 velocity incroases peak lorco by only 7..2'1.. The approxi­
mate solution of Ec;uution 9 predicts that poak force is proportional to velocity to the 2/3
power.

4.3 .Effect of Floe Thickness - Figura 5 shows effect of floo thickness on peak force ..
A 50%" change In thickness fro~ the l:Jase case has a significant effect on peak force. For
example. for UF = 2000 In, a 50~ Incrcase In thickness from 6.1 to 9.14 m results In a 57%
Increase In peak forcc (approxlr,Iately linear as predicted by Equation 9). The Increase In
torco occur s bocause t toe kl net I c cnerg y I s I ncr eased and because the th I c ker t loe causes
force to rise more rapidly.

The effoct of varying thickness at () floe edge was also Investigated. A multiyear
ridge at the floe edge was modeled as a floe with a thickness of 15 r.1 at the edge de­
creas I ng at 45" to a , loe th I ckIless of 6. 1 m. The pea k I cad was 1005 MN as compared to the
Base Case of 490 Mr!. In a second case, floc thickness was 6.1 m at the edge Increasing at
an angle of '<'5" to 15 m, then decreasing at ~5D to a constant floe thickIless of 6.1 m.
Peak load was 67.7 M~J, or ?In Increasc of ~ r.:l. Thase results Indicate Increases In load for
ctr: embedded ridge near the ({1~e of a f'oe. t-bwever, altornatlve 'ctllure roodes may ()('cur,
Sl.JCt'l (lS ;Icxurcd failure at ' t-e tack :dge of ~ !e ridge or r plane flexural I"Ilure of " !'8
r Id~e. In a(dltion. t ypical ponctratlons aro r:rodlcted to ~ ( :'"'.: ..-te order c( I to 20 n.
If ridges are o lstributod with r:qual probability o! 0(Currence tt'lroughout "the floe, ·tt-e
Ilkcllt-.ood e,( e:-,countcrlng a r · dge d ' rlng the in pact is SIn " I I.

-4.'<' Effect of 1('9 ~1rength - For ,"'II rr:sults descrlbad previously, au Is dc- termlned from
E.~uation 7, w Ich Is .. sed on tl e I,an Ioalue of r Il!xial compreSSion tests on multiyear Ice
by r.ox. c· , 16, (1C;04). Cox.~· I. ;: Iso r.rovlde the f:'! inlhum -, " rength and :~andard devi­
ation for tt'lelr tosts. Thr r (" portod standard dcvlt'ltions ~ro 46:1 of ~Io man at 10- 5 s-1
and 271. of -he rean at .(' -3 s-l. ~~inlr.lUm s"'! rongths at "te :: ame strain ratos are 20% and
3910t ' he r.can rospec1lvely. F"loure 6 Illustrates the effect of r" fferent ice strength
relations. The solid line shows forcc versus displacement for .He Mse case. If the ro­
I,ortod mlnh:tum s trongth at each strain rato is <J ssumed, cisplacoment Increases by about
I (, 0% and peak torco decreases by ~ If. Curvf'S arc a l so shown tor tt'le w.an strength ± one
S1iln<::ard dovlation. LargGr flaws aro expocted In the floe-structure fl!ilure zone "than In
the laboratory specif.'lons. Thus, the large scale strengt~s during brittle falluro may be
I flSS than mAan valuos of 1he Jabor,c,tory t~sts.

60
 lbOO

! 1100

...
o
~ 800
IL
~

......
C
D S =91 .6 m
H=6.1 m

1000 1000 300 0

FLOE DIAMETER (M)

Figure 4. Peak Force as Function of Floe Diameter and Initial Velocity

I bOO

i ~
...'"
1200
! ~.

...
0
~"
tI:
800
0

IL
~

......
C

V 1=0 .916 mi.

1000 1000 3000

FLOE DIAMETER (m)

Figure 5. Peak Force as Function of Floe Diameter and Thickness

700

I
600 I
/J
Z 500 S\) .".",,/
:I
... 400
1l/;'~~~5e~
,,/ (j'
o
~ 300
//' (j ~?~ .... ...........

IL I .. .....

200 J

J .....
I ",

100 I .... · -.­

~L-------~--------~----~--~--------~-
2

PENETRA TlON (M)

Figure 6. Force as Function of Penetration for Variations in Ice Strength

(Se-e text for explanation of curves)

61
 Figure 7
CIl
U
(7a) Schematic of force time ....
o
history during brittle failure u..
(7b) Schematic of flaking failure
during Indentation
Time
(7a) (7b)

4~5 Effoct of Stru cture OIi'lr.lctElr F0r Dr. = 610 n, VF '" 0.91 mis, H = 6.1 m, peak load
Incroasos from 2CO Mti 5,: ructurc to 1\90 MN for i'I 9'.5 ·· ~' s"tructure to 590 MN for
or ,- l~-r"

a 183-m S1,-ucturc. ThE. incroase In :orcc with structure dIameter occurs primarily bec~use
the same penetration causes a I<:rger contact area on the larger diameter st ructures. Peak
forco per unit .... Idth of r-ontact lone changes from 22 Mt:/m for the 15-m structure t o 19.2
f.Hl/m for the 9 1.. 5·", structure to IC.8 Mn/m for the IC3-m structur e . Corresponding pres­
suros arc about 3 tr. 3.6 MPa.

For small diameter structuros s uch as a monopod, the maximum Impact load becomes
Ilmltod for floes of i': given thickness. CXlce full penetration across the structure occurs,
Incroasln~ floo kinetic energy by Inc roaslng velocity or floe radius Is not predicted t o
'ncrp.ase load.

4.6 Effect of Structu re Movement - Tlolo t ypes of :::.tructure sliding could occur: small
clastic t:1ovemonts when load Is less th an the ultimate foundation resi stance and Inelastic
raovements when l oad exceeds ultimate resi s tance. Inelastic roovements resulting In pillsttc
so il detorr:latJon are not -..all (lnders tood for largo gravity structures and several t ypes of
analytical r:lOdels co uld be sed. er,-teau, ot < I •• (1984) u ~ed a fini t e e lement rode I to
analyzo Sliding and rotation of .- c I sson on ( lay ('.nd 5nnd. They L.:sed an elastlc­
perfectl y-plastic soil spr ing to : code I sliding. Their ro sults Indicate that only i'lbout 5~

of total floe kinetic: energy i :; issiratc-d b>, :d Id lng but that novements on H .e order of
0.5 fr· ~ m c 0 uld occur.

fo r "this paper, "the foundation wa s modeled as rlgld-wrfectly plastic. Although an

elastl c-pr rfoctly p lastic rodel could be used, t.plcal lIalues for fI.oaufort $c-;. clays ard
san<!s I ndicate olastlc doformations will he ··r ry ?l" 'all (Cr o teau, et ,I ., 1984). For the
Base Case and a f· undation r oslsti'lncc of :=;35 HN, predicted structure movement Is 0.43 m.
Peak force Is reduced only 6%. Th e: " ifference in torce is ~ ! ' all because floe velocity
Is sufficiently fast with respect to :· tructure velot::lty that relative velocity (on which
forco calculations arc based) doos not change sub stant 'lI11y from the rigid case and littl e
kinetic e nerg y Is (;Issipatod.

4.7 Effoct of Va r ying Ie;: Force During Crushing - As described In Model Assumpti o ns, the
results presented above assume continuous Ice crushing failure at the peak Ice stress for a
given st r ai n rate. This assunptlon should be valid f or ductile faIlure. I-bwever. Inden­
tation tests Indicate a fluctuating force time history for failure at higher straIn rates
as shown In figure 7a (Michel and Tou ssa int, 1977; Krv, 1981) . The failure JIDde Is de­
scribed as c racking wIth ductile or t ~ rlttle flaking as shown schematically In Figure 7b.
I t can be assuned that the force peaks correspond to shea r Ing of the f lake s . Based on the
definition o f ~· traln rate In i:.Guatlon 5. Michel and Toussaint (1977) and Kr y (1984) report
that ductile flaking failure begins at :, traln rates ranging from 1.5 x 10- 5 to 5 x IO-Lt
s-l. At lower strain rates. ducti Ie failure predominates at a nearly constant failure
force.

62
 Figure 8.
Time History of Force for
Different Ice Failure Assumptions

__ Continuous Crushing
__ Elastic Response
•.•••• Empirical Approach

Two approaches were con s I dered to ova I uatl1 f I uctuat I n~ forc e dur 1ng flak' ng or

brittle failure. In the first approach, Ico f811ur e was dG fln ed to occu r ...,hen ~ ressure

reached the value Ifco u

• Force wa s Inmedliltely <1roppod :( ro. '0
Th e f orc e thon was

Increased linearly asslmllng a s~lffness based on lhc e lasti c r.lOdulus (E) of nc kc and

strain equal to ;'\ /'.0. Thc forco thon Incroases according to EH.·/', , s.c. that ~t-o s~lffness

Is EH. This approach first was 1("sted against the cons t8nt vflloclty 1r.t1e ntatlon 1(:st

data of Michel and Tp~ss alnt (1977> ~nd Kry CH'8 1J. The r rodlctod froQuency ir' iro t(".-co

was much greater than th e f rOQuency 0 ' ~ t e ~("asu red data. Th is i r d I catod t1'at - ~ 0 ~...,.· do I

was "too stlffll and that the ~t lffn f)ss f t:'rm HI 'ould!".o -'-ducod.

A secon d empirical (Jr.-proach w~s rt.en Lse d. Th-: k,rce froQuen c y of . ' . "" , r·orlnont a l

data at ' train rates greator than IO-~ s-l Indlcato an • - foctlv o STiffness c·' '" "C:-: S FII t:'

0,,05 EH. The lower e ffective stiffness may -r es ult from 1ho (·(·croased thickness 01 ;-r o­

petent Ice at the point of cnntact (figure 7hl .. Follow i n9 The ,(1ak. He:.: '. rco 1 jllcally

drops to about 25% of The ;cak t.t; t re t ~n z ~ ro. Th -: fnrce doos r.ot n ap :( ;-r ro ~ ('. ca use

the failed Ice must ~ tlll be cloared. In t "e o :-plrlcal a~proach, f orce tllaS ( . croased 10

25% of ~ he peak following Ico failure, then allowed to ~: lld at .. s1 1ffness of .04 Ell.

Both approaches were tested In lhe i r-tpact r.lOdel. For both cases, the fluctuatIng

force ~dS modeled only at ~.fraln rate s greater than 1 x 1O-l.t s-1. For lower strain rilte s ,

ductile failure was assuned and force was held constant based on Equation 3. Figure 8

I Jlustrates results. The first approach predict s high freQuency cyclos In 'orce rosultlng

I n a longer Impact duration. Peak force Is about 14% higher than tho Base Case (sol (d

line) because the floe penetrates further before the maximum value of 'c Ou is obtained.

The second approach (empirical) causes fewer force cyclos and results in a penetration

between the Base Q,se and the first approach. Peak for co Increases about 13~ over the

Base Case.

For the rigid caisson, the consideration of fimo-vl'lrylng forcG during fi'!lIure causes
longer duration Impacts but has only .- rainor effect on r redlcted peak forco. The slight
Increase In peak force Is expected t o ~>6 (" vershadowed by o~h er considerations such as nc-,f)­
simultaneous failure across the contact zone or r.ixed - r'1'"~ de tal lure. I-bwever, "re ~i r.le-
. varying force could Introduce dynamic effects for ir.teraction with 1 slr.nder, I(' ss - stiff
structure.

63
 3000

z
,~
V (mI. 3.06 6.1 9.14
DS= 91.5 m

:I 0.467 + o • -
0. 1000 - 0.92 x o •
II.

W-
I)
1.83
• o •
II: - -
0
II.

"
C
W
0.

5. DISCUSSION Of RESULTS

5.1 _Af)f·llcatlon to [)ac·lgn - Tt-c ~r Imary advantage of tre proposed Ir.lpact rodel Is that It
provides an Efficient non-I inear solution to Ir~pact problems. It can be Ijsed to ovaluate a
'Io'ide range of ~.tructure-floe interactions. Al1ernatlvely. the mo-del can be: used to verify
sinplor models of ifl~act tor structural feasibility or optimization studies.

For cX8r:lplo. the simple const£'mt pressure model of Equation 9 appears roasonable for
typical cases of :ummer multiyear floe Ir.tpacts on caisson structures In the Beaufort Sea.
For given structure, Equation 9 pred lets a straight line log-log plot of Fp versus the
i'I

term H3/ 2RFV. Figure 9 I~, a plot of model prodlctions for various floe thicknesses, dlam­
etors, and Initial velocities. If Equation 9 ~reed exactly with the mexlel, slope of the
line would be 1/3. The best-f it line has a slope of .6304. The Intercept Indicates an Ice
pressure of 4.~ MPi'I, at;out 33% greater than the va I ue at £. = I )( 10- 4 5- 1 • Equat Ion of the
line is:

( 10)

where: IFr.1 = M~'; fll,RS.RFJ = m; IVI =: m/s. Use of r; uatlon 10 I~Qulres these units

bocaust; exponent Is r.ot E'xact I y 2/J.

The Impact r.odel prodlc~ions L("gln to curve downward from 'the ('~ralght line in Figure
9 at ~ Igh v('tlues of !.3/2RFVI hccaus~ Hlc -,I all penetration assumption is n t '·.,lld ."'nd t~e
I ("ad docs not contln.e to IPcrease with Increased kinetic energy_ The rolnt c,( ("l.Irvature
occurs carl kr tor "hlnner floes. Th' '.~ralght line rrovldes a ~ulck, (;'.nservative estl-·
matc for ('oslgn. Using 1he "'on-linear node I to v'rlfy the ~,ir:lp'e e0 nstant-prcssure solu­
tion ~rovirlcs confldonco II" tl'o .-onstant-pressure assumption and ,J tflnes where 'he ran-
I inearltios cause devl~tions from ·he "ir:lplo ::,elution.

64
5.2 Discus s ion of Model - The model as ~resentty structured Is felt to result In pre-
d Ictod loads higher than 'WOuld be measured In the field. first. Ice strength Is based on
the mean of laboratory spoclmens. Larger flaws In the full-scalo Interactions may cause
failure at lower stress. Second. non-simultaneous failure across the cont~ct zone Is
Ignored. Maxlr.1um stress In 1he Ice may not be roached simultaneously at all ~Ints.
finally, the most conservative assumption Is rOQulring Ice crushing failure at the Ice­
structure Intertace. Ally weak spots In the f loe, such as r.lClt ronds, ~III promote faIlure
at lower load. Also, cracking or sp l i tting may occur.

The model provides an efficient non-linear solution to· irnr-act problems. As shown In
Figure 9. predictions of ~ he ~Imple constant-pressure rMdel agree well with "'r;G r.Y'.ro exact
non-I inear Impact node I for the floe carameters used and a 9 1.5--m di",meter structure. This
conclusion Should not be xtrapolatod blindly to 01 her iTlpact scenarios, such .3S iceberg
Ir.lpacts or wave-o r Iven floe Impacts In ite IYrlng $e, •• i-bwever, ~ ubJect ~o lir.litatlons
d 'scussec' above the ron-I near mode I shou I d. t;c : p I I cab Iota, wi de var i ety of 1 loe­
structure interaction ;:.roblems.

6. CONCLUSIONS

Oased on ~. redlctlons of -he ·- ", Istln!; rrodel for f ~ructures Ir -t-o b;.,ufort ~,

I. Impact loads change r:lOre rapidly with floe thickness than with 1100

d iametor or \·f.:loclty.

2. The clOSed form solution f or peak impact forco based on :c,nstant Ice

pressure agrees well with non-I : near rode I predictions tor mL<ltlyear

f loos and a c') lsson structure.

3. Considering a tir.le-varylng force leads to longer duration Impacts and

greater penetrat I on but does not sign If I cant I y change pea k force tor

a rig I d structure.

4. Including structure Sliding does not significantly change peak force.

Carrmaert, A.B. and Ts I n ker I

G.P .. , 1961. Impact of Large Ico floes and Icoberg s on Mar I ne
Structures. Procoedlngs of 6th POAC. Quebec City, July 27-31. p. G53-662.
Cammaert, A.D. and Wong. T. T.. l\nd Curtis, D.O., 19B3. Impact of Icebergs on Offshore
Gravity and Floating Pliltforms. Pr0Ceedlngs of 7th POAC, tJelslnki, April 5-9, Vol. 4,
p. 519-536.
Cox, G.F.N., Richter, Weeks, and Mellor, 1984. A Su("mary of ~ t- e Strength rmd Mr)('ulus ( t

Ico Sc,r-ples from Multiyear Prr.ssure Ridges .. Prr,ceedings of : 1 ' rd In~ernatlonal

Offshor€ ) Mechanics and Nctlc E ('o~ lneerlng SH"\poslum, tic .... crleans. Vol. 3, p. 126-133.
Crotea l..; , P., P.ojansky and Ge ~Ick, 1964 .. S.· r.1er Ic' Floe In' acts ~ Inst C,isson-Type
Exploratory flnd Prrductlon PI ; tforms. Pr-.ceedlngs o~ Tr i rd In1ornational O'!shore
Mechanics and Arctic Engineering Svnposl~, t-¥l ..... ()-Ieans, Vol. 3, p. ~8-237.

Danlolowlcz, B.W., Metge, and Lnwoody, 1983. Ql Estimating Large Sc2.le Icc Forces from
Decel3ratlon at Ic . Floes. Pr " ceedlngs of 7th POAC, I-blslnkl, A(:.rll 5-9, Vol. 4,
p. 537-546.
Kry. P.R. 1981. Sc:-·le Effects In Q .: tlnuous Q-ushlng of lc·: . Prrx:e6dlngs of I AHR Icc
Symposium, Que bec City, July 2:-31, p. 065-579.
Michel, O. : nd To ;,.. ssalnt, N., 1977. Mochanlsms and Theory of In'i ontatlon of Ico Plates.
Journal of Gli,clology, VI9(81l, p. 285-30G.
Re I n I cke, K.~1. dnd ~mer, R., 1978. A Procedure for the De1erm I nat ion of Ico Forces ­
Illustrated for Polycrystailine Icc. Proceedings of IAHR Symposium on Ice, Lulea,
August 7-9, p. 2 17-238.
RoJansky, M., 1982. Open Water Ico Structure Interactions. OCEANS 62, wash Ington, D.C.,
September 20-22, p. 1195-1200.

65
I
 WiR Ice Symposium 1984
'A Hamburg

U
ANAL YSIS AND MDDCl T STS OF PReSSURE RIDGES
FA ILI NG AG AINS T CONICAL STRUCTURES

Yung-s hih Wang Exxon production Research Com pany LJS A

Rese nrch Associate Houston, Te xas

ABSTRACT

A bottom-founded offshore str ucture in the deeper waters of the Beaufort Sea
will encounter a variety of ice features during its service life, among which the
consolidated, multiyear pressure ridges will likely generate the most sev ere ice
loa ds. To minimi ze the ice load, the preferred structural configuration in the
ice contact zone is a sloping surface to fail the ice in flexure. Therefore ,
accurate prediction of ridge loads on a cone is of majur signi ficance in the
de sig n of suc h struc tures.
Ridge loads on cone s have been previously inve s tigated in the literature.
Analytical procedures have been developed for load predictions based on an
ela st ic description of the ridge with a brittle failure criterion. However, when
compared with model test results, the elasticity method often underestimate s
the ridge load s. .
This paper presents a new analytical method for ridge load calculations, in which
the ice was assumed to be elastic-perfectly pla s tic and the upper bound theorem
in the pla st icity limit analysis was emplo yed.
To verify the applicability of this m et hod, a model te s t program was conducted
in a synthetic ice model ba si n. Ridge s of various sizes, lengths, and orientations
were embedded in uniform ice s heets and were pushed to fail against a fixed,
4 50 c one. Ice loads were measured in both vertical and horizontal directions.
Agreement between ca lculated and measured loads is good.
 Introduction
The probl e m of a multi year pres sure ridge failing " 'la inst a conical struc tur e has
been studied both ex perimentall y and analytic a lly . Earl y model tests we re
condu c ted by Edwards an d Lewis (19 72) with saline ice ridges and were later
reported by Lewis and Croas dale (1978). Hori zontal and vertical loads were
measured on 12 ridges constructed at a scale of 1:50. Some of the ridg e s were
cut free from the s urrounding ice sheet to investig a te the e ffAct 0 f the ic e sheet
on the ridge load. Verit y (1 975 ) conducted ridge/cone tests using natural saline
ice in an outdoor te s t basin . Si x ice sheets were t e sted , among which four
sheets c ontained ridge s. Howe ver, onl y four ridge t es ts we re considered as be ing
suc c essful. Edward s and Abdelnour (1975) conducted ridge/cone tests with a wax
model ice in a model basin. Twenty-one ridges were tested against c ones of two
sizes. The results were later presented b y Abdelnour (1 981 ).
To ana lyti c ally predict ridge loads on c ones, a mathematical model wa s
dev eloped by Kim and Kotras (19 73) and was later written into a computer
program b y Semeniuk (197 5). Abd e lnour (1981) emplo yed this method and
c alculated t he vertical ridge loads for the two model test programs of Edwards
and Lew is (19 72) and Edwa rds and Abdelnour (197 5). The results indicated that
for both test programs, the anal yti c al method of Kim and Kotras (1973)
s igni fi c antly undere s timat ed the ridge loads . Sin c e in this method the ic e wa s
ass umed to be ela s ti c, it will be referred to as the elasticit y method.
This paper pres ents a di fferent method of analysis. The ridge is consid e red as
being elasti c -perfe ctly plasti c resting on an elastic-plasti c foundation. The ridge
for c es are computed by emplo ying the upper bound theorem in limit analysis.
This method will be referred to as the pla s ticit y m e thod.
To e valuate the plasticit y method, model tests of ridge s of various size s and
lengths against a 4 5 0 cone were c onducted at ARCTE C C anada Limited us ing a
wax model ice (Ed wards and Abdelnour, 1977); The test program included ridges
with various ori e ntations with respect to the mo ving direction. However, only
those tes ts with ridges moving perpendi c ularl y to the ir axes will be discussed in
this paper.
In what follow s , the elasticity method will be revi e wed. The plasticit y method
will be dis c usse d, and the calculated ridge loads from both methods will be
compared with test results.
The Elasticity Method
The method of Kim and Kotra s (1973 ) is based on Heten yi's theory of an ela s tic
beam on an elasti c foundat ion. The ridge, with the atta c hed ic e sheet, is
simplified a s an equivalent, infinitely long, floating, elas tic beam. The computer
program (Semeniuk, 1975) ca lcul a tes, in sequence, the force requ ired to form a
c ente r cr ac k to break the ridge in two, and then , the for c e required to form a
hinge c rack on each hal f a f the broken ridge.
It wa s later found that for an elastic beam on foundation problem, the failure
load for a finite beam is greater than that for an infinite beam. Therefore, in
a later version, the computer progra m was modi fied to ac c ount for the effect
of the finite length of the ridge. The required nondimensional ridge lengths for
center c rack and hinge crack formations we re al so defined re specti vely.
The Plasticity Method
This method is based on the upper bound limit analysis of the pl a sticity theor y.
The ridge and th e ice sheet are assumed to be ela s tic-perfectl y plastic re s ting
on an elastic-perfectl y plasti c foundation . The ridge force s computed from this
method are upper bounds of the ac tual ridge forces encountered by the cone.

68
 ~------', ----------~

"' ..
Fig. JAMUL TI-YEAR PRE SSURe RIDGE AGAINS T A CONE

-
NE DIAMUEFI AT WAT(FllI#t E

I/ "
/
-A
--"
",,
\
~"'E DIAMETER ... T RIDGE 'S
'( 80nOM WFlfACE

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~r---------------------~

.... ."
....
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-. .
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"
."
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FI .. MEASUAED tKtI
" FlHUf.ASUFlEO (K,)

Fig. 3 r;O:-APAH ISON OF C A l r:u AT r o H.IDer LOADS FROM

TI ll (lA STIr:JTv M[ TH()O WI TH Tf ~,T nATA
(F Oa Ct S AH[ NOT CA L CUL ATt [) f OH HIDCC S I ,

2,6, II, 12, n, 14, 15, 18, 19, fill

69
Figure 1 shows the ridge/cone configuration. We assume, as was observed in
most 0 f the tests, that when the ridge is Ii fted by the co ne, the ice sheet at
the leading edge of the ridge, will break off due to its own weight prior to any
ridge failure. Therefore, in the upper bound anal ysis, the ice sheet in front of
the ,l eading edge of the ridge is ignored.
The upper bound theorem says: "Given a kinematically admissible ve locit y field,
the rate of energy dissipation generated by this velocity field for the entire
sheet-ridge-cone system is greater than or equal to the actual rate 0 f dissipation
under the same loading condi tion." The rate of energ y dissipation has the
following components:
1. D br = rate of energ y dissipa tion due to ridge bending.
2. Dbs = rate of energy d issipation due to ice sheet bending.
3. Dwr = rate of energy dissipation due to ridge weight (or buoyancy).
4. Dws = rate of energy dissipation due to ice sheet weight (or buoyanc y) .
5. Of rate of ene rgy dissipation due to friction between ridge and cone.
Let RH be the horizontal force that the ridge exerts on the cone and V th e far
field ice she et ve locity. The upper bound t heorem is then expressed by the
following inequality.
RH V ~Dbr + Dbs + Dwr + Dws + Of (1)
Notice that the term Of in Eq. (1 ) is due to friction, which is not a true plastic
behav ior. Therefore, Eq. (1) is not a rigorous upper bound exp ressio n. However,
if the coefficient of friction is not significantly large, the error introduced by
Of should be min or.
Five ve loc ity fields have been con sidered for the construction of upper bounds.
Two are de sig ned for long ri dges with center and hinge cracks, two for short
ridges with center crack only, and one for very short ridges with no crack at all.
Each velocity field gives an upper bound for the horizont al forc e . Among the
five bounds, the sm allest is selec ted to be the calculated va lue. Since the
assumed velocit y field only has to be kinemati c ally admissible, the velocity field
associated with the calculated ridge force does not have to agree with what
would be observed during the test.
The detailed calculations are pro vi ded in a cooperative re search study (AOGA
96, 1979). For illustrative purposes, we will describe the outline of the method .
Consider a velocity field shown in Fig. 2, which is for long ridges. It can be
shown that each component on the right hand side of Eq. (1) can be expre sse d
as a function linear in V. Hence, after cancelling V from both sides of Eq. (1),
we have obta ined an upper bound for RH. Thp. right hcln d side of the resul ting
inequalit y is a function 0 f the geometry and strength parameters of thp. ridge
and the characteristics of the velocity field.
From equilibrium considerations, one can then calculate the vertical load, R v ,
from the following equation:
Rv RH(1 - ~ Tan ct )/( ~ + Tan ct )

Where ~ and ct are the coefficient of frict io n and the cone angle respectively.
Thus the upper bound for RV is obtained.
Comparison with Test Results
To veri fy the plasticity method, a test program was condu c ted a t ARCTEl:
Canada Limited's model basin (Edwa rds and Abdelnour, 1977). Among all ridges,
twenty-eight were tested in a broad side orientation. The ridge dimen si ons and
mechanical properties are listed in Table 1.

70
 Table I

Infonnation on Broadside Ridges

Ridge H
L
Br BS h oR
2
aS
2
0cs
2
ER
2
ES
2
"R "S
No. (an) (an) (an) (an) (an) (gr/ an ) (gr/an ) (gr/ an ) (Kg/an ) (Kg/ an )

I 61. 0 7.6 22.9 15.2 1.9 357 312 "228 1362 829 0.18 0.13
2 91.4 12.7 39.~ 12.7 1.9 177 366 "268 1286 971 0.17 0.13
3 152.4 12.7 40.6 12.1 2.4 177 393 "Z88 1286 1045 0 . 22 0.13
4 243.8 12 . 7 30.5 14.0 2.6 295 364 "276 1362 1002 0 . 11 0.12
5 365.8 12.7 40.6 14.0 2.4 479 344 252 1286 913 0 . 11 0.15
6 91.4 8.9 26.7 12.7 1.9 "334 173 223 1647 1359 0.15 0.13
7 152.4 8.9 28.0 12.7 2.0 501 145 197 2653 1242 0.15 0.10
8 213.4 10.2 30.5 12.7 2.0 221 137 223 2653 1355 0.15 0.14
9 213.4 12.7 38.1 12.7 2.0 129 180 233 213 1405 0.11 O.B
10 365.8 14.0 40 . 6 12.7 2.0 154 176 256 114 1544 0.16 O.ll
11 61. 0 10.2 35.6 11.4 2.2 918 314 290 1693 655 0.20 0.16
12 91. 4 10.2 35.6 1I.4 2.2 918 340 370 1693 837 0.20 0.19
13 61. 0 14.6 50.8 12.7 2.1 662 318 392 llB 922 0 . 20 0.19
14 91. 4 14.6 50.8 12.7 , .1 662 327 402 1173 979 0 . 23 0.17
15 121. 9 14 . 6 50.8 12.7 2.2 662 383 476 1173 914 0 . 07 0.16
16 203.2 7.6 33.0 12.7 2. 4 77 302 385 901 "1026 0.10 O.ll
17 274.3 15.2 52.1 12.7 2.4 107 407 380 2240 "1016 0 . 08 0.12
18 90.2 15.2 50.8 12.7 3.9 192 "234 316 1595 "1179 0.15 0 . 09
19 1I9.4 15.2 50.8 12.7 3.8 380 "221 298 2144 "11I2 0.13 0.08
20 152.4 15.2 48.3 12.7 3.8 192 1I8 165 1595 1I00 0.15 0.15
21 182.9 15.2 49.5 12.7 3.8 421 III 151 2144 ll26 0.13 0.13
22 213. 4 8.9 33.0 12.7 3.8 109 223 207 859 544 0.09 0.08
23 274.3 16.5 48.3 12.7 3.8 142 203 181 3557 540 0.06 0.09
24 121. 9 15.2 48 . 3 12.7 5.0 51 278 233 664 765 0.08 O. ll
25 152.4 15.2 49.5 12.7 5.0 119 337 208 866 765 0.10 O.ll
26 182.9 15.2 48.3 12.7 5. 0 119 "307 280 866 677 O.ll 0.10
27 213.4 15 . 2 45.7 12.7 5.0 51 168 252 664 "462 0.08 0.09
28 92.7 15.2 49.5 12.7 4.7 178 213 204 741 430 0.07 0.10

*Estimated Value
L • ridge length h ice sheet thickness
::II
~ "" ridge YOlU1g'S modulus
H ridge thickness OR 2' ridge flexural strength ES ,. ice sheet Young' 5 modulus

Br ridge width on top surface aS ice sheet flexural strength "R 3 ridge coefficient of friction

Bs '" ridge width on bottom surface 0cs = ice sheet crushing strength "S
ice sheet coefficient of friction
'::i.
During each test, be fore the ridge tou c hed the cone, the ice shee t in front of
Lhe ridge rode up the c one and generated signi fic " nt rideup forces. By the time
the ridge moved up and failed against the cone, the rideup of the preceding ic e
sheet still covered a significant portion of the front half of the c one surface.
It wa s there fore assumed that the tot,,1 force recorded was the summation of
both the ridge force and the sheet rideup force. The forces due to ridge failurp.
alone can be obtained approximately by subtracting the rid e up force from the
total force and are denoted b y RV and RH for vertical and hori zontal
components, respectively. Table 2 shows the measured maximum forces for each
test, together with those calculated using both the elasticity and the plasticity
methods.
Some of the data do not represent good test re sults. Ridges, 3, 5, 8, 10, and
16 were cracked during the preparation phase be fore testing and should have
given values lower than expected. Ridge 22, on the other hand, had the
polyethylene sheet, used for pouring the wax ridg", trapped in the ridge body so
that it might have been strengthened and give n test data higher than normal.
Figure 3 shows the comparison of the measured ridge forces with calculated ones
using the elasticity method. A similar comparison with the plastiCity method is
given in Fig. 4. Noti ce that in Fig. 3 as well as in Table 2, no calculations from
the elasticity method were made for several ridge s . These ridges we re short and
the elasticity theory does not calculate the loads. In Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, the data
points with arrows indicate that those ridges were defective and the data points
should be adjusted in the direction of the arrow.
It can be seen that the plasticity method agrees with the test results mlJch
better than the elasticit y method. Ac tuall y , a signi ficant part of the data
scatter was c aused by the defective ridges, i.e ., ridges 3, 5, 8, 10, 16, and 22.
The attached arrows at each point indi c ating the possible data adjustment are
all pointing to the direction toward reduCing the data scatter, e xcept ridge 16.
For this ridge, the measured fle xural strength of 77 g/cm 2 (7.5 Kpa) was 30%
less than the average strength for the sam e batch 0 f ridges. It is possible that
the actual fle xural strength for ridge 16 wa s greaL e r than the reported value and
the calculated ridge forc e would be higher accordingly.
The plastiCity method was also used to compare with the test results of Edwards
and Abdelnour (19 75). This test program was also conducted at ARCTEC Canada
Limited's wa x ice model basin. Among the twent y -one ridges tested, se ven
conformed to the conditions e xpected in the plas tiCity analy s is. Table 3 and Fig.
5 show the comparison of the calculated loads with the measured values for the
seven ridges s elected from this te s t program. Agreement was good.
The plasticity method is also used to predict the loads for ridges 0 f natural ice.
For this purpose, the test re s ults of Verit y (19 75) is s tudied and compared. This
test program was conducted in Imperial Oil Limited's (now Esso Resources
Canada) outdoor test basin using natural saline ice. Si x ice sheets were formed
and tested. Four of them contained ridges in the form of ice beams either free­
floating or frozen to the surrounding ice sheet. Most of the beams were
precracked before reaching the cone. Only four ridges were considered to ha ve
a good failure. These beams are described in the following.
Ridge 1 (Test 4, Ridge 2 in Verity, 1975) was a floating beam. It travelled only
16 in. (40 cm) toward the cone before the beam was jammed on the side wall s
of the ba s in. The reported load is the load developed at this instant. The ridge
also was cracked before testing, although the cracks ap1Jeared to ha ve he aled.
It is apparent that this ridge did not develop its full load potential. Ridge 2
(Test 5, Ridge 1 in Verit y, 1975) was the onl y ridge frozen in the s urrounding ice
sheet . The center crack formed along a previou s crack on the ridg e that was
assumed to have healed. Ridges 3 and 4 (Test 5, Ridges 2 and 3 in Verit y, 1975 )

72
 Table 2
Comparison of Calculated Ridge Forces with Test Data

Measured Maximum Calculated Calculated

Ridge Load Ela sticit y Method Plasticit y Method
Ridge RV RH RV RH RV RV
No. (kg) (kg ) (kg) (kg ) (kg ) (kg )

6.04 5.13 5:89 8.48

2 1 5.46 19.51 16.18 22.80
3 6.99 9.76 5.01 6.51 20.74 32.43
4 7.33 9.50 6.60 8.40 27.07 33.75
5 11.65 14.59 20.74 28.06 40.50 50.50
6 8.84 15.63 8.57 11.60
7 8.01 9.23 7.49 9.15 11.96 16.17
8 8.94 10.34 3.30 4.38 13.62 18.42
9 12.07 15.08* 12.33 16.01 16.37 20.42
10 12.63 16.61 8.45 10.54 22.20 30.64
11 6.81 8.69 9.34 14.02
12 11.69 13 . 51 13.03 19.54
13 19.71 22.79 15.80 23.70
14 22.12 21.46 . 22.34 35.68
15 27.53 32.33 29.56 34.00
16 6 .88 7.25 1.78 2.23 4.62 5.65
17 17.30 22.98 4.31 5.50 22.24 26.10
18 29.00 31.69 26 .96 36.46
19 44.72 39.54 33.02 42.87
20 18.59 23.90 10.08 13.64 29.07 39.32
21 23.99 27.83 19.91 25.86 37.92 49.24
22 15.02 18.54 3.13 3.6B 7.64 9. 15
23 25.01 23.02 5.14 6.15 29.84 33.64
24 8.40 32.61 4 .20 5.24 13.49 15.83
25 31.57 24.08 7.4B 9.33 23.26 28.41
26 33.71 30.95 5.97 7.30 23.00 28.68
27 10.61 23.00 2.18 2.61 13 .04 15.30
28 24.64 23.93 29.13 33.50
1 kg 9.8 N

Table 3
Comparison of Calculated Ridge
Forces with Experimental Data of Edward s and Abdeinour (1975)

Measure d Maximum Calculated Maximum

Forces Forces
Ridge Number RV RH RV RH
(kg) (kg ) (kg ) (kg)
17.77 16.40 15.05 18.76
2 20.45 23.61 14.48 17.33
3 34.09 42.56 43.20 51.73
4 23.60 25.11 17.23 20.63
5 30.91 40.61 40.62 48.64
6 49.30 53.15 63.78 91. 75
7 41.39 49.28 62.09 82.27
1 kg " 9.8 N

73
 Table 4

Comflarison of Calculated Ridge Forces

With EXflerimental Da t a o f Veritl (1 97 5)

Mea s ured Forces Calculated Forces
Ri dge No. R\L( lb ) Rl:l(l b) R\L(lb ) RHOb )
9900 11100 15580 21819
2 8700 10615 19652 27522
3 12000 13571 14513 20325
4 13600 18000 15826 22176
I lb 4.45 N

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74
were again floating ice beams. No precracking wa s observed . Although the
plasticity method was not intended to predict the load s of f1uating ice heams on
cone s, it was used to calculate the ridge loads by asstlming a negligibly thin,
surrounding ice s heet.
The measured and calculated ridge forces are shown in Table 4 . For ridges 1
and 2, the predicted ridge forc es are much larger than the measured ones, which
is consistent with the fac t that these ridges did not deve lop the full load
potential of an ideal ridge. The predicted forces for th e two good ridges (r idg es
3 and 4) are reasonably close to the test results. On the average, the plasticity
method overpredicted the vertical load by 14% and the horizontal load by 26%.
From these compari so ns , it is clear that the pla s ticity method can predict the
ridge forces for wax ice as well as natural ice model ridges as the f fail against
a cone.
Conclusion and Remarks
An analytical model, referred to as the plasticity method, based on the upper
bound limit analysis of the plasticity theor y is developed to calculate the load s
exerted by a multiyear pressure ridge on a cone. To ve rify the applicability of
the analytical model, a mod el test program was conducted in ARCTEC Canada
Limited's wax ic e model basin. From the re sults of this and other test
programs, it wa s demonstrated that the plasticity method can pro vi de a better
estimate of the ridge load as compared with the elasticit y method. More
importantly, unlike the elasticity method, which underestimate s the ridg e loads,
the plast icit y method tends to o ve restimate the ridge loads. For st ructural
design purposes, this load is on the conservative side and, therefore, will lead to
the design of a safe structure.
It is not di fficult to under stand why the elasticity method underestimates the
ridge load and the plasticity method overestimates it. In the elasticity method,
the ridge material is assumed to be elastic-brittle. As soon as the flexural
str ength is reached, the ridge is assumed to break immediately without any
residual strength left. In reality. howe ver, except when the strain rate is
ex tremel y fast (in the order of 10- 5 sec- I, corresponding to an event which lilsts
for no more than a few seconds), a fter the flexural strength has been reached,
the bending moment does not drop to zero immediate ly but graduall y decreases
as the deformation continues. Thi s was evidenced both during laboratory tests
(M urat and Tinawi, 1977 , Fig. 5) and field tests (Frederking and Hausler, 1978,
Fig. 9). The elastici t y method neglect ed the re si dual strength and, therefore,
underestimates the load res istance of the ridge.
The plasticity method overestimates the ridge loads mainl y because the ice is
assumed to be elastic-perfectly plastic . This implies that when the center crack
develops in the ridge, the bending moment across the crack does not decrease
but rem ains at the same le vel. This is not true for sea ice except under ver y
slow strain rate. Assuming a constant bending moment overestimates the load
resi sting capacity of the ridge.
Perhaps both the e lasticity method and the plasticit y method can be im proved
by considering the true moment-de flection re lationship during the formation of
the center crack. Thi s relationship can be obtained by mea suri ng the moment­
de flection relationship during beam bending or plate bending test s.
Notwithstanding the above, the pla st icit y method is st ill a better method to use
when compared to the elasticity method, and based on the comparison with test
data, the predicted ridge loads are quite reasonable.
Thi s paper will conc lude with a further remark. The plasticity method developed
here considers an ideal ridge, i.e., having well defined geometry and material
properties. In rea lit y, ridges in the Arctic waters are non-uni form in their cross

75
 sections, may contain flaws in the ridgc body, m8Y have high variability in the
material properties, and may hGve a weak bottom riue to the contact with warm
sea water. It is important to take all these fa c ts into consideration in the
definition of representative ridge geometry and properties before using this
method to predi c t their loads on structure.
References
1. Abdelnour, R., 1981, "Model Tests of Multiyear Pressure Ridges Moving
Onto Conical Structures," Proceedings, IAHR International Symposium on
Ice, Quebec, Canada, July 27-31, 1981, pp. 728-749.
2. AOGA 96, 1979, "Model Tests and Analysis of Multiyear Pressure Ridges
Failing Against a 45 0 Cone," Operator: Exxon Production Research
Company.
3. Edwards, R. Y. Jr., and Lewis, J. W., 1972, "Model Experiments to
Determine the Forces Exerted on Structures by Moving ,l ee Fields," Report
00571-5, for APOA 25, ARCTEC Inc., Columbia, Maryland, March 6, 1972.
4. Edwards, R. Y. Jr., and Abdelnour, R., 1975, "Preliminary Modelling of the
Process of Penitration of Pressure Ridges on Conical StrlJctures," Report
62C, for APOA 86, ARCTEC Canada Limited, May 24, 1975.
5. Edwards, R. Y. Jr., and Abdelnour, 1977, "Modelling the Interaction Between
Pressure Ridges and Conical Structures," Report 193-C, ARCTEC Canada
Limited, February 25, 1977 .
6. Frederking, R., and Hausler, F.-U., 1978, "The Flexural Behavior of Ice
From In Situ Cantilevel Beam Tests," Proceedings, Part 1, IAHR Symposium
on Ice Problems, I_ulea, Sweden, August 7-9, 1978, pp. 197-215 .
7. Kim, J. K. and Kotras, T. V., 1973, "Mathematical Model to Describe the
Behavior of a Moving Ice Field Encountering a Conical Structure," Technical
Report 0107, for APOA 57, ARCTEC Canada Limited, Montreal, Canada,
December 28, 1973.
8. Lewis, J. W. and Croasdale, K. R ., 1978, "Modeling the Interaction Between
Pressure Ridges and Conical Shaped Struc tures," Proceedings, IAHR Sym­
posium on fce Problems, Lulea, Sweden, August 7-9, 1978, pp. 165-196 .
9. Murat, J.-R., and Tinawi, R., 1977, "Sea-fc e Testing' in Flexure," Pro­
ceedings, POAC 77, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, September 16-30.
1977, pp. 638-653.
10. Semeniuk, A., 1975, "Computer Program to Evaluate the Forces Generated
by a Moving fce Field Encountering a Conical Structure," Report fPRT­
2lME-75, for APOA 87, Imperial Oil Limited, Calgary, Canada, June 1975.
11. Verity, P. H., 1975, "Small Prototype Cone Tests, Winter 74-75," Report
IPRT-39ME-75, for APOA 82, Imperial Oil Limited. Calgary, Canada, 1975.

76
 lAHR Ice Symposium 1984

•
'A HamlJurg

ICE FORMATION AND -PREVENTION ON SUE-ZERO

COOLED HYDRAULIC STRUCTURES

Engelke, Gerhard Technische GDR

Prof. Dr. - Ing. Universitat
JUrgens, Uwe Dresden
Dipl.-Ing.
Leske, Wilfried
Hochschuldozent Dr.-Ing.habil.

Abstract:
Reliabilit~ and securitv of hvdraulic structures under
winter conditions depends on probabilitv of ice formation
and increase of ice thickness.
Statistical investigations for inland waterwavs, lakes and
reservoirs in the mountains of GDR enuble the prognosis of
ice formation as well as ice thickness, which can be the
basis for calculation of ice loads.
Comparisons of GDR-standards for ice loads with internation­
al standards show that the Soviet standard SNIP 11-57-75
can be used for conditions of GDR, if the ice-thickness is
calculated in a wav as referred to in this article.
Recommendations for prevention of ice load on steel-hvdrau­
lic structures are given.
A new eXperimentation set for the investigation of ice
formation on sub-zero cooled ~draulic structures is ex­
plained. The unsteadv temperature fields in the trial bodies
were compared with thermo-dynamic calculations.

77
 1. Prognosis of ice formation on rivers, canals and lakes

in GDR

For inland waterwa¥s in recent ¥ears ice investigations were

made at the "Technische Universitiit Dresden, Sektion Wasser­
wesen" and at the "ForschWlgsanstalt fUr Schiffahrt, Wasser­
und Grundbau". /2/
For the prognosiS of ice formation and ice thickness on
waterwa¥s statistical methods were used. The average maxi­
mum ice thickness was 22 cm, occuring from the middle of
Januar¥ to the middle of Februar¥. The prediction of the
first ice formation using this method was not possible.
Using the prognosis- model of Schuljakowski /1/ the water
temperature of the next da¥ could be predicted when heat
quantit¥, heat convection, average air temperature, average
wind velocit¥ and water velocit¥ were taken into considera­
tion • Some results are shown in fig. 1. With a graduat
application of the prognosis-fields from da¥ to dav a pre­
diction of the first ice formation over a longer period is
possible. After each step it must be tested whether the heat
transfer from the water bod¥ to the surface is greater than
the heat convection into the atmosphere. Under inverse con­
ditions ice occurs first of all.
For the prediction of ice thickness the wellknown depend­
ence from the sum of negative air temperature was used
(fig. 2).
For waterwa¥s and lakes in the flat countr¥ with a depth of
2,0 to 4,0 .ill and still slowlV flowing water with
vw ~ 0,5 m/s following empirical equations for the ice
thickness hE/cm/ depending on the sum of negative air tem­
perature ]E -TL lOCI were evaluated:
hE 1 = 0,826. ~- TL)0,7)6 /cm/ for~- TL~ 100

hE 2 = 2,245 • ~- TL)0,5 1 9 /cm/ for ~-·TL' 100

If the water velocit¥ is vw >.. 0,5 m/s the above values can

78
 -15.---.-~.--------.------~--------'

'0'
t
~
~ -10+---~~~~~~~--~~~~~--------~
::l

....
QI
a.
~ Iwithout ice I
~-5~------~======~------~~~~~
L

o 5 10 15 v(windJ
- - ­ [m/5)

fig. 1 Prognosis of ice for inland-waterways for the

next day depending on the next day average air­
temperature T( L) and wind-velocity v(wind); on
the water-temperature TWA/ °C/ at the be~innin~
of progno s is with the depth of water h =
2 m
water-velocity v = 0 to 1,0 m/s

50
'E
~
40
W
.J:: 30
IfI
III
QI
c
.x
20
.!:!
.J::
~ 10
ell
U
r-, [-TL - ­
0 50 100 150 200 250

fig.2 Thick-ness of ice hE/cm/ for inland-waterways

depending on the sum of ne~ative air-temperature
[ - TL

79
co
0

20 95

90 /
~+
V~) r;W&
t If l'
~t "
10 )
~ 5 80-~
V rt li. '7
""0
0 I---L-.I t/ / j V
'L:
rf 3,33 70-:=
>.
f/ ~ Y
I I--- :.c
) / 7V
Z
c
2,5 60-] I J L
I--- ~ ~ v/ T
<II
0:: 2,0 50- 0.. / . /:. /" '0
"/0 V /
/"A /0
1,65 40 -,1/1/ v/ e /0
1,43 30
7 V / ~ ® station: Warnemlinde
~ ~/ V 0/ ® Station: Schwerin
1,25 20 V /1 V f ® Station: Potsdam
1:7 V'!' V
Iv" V
17
/ ® Station: Karl-Marx-Stadt

1,11 10
.,V V", / 11
V VV
1I l.i
1,05 1--5/ V V
/
1/
I
E-TL­ -
~
1
.7 J I
10 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 02 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 3

fig. 3 Probability in /%/ and return period in /a/ for the sum of negative
air-temperature L - TL
 90

t 80 Q

.......
'7Q. .-H­
E H--r
~ 60 L-H­
roW I-'"
!or"
50 l-1­
40
~
U-H-tf c'

30 - -
w a

20 P"'rl f.lli:Ht
t~ I I III I,!, I,~ I 11m f ;bTiri m111 t~
10
I
!~ II II I I II 11111111115I
75 80 90 95 96 98 99 99,3
Probabi lity ("!oj --....

,
fig. 4 Probatility in / %/ and return period in /a/ for the ice-thickness ~ /cm/ in
lakes and reservoirs in the mountains (350 - 550 m above sea level) with
water depth over 4 m
':Xl
be reduced by one third (1/3].
By statistical analyses of long term climate-dates from the
meteorological stations Warnemtinde, Schwerin, Potsdam and
Karl-Marx- Stadt empirical relations were found (fig. 3) for
the probability of the sum of negative temperatures /3/.
Taking into consideration the normative-usage-time for
h¥draulic structures in years or the return period the value
of 2:- TL can be found, and according to figure 4 th~ proba­
ble ice thickness can now be determined.
These values, based on measurement of ice thickness on lakes
and reservoirs in GDR, are used for the calculation of ioe
loads /5/.

2. Standards in the GDR for the calculation of ice loads on

hydraulic structures
For steel hvdraulic structures in weirs, sluices. dams and
water power stations the standard TGL 13490 /4/ is obligatorv,
which is similar to DIN 19704 from FRG. These fixed ice loads
are partly too great, especially for permanent overflown
gates, where no ice pressure occurs. To avoid uneconomic
steel-hydraulic-structures a new TGL 13490 is necessarv.
For other h¥draulic structures the non obligator¥ standard
WAPRO 3.03 /3;5/ is used, especially in the "Projektierung
Wasserwirtschaft".
The calculation of the probable ice thickness in this
standard (see chapter 1) is a very modern method.
The equations for ice loads in WAPRO 3.03 are derived from
an out of date Soviet standa rd which has now been replaced
by SNIP 11-57-75 /8/. The chapter on ice in this new standard
was trnnslated into German and completed by examples and
explanations /9/. Applic a tion of these ice loads for dimen­
Sioning leads to economic hydraulic structures. Our proposal
is to use these ice loads in GDR too but with calCUlation of
ice thickness as described in chapter 1.
The SNIP 11-57-75 contains values of ice-strenght as a

82
function of sol-containment, temperature, and climatical
factors. For the d¥namic ice pres s ure different loa d-variants
are distinguished. If termic ice pressure is ca lculated the
snow on ice surface and wind influence is considered.
Vertical ice forces deriving from changes in the wa ter- or
ice-level can be calculated according to Sajta n /10/.
Ice conditions on the GDR Baltic coa st are ('. nalysed in /6/.

3. Recommendations for preventing ice loads on steel­

hydraulic-structures /7/
In 1983 the engineer organisation of GDR "Kammer der Tech­
nik" , department for steel-hydraulic-'structures published
rules for operating these structures under winter conditions
with minimal costs and energy.
For steel-hydraulic-structures in dams, weirs and sluices
primary constructive and operating measures to prevent ice
loads are demanded; for heating or air-bubble installations
are often not necessary.
Constructive measures are :
- application of overstreamed gates, which must be often
moved
- very good water-proofing of gates to prevent ice formation
- consideration of additional ice loads by dimensioning the
drive-machinery
arrangement of swimming ice beams or stationary ice
protective walls to produce surface-ice and to prevent
ground-ice or pulp-ice
operating measures can be:
- investigation the necessity of operation during winter
conditions
- investigation of non-operation in winter and of measures,
to go again in to operation
- additional constructive measures to enable full function
of the steel-structures an~ drive-machinery
- installation and operation of equipment for preventing

83

-
 ice loads.
Pieces of equipment against ice-loads are:
- air-bubble installa tions with perforated pipes located at
the base to produce heat transfer from ground to surface,
to prevent of thaw surface ice.
(Rules for dimensioning contnins lit. 7)
- direct heating of h~draulic structures b~ resistant-heat­
ing of reinforcements or pipes; b¥ heating liquids (water,
oil) in sealing structures or b¥ electrical heating
elements positioned at the surface of armatures
indirect heating b¥ electrical induction, by heating pipes
ut the surface of structures or by warm-air-heating.

4. Newl¥ developed experimental equipment for testing ice

formation on sub-zero-cooled hydraulic structures

On navigation structures like sluices or ship-lifts or on

other hydraulic structures with changing water levels, or
with driving gates or ship-tanks through sUb-zero-cooling
of concrete or steel, ice formation occurs which can
increase the weight and affect the security of operation
(See f. e. Ship-lift Kranojarsk /11/).
To solve these problems experimentally and to compare with
calculations of unsteady temperature fields the testing set
as shown in figure 5 was constructed and tested.
The equipment consists of a big refrigerator (1) with auto­
matically controlled temperature down to -35 °c which
contains a tank (2), through which water with temperature
over 0 °c flows. This water is cooled in a second tank (J)
which is situated in another, smaller, controlled refriger­
ator (4). With the pump (5) the water is pumped into the
circuit (6). The circulating discharge is controlled by
valves and by varying the output of the pump. The water­
inlet in tank (2) contains perforated pipes which ensure
equal water temperature and prevent ice formation on the
surface.

84
With an automatically working temperature-controller (7)
and electric thermometers the water and air temperature in
both tanks and refrigerators and also the temperature inside
the test body (9) is checked up.
This test body, made of concrete, coated concrete, steel or
other materials, is fastened above tank (2) on a wire (10).
With an electrical, change speed and reversible motor (11),
which is automatically controlled by two circuit-breakers
(12) (controlling the way of the test body) and n time con­
trolling system (13) the test bod.¥ can dive into the water
of tank (2). The cooling time in air, the diving time in
water for ice formation, and the diving velocity Can be
varied and automatically controlled.
By means of these tests ice formation in sub-zero-cooled
hydraulic structures where the water level is changing or
where they are diving can be investigated.
Tests for ice formation were made with concrete cubes
(10 x 10 x 10 cm) uncoated and coated with polyester. By
means of a computer-program one- and two-dimensional
temperature fields can be calculated and compared with
experimental results.

fig. 5 Test stand for ice formation

85
 Literauurverzeicbnis
/1/ S chuJ.jakovskij, L.G.
"EisbilduDg und Beginn des Eisstandes auf' Flussen,
und Talsperren", russ., Moskau 1960
/2/ Robke, H.; IUussendorf-Mediger, J.
Eisprognose, Eisdruck
Ergebnisbericht der Forschungsanstalt fur Schiffahrt,
Wasser- und Grundbau, 1980
/3/ Erganzung zum. WAPRO 3.03. 11/82
(Werkstandard Projektierung Wasse rwirtschaft)
/4/ TGL 13490/1 Stahlwasserbauten - Tragwerke, 1972
/5/ WAPRO 3.03. (Werkstandard Projektierung Wasserwirt­
schaft "Belastung von Bauwerken durcb Eis"
Werkstandard des VEB Proj. Wassenvirtsch.Halle 1969
/6/ Beckmann, H.
Eisverhaltnisse und Eisbelastungen an den Kusten­
gewiissern der DDR, Diplomarb. TU Dresden, Wasserbau82
/7/ Kammer der Technik der DDR, F~ Stahlwasserbau
Empfehlungen Sw 1 zur Eisfreihaltung von Stahlwasse~
bauten 1983
/8/ SNiP II-57-75 Belastungen und Einw1rkungen aut
hJdrotechnische Anlagen CWellen, Eis und von
Schiffen~ russ. 1975
/9/ L appo; Skladner
Uber den Entwurf der neuen Norm SNiP 1I-57-75, russ.,
Gidrotechniceskoje stroitel'stvo, H. 7/75, S. 43-45
/10/ S ajtan, W.S.
Empfehlungen fiir die Projektierung von Boschungs­
befestigungen aus Stahlbeton und Steinschuttungen
bei Binnenseen
Moskau, 1969
/11/ P okhovitsch, A.I.; Shatalina, I.W.

On Foreastlng and Control of Ice Condition in

Shiplifts

International Symposium. on River and Ice

Budapest 1974

86
 wm Ice Symposium 1984

•
'A Hamburg

MODEL TESTS OF ICE FORCES ON A

WIDE INCLINED STRUCTURE

G. W. Timeo National Research Council Canada

Associate Research Officer

ABSTRACT

A ser ies of tests has been car r ied out to investigate, syste­
matically the magnitude and parameters influencing the interaction of a
level, floating ice sheet with an upward-breaking 45' inclined plane.
The tests were car ried out using carbamide model ice in the ice tank at
the Hydraulics Laboratory NRCC. A steel-frame box with one 45' wood
face was mounted through two load cells (vertical and horizontal direc­
tions) to the front of the main carriage in the tank. The structure was
pushed through the ice by driving the main carriage. Several parameters
were varied over a wide range including the structure height and width;
ice thickness, strength, rigidity and characteristic length; and both
the speed and frictional characteristics of the ice-structure interac­
tion. The load-time curves obtained from the two load cells were analy­
sed using time-series analysis, and the mean and maximum load levels,
standard deviation about the mean, variance spectral density and peak
periods were obtained for each test. The results are presented in tabu­
lar form and are compared to the predictions of two different theories
of an ice sheet interacting with a wide, sloping structure.

87
 1.0 INTRODUCTION

When ice interacts with a structure, the interaction load de­

pends upon the mechanical propert ies of the ice and the shape and size
of the structure. Since the strength of ice in bending (flexure) is
less than in crushing (or compression), reduced ice loads can be achiev­
ed by inclining the face of the structure in order to break the ice in
flexure. The structure geometry of inclined faces in the form of a cone
or two-dimensional plane is very important in ice mechanics. Because of
this, it is necessary to know the loads and parameters affecting the
loads when an ice sheet interacts with an inclined surface. To date,
there have been a number of investigations into this problem using
either analytical or exper imental approaches or =mbinations of both.
In most of these studies when an exper imental investigation has been
performed, the tests have been done for a specific structure geometry
over a limited range of conditions. It would be useful, especially for
input to theoretical models ~o have a detailed set of test results which
COver a wide range of experimental conditions. In this paper, the tech­
niques and resul ts of a ser ies of tests per formed to measure the loads
on a wide inclined plane for a range of test parameters are described.
The results are presented in tabular form and compared to the theoreti­
cal predictions of both a simple two-dimensional theory and a more com­
plete three-dimensional theory of ice loads on wide inclined structures.

2.0 GEOMETRY OF THE INTERACTION

For the Simplest case of an ice sheet interacting with a wide

sloping structure (i. e.
characteristic length of
in Figure 1 (Croasdale,
tangential forces can be
components such that
a structure whose width is comparable to the
the ice sheet), an interaction scheme is shown
1980). For this situation the normal (N) and
resolved into vertical (V) and hoci2ontal (H)

H N sin a + f N cos a
v (1)
v N cos a - f N sin a

wher e a is the angle of inclina­

tion of the structure and f is
h the coefficient of friction be­
f tween the ice and structure.
These equations Can be combined
to gi ve the ratio of the hori­
zontal to vertical forces, ~, as

H sin a + f cos a
(2)
FIGURE 1: INITIAL INTERACTION BETWEEN Ii cos a - f SIn a

ICE AND SLOPING STRUCTURE

These are the defining equations

for this situation.

3.0 EXPERIMENTAL ARRANGEMENT

The tests were performed in the ice tank in the Hydraulics

Laboratory, NRCC (Pratte and Timco, 1981). The tank is 21 m x 7 m x 1.2
m. Carbamide (urea) - doped ice is used as the model ice. The growth

88
procedures, ice structure and mechanical properties of the ice have been
discussed in detail elsewhere (Timco, 1984). The structure was a steel
frame box (.3 m x .3 m x .3 m) with one protruding 45· face which was
covered with a sheet of 19 Iml thick painted plywood. The height (Z) or
freeboard of the structure was 0.26 m for the major i ty of tests, al­
though a few tests were performed with Z = 0.09 m. Three different
structure widths (B = 0.5 m, 1.0 m and 1.5 m) and three different struc­
ture sur faces (painted wood, rubber and masonite) were tested with ice­
structure friction coefficients (f) of 0.02, 0.07 and 0.19 respective­
ly. These values were determined using the test results and equation
(2) • The structure was rounted to the front face of the main car r iage
through two load cells which measured the vertical and horizontal loads
on the structure. The main carriage in the tank is a box-section design
and is constructed with 2.5 em thick steel plates. It weighs 8 tonnes
and is powered with a 40 H. P. d.c. rotor through a helical-geared rack
and pinion drive on both sides of the tank. It is designed for a 5­
I
tonne load at its centre and its speed(s) range is 0.3 - 63 cm.s- • The
system of structure, load cells and carriage was extremely stiff with a
measured resonance frequency greater than 100 Hz. The structure was
pushed through the ice by driving the main carriage. For all tests, the
sampling was not started until the structure was completely into the ice
field. Our ing the test, any ice which fell over the top of the inclined
plane was immediately cleared off the top of the structure frame so that
the ice loads were due only to ice on the sloping face. The output from
the load cell waS sampled at a rate of 10 Hz, digitized and stored on
diSk. The resulting load-time curveS were analysed to yield the mean
(Fm) and maximum load, and standard deviation about the mean load. In
addition, if the time-series was of sufficient length, the variance
spectral density was calculated and plotted and the period (Tp) cor­
responding to the peak in the spectrum was noted. A typical time-series
and its analysis for one sample run is shown in Figure 2.

FIGURE 2 ; eXAMPLE OF COMPUTER PRINTOUT FROM ONE TEST

SHOWING TIME-SERIES OF THE LOAD AND SPECTRAL DENSITV

4.0 RESULTS

Ice Breaking Process - In the interaction process, initially

there were radial cracks extending fran the ends of the structure out­

89
 ward. These were followed by a large circumferential crack at a dis­
tance of 0.5 - 1.0 characteristic length away fran the front face of the
structure. Upon further advance, the large ice piece bounded by this
circumferential crack rotated and started to slide up the front face of
the structure. In most cases, and always for the low friction surfaces,
this piece would break into t"" or three smaller pieces during this
rotation process. In sliding up the face, the ice which overhung the
sides of the inclined plane usually broke off. In almost all cases, the
ice slid up and fell ovet the top of the structure. Occasionally, how­
ever, and only at very low speeds, the ice slid down and off the front
face of the structure.

Quantitative Results - The full quantitative results from the

test program are presented in Table I. In the following sections, the
influence of the var ious parameters are descr ibed through typical ex­
amples.

Effects of Fr ict ion - The ice-structure fr ict ion had a pro­

nounced effect on the magnitude of the ice loads on the structure.
Figure 3 shows the mean vertical ice loads plotted versus the mean hori­
zontal ice loads for all tests and fur all three sur faces. For very low
fr ict ion sur faces, the horizontal and vert ical loads are approximately
the same. With increasing friction, however, the horizontal load be­
comes much higher than the vertical load such that for the masonite sur­
face (f - 0.19), the horizontal load was always -50% higher than the
vertical load. This trend can also be seen in Figure 4 which shows the
mean ice force as a function of interaction speed for two surfaces with
I different friction coefficients tested under the same conditions of
structure height and width, and ice strength and thickness. The verti­
I cal loads are very comparabl~ in the two cases, but the horizontal load
is much higher for the higher friction surface.

!
U

~
u
'"
,go

,go
~./.~.-I~ .-- ._-1'0.1'

./p.. . . . /

~-""
.
z
<
00'
o "-."0.111

-
---
HDRIZQNT AL
VERTI CAL
a.l.Om . 11 . .. . .. c'"
0
0 00 ,.
"
SPEED (CIII · S· ')
" ..
FIGURE 4: MEAN ICE FORCE VERSUS

"'OUII' l : "'''It "'(OIl1e.~ lel "oOl e l " ...... "I",,, HOI"tO"'''~

INTERACTION SPEED SHOWING THE
ICI '0111<:1 '0101 lin ' ... Ta EFFECT OF THE ICE-STRUCTURE FRICTION

Effect of Structure Width - Figure 5 shows the mean horizontal

and vertical ice forces versus the interaction speed for two different
structure widths (8 ; 0.5 m and 1.5 m). As expected, the wider struc­

90
 TABLE. 1 1 TEST REf.;UL'1'5

• I
0, 1". ( HQ r) T p ( Hor) F. l\1I!l' rt) Tv ( 1Jt' (l)
(eM-S - ) l kPa) (CIIl ) (e _) (N) I. ) (N) (Sj

.: :
,.
1.4

...
2. , 68 250 60
3.9 111 !. 4) 5.7 IO £. !. 40
5.7
1.. 68 250 60
4.1 1 20 ! 4 1
109 ! 34

2. , 52 157 57
4.2 132 !. )1 7 .3
127 ! 29

2B.l 52 157 57
4.:2 169 ! 46
0.' '75 ! 43
o.•
42 .2
52 157 57
4.:2 lao !. 57
194 ! ~4

1.'
52 157 51
4.:2 158 ! 45
10.2 150 : 44
10.2

...
.0

20. :2
~:
24
: ~:
158
~~
53
~:8 115
3,8 19 6 !. 35

~ ~~
O••
:;: ; :;
206 !. 36
O••
2 .• 24 158 53 3.8 174 ! 50
'.7 160 !. 45
'. 7
1.1 24 158 53 ).8 176 !. Jl
10 .2
16 I !. 29
10.2
I.'
...
20.1 6 15 20 · 2.] 98 !. 23
I •• 96 ! 18

...
3.0 15 20 2.] 92! 29
85 ! 24

2. , 41 159 50 3.5 146 ! 40

S. I
1)8 !. )5 5. I

2•• 28 102 44 1.5 t91 ! 35

18] !. 29

2. , 11 35 J4 3.5 141 ! 53
1]8 !. 4B
2. , 16 28 3.5 1 )8 .t )7
128 !']J
2. , 4 16 28 3.5 168 !. 18
S. I
159 ! 17
5.1
2.7 29 93 47 3.9 193 !. 54
179 !. 44

2.' 19 5_ 40 3 .9 199 !. 36
' .7 17 I !. ]0·
•• 3

2.7 15 61 42 3.9 187 ! 57

172 !. 50

S.O
10.2
25
2S
89
89
57
57
5. 1 25] ! 50

5 .1 lOQ !. 59

2.'
I..
252
29 0
!. 4 5

!. 5 S
2.'
I.,

20.1 25 89 57 5.' )18 ! 65

1.0 ]29 .:. 60
1.0
2. , 25 89 57 5.' 326 ! 6 1
296 !. 52

O•• 25 ,89 57 5.1 272 ! 66

25.6 248 !. 57
25.6
2.7
2. ,
49
39
770
219
104
76
5.5 ]93 ! 92

5.5 ]63 1 108

'.5 ]96
)68
! 87

.1 97

'.5
7.3
2.7 32 159 70 5 . 5422 t 79
393 !. 70

0. 2
40 104 52 4,) 214 ! 58
196 ! 5)
O. , 14 37 40 4.) 180 i 57
164 !. 50

0.2 14 )7 40 4.) 195 !.)S 175 ! 31

]0.0 14 )7 40 4.) 269 1 55

280 !. 52

0.5 14 )7 40 4.] 199 ... ]2 182 !. 29

20 :~ O•• ::~ ; :; O••

40.0 20
107
50 4. 0 315 .!. 92
0.5 403 1 94
O. S
10. 0 107
so 4. 0 336 .t. 92
J25 '. 86

1. 0 "
20
107
SO 4.0 254 ! 89
229 ! 90

2.'
2. ,
21

61

••
400

49
70
4.0 ]23 .1 56

3.8 261 172

5 .1
3 10
24S
!. 47

60

s. ,

.,

!
2.' 33
310
63 ].8 244 !. 76
7.3 229 .1 69
7.3
2.'
2. ,
20
I.

14 0 52
47
3. 7 265 ! 72

3.8 240 .:. 49

10.5
242
219
!. 67

! 44
10 . 5

2•• .2
42 ].82t]!. S6 22'5 ..!;. 51

:: .. ...
2.7
2.7
2.'
'0
54 m
••
13.
42

55

63

4. I

4 .2
4.1
'" !.­ "]0
, 14
167 ! 58

141 .! 66

;~:
15]
1)2
! 49

!. S6
; ;;
...
2.7 43 '.0 51
4.2 178 !. 58
S.7 160 !. 48
5.7

..
2 •• 20 115 53
4.2 178 ! 62
161 ! S3
.,
• mJ

10.0 ~~ 4.4 263 ! 56

2.0
'"
23 !1
...
! 48
3. 7

--
19.9 23
'0 so 4.4 215 !. 68
I.' 257 ! 62

I.'
2 •• 23
'0 so 4.4 248 .t 56
,. S 209 .!. 46
',5
O. , 23
'0 so 4.4 189 ! 41
25.6 162 ! ]6 25.6
2 .• 173
4. I 216 55
'.5 181 50

2.,
2 ••
53

33

16
120

28

"
53

36

4 . 1 249
4. I 21]
.!
!
!
72

41

7.3 218
190
!.
!. 61

~ 31

7.3
,. S

• .unlf • O. I. . ,
,.
10.2
20. ]
:: ~; :: ::SI~~,;:; 2. I

'" '
2 10
-! "30
2.1
16 12 40 4.5 ]49 .t 68
1.3 259 !. 45
1.3
2 .• 16 ]2 40 4.5261 !94 185 !. 65

1.1 16 32 40 4.5 294 .!. 77

200 • 49

2 •• 54 186 51 4.0 326! 81

213 .!. 52

...
2•• 18 223 6] 4.2 29 4 185
7.3 194 ! Ii 1
7. J
2.' 16 SO 44 4.4 285 .t 6 1
12.8 184 !. 4] 10.2
2.' 16 50 44 4.4 266 .!. 64
170 i 49
5. I

2 •• II 52 42 4.1263 ! 69
,. S 119 !. 42
'.5
5.1 57 18 2 41 ). I 209 .1 43
5.1 164 !. 42
5.1
10. I
57 182 41 3. 12 7] '! 65
18] ! 45

20,3 57 182 41 3.' 275 ! 68

I.,
22 6 !. 47

2.' 57 182 41 3.1241'! 64

7.3 164 t 43
7.3

91
ture had considerably higher loads. The increase in load, however, was
less than the simple ratio of the structure widths.

Effect of Ice Thickness - Figure 6 shows the mean ice forces

as a function of interaction speed for two ice thicknesses (h). These
tests were done on a 1.0 m wide structure with low friction coefficient
and show an increase in both the ""rtical and horizontal load with in­
creasing ice thickness. A similar trend was observed for the higher
friction surfaces.

- HORIZONT AL
- - - VE RTICAL

}
~
z h.S , Iem

w
:i
:?
--e
u '" ~~~...a-~} h·3.9cm

- HOAIZONT AL
. ".
z
«
w
Doo­

B·1.0m
1'0 .02
.cr .2~kP.l

I.
___ VEfHIC ...L

,. 3. 5.
SPE ED (eM-S " 1
SPEED (C"·S·')

FIGURE 6: MEAN ICE FORCE VERSUS

FIGURE 5: MEAN ICE FORCE VERSUS

INTERACTION SPEED SHOWING THE

THE INTERACTION SPEED SHOWING
EFFECT OF THE WIDTH OF THE STRUCTURE THE EFFECT OF ICE THICKNESS

Effect of Interaction Speed - The effects of the interaction

speed are shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6. These figures show the mean ice
forces as a function of interaction speed for various structure
geometries and ice properties. In all cases there was an increase in
load with increasing interaction speed. Note that for higher speeds
i
(>20 em_s- ) the ver tical load is higher than the hor i zontal load for
the same test conditions. This inversion frClll the trend exhibited for
the lower speed tests may be due to ice piling up onto the steel frame
of the model. At these high interaction speeds, this ice pile-up was
very rapid and even with continual clearing some ice accumulation was
una voidable.

Figure 7 shows the relationship between the speed of the

interaction process and the peak period (Tp) of the spectral density
funct ion of the time ser ies of each test. This figure shows the speed
times the peak period plotted versus the characteristic length (R.) of
the ice sheet. Although the interaction speed of the tests range over
tloC> orders of magnitude (0.4-40 cm_s- i ), the product of the speed and
peak period is relatively constant for all tests and averaged -20 em.
Although it might be expected that the peak frequency in the spectrum
should be associated with the breaking characteristics of the ice sheet,
as shown in this figure, this value does not appear to be a funct ion of
the character istic length of the ice. This value of 20 em is in good
agreement with the size of the pieces of ice on the' inclined plane.

92
 Effect of Flexural Strength - Figure 8 shows the effect of the
flexural strength on the ice loads for t...:) di fferent structure widths.
In all cases, there is only a very slight increase in load with increas­
ing ice strength.

-
a ··..· ~

-c -~ --- ~-- {]---O ~ . .. . 0 ..,

.. '1. .. .. . ,

" 0 17111 I IN U . AC TlO .. '"10 " .. . . ~ ••.~ "!flOG .. .-••". , ...

CI<AA ACI UII" l(;lII:.O I " o r , •• ~ ..... r
fiGURE 8 : MEAN ICE FORCE VERSUS
THE fLE X URAL STRENGTH OF THE ICE

5.0 THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS AND COMPARISONS

Var ious theor ies have been ad vanced to predict the ice loads
on an inclined surface (see Croasdale, 1980). Most of the theories
treat the situation by considering the total ice load as a SI.l1l of the
var ious load components including the load necessary to break the ice,
the load generated by the ice moving over or past the structure, and any
loads due to dynamic effects such as ice rotat ion, etc. Most of the
theories, therefore, contain explicit expressions for each of these
terms. In this paper, two theories, the simple 2-dimensional theory and
a moce complex 3-dimensional theory will be reviewed, and the test re­
sults from this test ser ies will be compared to the loads predicted by
both of these theories.

2-Dimensional Theory - In the 2-dimensional theory (discussed

by Croasdale (1980», the maximum vertical force is obtained by consi­
der ing the failure cr iter ion of a semi-infinite plate with a line load
applied along the edge of the plate. with this approach the initial
horizontal force on a structure of width B is given, by

( 3)

where Pw is the density of water, g is the gravitational acceleration

and E is the elastic modulus. This is the component required to break
the ice. The force required to push the ice up the slope is

P
z hB Pig (sin a + f cos a ) (4)
sin Cl

where Z is the height reached by the ice on the slope, and Pi is the
densi ty of ice. Thus, the total load on a wide incl i ned plane of width
B is

93
 !>
i'wg h )1/4 ((Sin cl + f cos a) 2
H2D = 0.68 BO f ~ ( + ZhBPig - - - - - - : - - : - - - +
E cos Ct ~ f sin a

sin u + f cos U) (5)

tan (£

where the first term represents the force necessary to fail the ice, and
the second term represents the force necessary for the ice to climb the
surface of the structure.

3-Dimensional Theory To extend this treatment to three

dimensions, the same mechanisms apply but the zone of ice failure
extends wider than the structure. This has been oone for an inclined
plane structure by Frederking (1980) who predicted the ultimate failure
load for the ice by treating the ice cover as an idealized truncated
wedge. Frederking further extended the theory by taking into account
the static, hydrodynamic and inertial forces necessary to rotate the
broken ice slab onto the face of the structure. For the case of low
interaction speeds, the total horizontal force for breaking the ice
(Hbr)' rotating it onto the surface (H r ) and sliding up the incline
(Hs ) is given by

Hbr .33 ~o fh
2
tan ( ~/2) l (1.16 + 0.0325 t;) + (2.26 + 0.0825) a/X. ] (6)

Hr Nr sin Ct + f Nr cos <J. (7)

x Fg

where
Nr
lb f( <1»

lb 3B/lb + 2 tan ( S/2)

x
6 B/ib + tan ( B/2)

Fg = Pi hA = Pi h Rn 2 (B/ Rn + tan (S/2) )

Hs Ns sin a + f Ns cos a (8)

where Ns = Fg cos a

and a, S, B and l b are geometric dimensions described by Frederking,

and l/f(<I» is the static rotation force factor which is shown in graphi­
cal form in Frederking (1980). For the maximum force which occurs at
contact, 1/f($) " 1.8 for a = 45°. For the case of a structure of fin­
ite height Z, the maximum normal force due to this sliding is approxi­
mately

~ Pig Bh (_Z_ + l b) cos a (9)

sin a 2

The R.bl2 term is included since the block c an extend above the struc­
ture before falling off. This expre ss ion a s sumes that the ice overhang­
ing the sides of the structure breaks off as it slides up the incline.
From this theory, the total horizontal force on the structure is the Surn
of equations (6), (7) and (8), and the total vertical force is obtained

94
 -

from equation (2). The reader is referred to the original paper by

Frederking for full details.

It should be noted that these theor ies predict maxim"n loads

on the structure. Since the time-series of the experiment are oE limi­
ted length, the maximLml exper imental load was taken as the mean ice
force plus two times the standard deviation of the force through the
whole time-series record. This corresponds to a 95% confidence limit
which was in good agreement with and statistically more reliable than
the measured maximum loads. For the calculation of ice loads in the
three dimensional theory, the geometr ic parameters were cho se n based on
the observation of the cracking pattern in the ice during the test such
that (: ~ 30· and £b = 0.75 L. Also, since the dynamic effects out­
lined for the 3-dimensional theory have not been taken into account
here, the compar ison is made only for those tests in which the interac­
l
tion speed is less than 5 cm_s-

The results of the =mplete set of tests are plotted verSus

the values c alculated using these two theor ies in Figure 9a for the
2-dimensional model and in Figure 9b for the 3-dimensional model. In
all cases, the 2-dimensional model signi ficantly under predicts the ice
load on the structure. For the 3-dimensional model, the comparison is
good over the whole range of test c onditions, with the model under pre­
dieting the measured load by 20% on average. This 3-dimensional theory
ties together the whole ser ies of test results in a very coherent man­
ner. Work is underway to try to isolate each of the indi vidual load
components acting in the system in order to revise the analytical model
to predict better the total ice loads on this type of structure.

/
600
2' ,26 m
I 2-0IJolENSIONAL I /
Z o O". Om, /

·>
0
r
>
000

.. 0
•

a
II' I.~ ....

9· ' .O m, Z'.2Im /
/
/
/

..... SONIl E "0 . " /

·::
0

300
l:J. B·1.0 ... , z•. 28 m
/
/

~
z
0
/
// 1"'· "a"
",,0

·
N 0
200 / Q~ 0 8
0
~~
·
~
/
/ 0
<
::' 100 / o x
-1."x ~ ~X\
/
/ (S)

100 200 300 .00 500 600 0 lOa '00 300 400 500 '00

PEAK HORIZONTAL FORCE - EXPERIMENT (N)

FIGURE 9: PEAK ICE FORCE CALCULATED USING (s) 2-DIMENSIONAL THEORY

AND (b) 3-DIMENSIONAL THEORY VERSUS THE EXPERIMENTALLY MEASURED PEAK FORCE

95
6.0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The aut hoe ..culd like to thank Rob Bowen for his t .e chnical
assistance theoughout this test seeies, and Dan Pelletiee for setting up
the computee programs foe the analysis and plotting of the results.

7.0 REFERENCES

Croasdale, K.R., 1980. "Ice Forces on Fixed, Rigid Structures". In

CRREL Sp. Rept. 80-26, p. 34-106, Hanovee, N.H., U.S.A.

Fredeeking, R.M.W., 1980. "Dynamic Ice Foeces on an Inclined Struc­

tuee". In Physics and Mech. of Ice, P. Tryde, ed., Springer-Verlag,
New York.

Peatte, B.D. and Timco, G.W., 1981. "A New Model Basin for the Testing
of Ice-Structure Interactions n • In Peoc. POAC 81, \t)l. II, p.
857-866, Quebec City, Canada.

Timco, G.W., 1984. "Ice Forces on Structures: Physical Modelling Tech­

niques". In Peoc. IAHR 84 Ice Symp., Hamburg, Germany.

96
 wm Ice Symposium 1984
Hamburg

ESTIMATION OF INTERNAL PRESSURE

DUE TO A GROWTH OF ICE THICKNESS IN A CAISSON

Hiroshi Saeki Profes sor Hokkaido University

Kiyoshi Izumi Lecturer Tokai University

Masafumi Sakai Engineer Taisei Corpor ation

Shigeru Ogura Engineer Saitama Prefe ctural

Government

ABSTRACT

Re cen tly, caisson type str ucture s have been used for offshore struc­
ture s , such as artificial islands and oil drilling rigs, in very cold
regions. As the liquid filling the caisson freezes, the in ternal pres sure
rises. Thi s pressure rise, due to an increase of volume caused by ice
growth, can be estimated. Presented in thi s paper are the theoretical
analyses and expe riments needed to develop a method to estimate thi s
internal pressure.

The following conc lusions were obtai ned from thi s inve stigation :

i) With the use of saline water as the f illing material in the te s t

tank, the internal pres sure increased onl y s lightly with the
growth of ice thic kness and the surface of t he ice sheet became
wet due to the permeability of saline-water ice. Radial cracks
did not occur on the surface of the ice sheet.

ii) If an air ga p exists between t he cais son cover and fil ling
material, the rise i n internal pressure due to the growth
of ice thickness would be l e s s ened because of the permeability of
sea i ce to water.

iii ) In the case of fresh water as the filling material in the

test tank, i nte rnal pressure increased markedly with the
growth of i ce thickness; als o radial cracks occ urred on the
surface of the ice. The occ urrence of the se crac ks did not have an
effect on in t ernal pressure.

97
INTRODUCTION

In recent years, the development of seabed resources and the indus­

trialization of cold reg ions have l ed to hydrauli c structures, such as oil
drilling platforms and art ifi cial islands, be ing constructed in coastal
and offshore areas exposed to ice pressure. I mportant in the desi gn of
caissons is the estimation of the increase in internal pressure due to ice
growth in the fi l ling material.

In order to accurately estimate the rise in internal pressure , the

relation between the interna l pressure and the growth of ice thi ckness
must be de term ined; consid er ation must be made for the deflection of the
ice sheet, slippage between the ice sheet and tank side wall, the deforma­
tion of the tank and the permeability of the ice.

The authors conducted interna l pressure experiments and inves tigated

the appli cability of the following five theoretical models.

i) Model

This model calculates the increase in internal pressure

taking only the growt h of ice t hi ckness into considera­
tion; the deflection of the ice sheet, the deformation of
the tank, the slippage between the ice sheet and side wall of
the tank and the permeabi l i t y of the ic e sheet are ignor ed .

ii) Model II

Calcula t ion of the i ncrease in interna l pressure taking into

consideration only the growth of th e ice thickness and the defor­
mation of the side wall of the tank; al l other factors are
ignored.

iii) Model III

Model II factors plus the deflections of t he ice sheet and the

bottom plate of the tank are considered; al l other facto rs are
ignor ed .

iv) Model IV

Model I I I fac tors plus th e slippage between the ice sheet and
side wall of the tank due to t he increase in internal
pressure are considered; the permeabilit y of ice is ignored.

v) Model V

Model IV factors pI un the permeability of ice are considered.

TESTING METHOD AND !V'PARATUS

1. Experimental Apparatus

A diagram of the experimental setup is shown in Fig. 1. Two

identical cy lindrical steel tanks wer e used in this experiment. One was
used in order to measure the internal pressure; the other one was used to
measure the ice thickness. The model cais son tanks had an inside diameter

98
~f 69.76cm and a depth of 89.50cm. The· s i de wal l and the bo Uom of Lh..
tank were externally insu lated with styrof oam and polyure t han e foa m a s
s hown in Fig. 1. All experiments were c onducted in a low t e mperature
test chamber.

2. Exper i mental Method

Two series of exper ime nts were conducted using bo t h sal ine a nd fresh­
water : growth of i ce thickness at var i ous cons t ant a i r t empe ra Lure s , and
int erna l pre ssure t ests at a con s t.a nt air t emperatur e . The t est tanks
were placed in a cold environme nt test chamber with a constant ai r t em­
perature. The eJa psed time (t) was measured from the initial fo r ma tion of
the ice sheet .

The ice thickness growth test se ries was performed using two identi­
cal test tanks. The internal pressure was monitored in one t ank and the
ice thickness was mea sured in the other . Both tanks we re placed in the
test chamber at constant temperatures between _5° e and -JOoe.

The internal pressure test series cons i sted of s i x test s using fresh­
water and four with saline water. The test tank was placed in the test
chamber at a constant - JOoe for each test.

3. Instrumentation

The internal pressure was measured usi ng a standard waterproof

pressure transducer. Th e deformati on of the tank was measured using
strain gauges: fifteen gauges in the verti ca l direction and s i x in the
c ircumferen ce. The defl ection of the ice s heet was mea s ured using four
dial gauges.

TEST RESULTS

1. Relation between Ice Thickness and Accumulated Degree Days

In order to accurately estimate the change in internal pre s s ure, the

relation between the growth of ice thickness and the accum ulated degree
days factor (~T) must be clari fie d. The exper ime ntal relation be tween ice
thickness growth a nd air temperature is sho wn in Fig. 2. Equation (1)
represents the experimental relation sho wn in Fig. 2.

H = K (~T)n ............... . ............ ( 1)

where H ice thi ckness

~T th e accumulated degree days of freezing
temperatures in °e days.
K coefficient dependent on Ta
n numerical factor dependent on Ta

~T in Eq. (1) is defined as :

~T = t x ITa I! 24 ..•••.••.•.•.••..•••.••.•.• (2)

where t duration at temperature Ta

Ta air temperature

Equation (J) is derived from Eqs. (1) and (2).

99
 H ~ K( t x ITal/24)n ........................ (3)

The expe r i mental re.la tion betwe en K and a i r temperature (Ta) is shown
in Fig. 3 (a), and tha t between nand Ta in Fig. 3 (b).

I t can be s e en from Fig. 4 tha t the s urf ace temperature of the ice
(Ts) is tim e depend ent when lt s i nit i a l value ( a t t~O, initial ice sheet
form ed) is hi ghe r than t he air temperat r e (Ta) . The time required for Ts
t o re a ch equi li brium with Ta ( L e., Ts =Ta) i s de pendent on the initial
Ts/ Ta ratio; t he t ime t o reach eq uil i r i um is longe r f or a lower ini tial
Ts/Ta. Figure 2 and Eq. (3 ) show "t he gr owth of i ce t hi ckness depe ndent on
air temperature (Ta).

The relation between ice t hic kness (H) nd LT , as expressed by

Stefan, Neumann and Has emi , i s sh own in Eq . (4).
H '" (LT)~ •..•...••..•....•..•.•.•.•...•...• ( 4)

This relation ( Eq.(4» is different from the experimental results

being repo r ted . Stefan's theory is based on an initial equilibrium state
between the air temperature (Ta) and ice surfa ce te mperature (Ts) ; i.e.,
Ts/Ta~1. It can be concluded from Fig. 4 t hat t his time independent
relationship does not exist .

2. Internal Press ure Due to th e Growth of Ice Th ickness

Th e increase in internal pressure due to the growth of ice th ic kness

is shown in Fig. 5(a) for freshwater and Fig. 5(b) for saline water.
These results show (at t = 80 hours) an internal pres s ure for fr es h water
of 5 kg/cm 2 and for saline water of 0.5 kg/cm 2 • This demonstrates that the
internal pressure "i s dependent on the filling mater ial in the cais son.

3. Ice Sheet Behavior

The deflections of the ice sheets (measured by dial gauges) ar e shown

in Fig. 6 (a) for freshwater a nd Fig. 6 (b) for saline water. Dial gauge
one (D .G. 1) was set at the center of the ice sheet and D.G. 4 at 30cm
from the center .

The saline and freshwater ice sheets behaved differ ently during the
experiments. In the case of freshwater, water came out from between the
ice s heet and the side wall of the tank three hours after the ice sheet's
surface was initially formed ( t = 3 hours). Two to five hours after th e
ice sheet was refrozen, radial cra cks occurred on the surfac e of the ice.
These cracks grew from t he center toward the side wall. Water did not
escape from the cracks .

In the case of saline water, water escaped from the edge of the ice
sheet (1. e., adjacent to the tank side wall) at t = 1- 2 hours. This water
covered the surface of the ice sheet . After the ice sheet refroze , cra cks
did not occur. The surface of the ice sheet became wet with high density
sa l ine water whi c h had permeated the ice.

CALCULATION NETHOD FOR INTERNAL PRESSURE

The followi ng five theoreti cal mo dels were investigated to evaluate

their applicability t o the experimental results.

100
1. Model

Th is model calculates the increase in internal pre ssu re taking only

the growth of ice thick ness into cons i derati on.

As s hown i n Fig. 7, HWl is the initial thic kness of t he water l aye r

prior to freezing . Upon fr eezing this layer increas es in thickness to Hi.
The weight of th e initial water laye r pri or to fre.ez ing is s hown in
Eq .(5 ) . The weight of this lay er after freezin g i s shown in Eq.(6) .
WWl = pw ' 1I.D~ .Hwl /4 ..... . ........... . ...... (5)

Wi = p i . 11 • D5 . Hi /4 ................ . ... ( 6)

wher e II\.ul weight of liqui d

Wi weight of i ce
!full thickness of liquid laye r
Hi thickness of ice l aye r
Ho initial depth of water
Do diameter of tank
pw den sity of liquid
Pi density of i ce

Obv i ous ly Ww, is equal to Wi; therefore, Eq . (7) i s derived from Eq s . (5)
an d (6) .
tlH = Hi - HWl = (1 - (pi/pw)) ' II i ., . ....... (7)

The inc r ease in interna l pre ssure caus ed by this tlH i s shown in Eq. (8) .

p 1 1 - (p i /pw ) .•. (8)

a . (Ho/ Hi ) - (P i / PW)
the increase in i nte rna l pressure
~ compressi on rati o
tlV the in crease of vol ume

Fi gure 8 s how s the calculati on results using the follow ing values in Eq.
(8) :

de ns ity of freshwater 0 . 9998 g/cm 3

dens ity of freshwater ic e 0 . 9168 g/cm 3
density of salin e water 1. 0)00 g/cm 3
density of sal ine -water ic e 0.9224 g/cm 3
com pression ratio ~ = 4 .5 x
10- ; cm2 /g
Hi was mea sur ed in the i ce thickness expe riment.

The pr essures calc ula ted using Eq. (8 ) (shown in Fig. 8) are far
larger than those measured experime nta lly (s hown i n Fig. 5 (a), (b) ) ;
therefore, Model I has little applicability to the exper iment.

2. Model II

This mode l calculates the incr ease in internal pressure taking into
considerati on the growth of i ce thi·ckne ss and the de for mation of th e side
wall of the tank .

P internal press ure

h thickness of the side wal l of the tank

101
 Es Yo ung's modulus of stee l

t' t e nsion in the s ide wall

o tensile stre ss
2 ci rcumfere nce of s i de wa ll

62 increase of circumfere nce

E: de for matio n

The foll owing equa t i ons are given:

2t ' = P·Do 0= t' /h P' Do /2'h

6£ = n'Do'E:=n · p'D~/2 'E s ' h

Th eref ore , t he increased diameter of th e t a nk (D2 ) due to the in terna l
pressure is gi ven by Eq . (9).

D2 (2 + 6£) / n = Do. (1 + (P·Do /2 · Es . h ) ..... ..... .. . (9)

The internal pressure i s shown in Eq. ( 10 ).

1 6V
P
a
..... ... ....... .. (10)

where 6Vl t he increase in volume of illi ng ma t er ial

6V2 the i ncreas e in volume of the tank

Equat i on ( 11) is ob~aine d from Eqs ~ (7) and ( 10) . . •.•. (1 1)

p2 + ~~~( Do + a · Es ·h Ho/ lii - Pi/ pw ) P + 4 ' o§' h' ( a i /OW- 1 _\= 0

Do Ho/Hi+Pi / puJ- 2 ~ M, /H:L+Pi / pw.-2J
In Fig. 9 the r esul ts of Eq. ( 11) are shown using the follo win g val ues :

Young's modul us : Es = 2 . 1 X 10 6 kg/cm 2

thi ckness of the side wall of th e t ank : h = 0.48c m
Ice thicknes s Hi was measured in t he ic e thi ckness
expe rimen t.

The pressures ca l c ulated us ing Eq . ( 11) a re far lar ger tha n t hose measu r ed
in the experiment ( shown in Fi g. 5 ( a) , (b) ) ; the ref ore , Mode l II has
li ttle applica bility to t he exper im ental re sults .

3. Mode l III

Thi s model calc ul ates t he increase in inter-rual pre ssure t a kin g int o
cons ideration t he fo ll owing: the growth of i ce t hi ckness, the deformation
of t he side wall of t he t a nk and the deflec tions of both t he i ce s he e t a nd
th e bo tt om pl at e of the tank.

The increase in inter nal vo lume (nV; ) due t o t he de f le ction of th e

ice sheet is obtained by Eq . (1 2) .

t:,V, = JJw:i-d0 ' dr = 2nf~wrd r .. . ........ . ................ (12) .

The de-r le cti on equatio n, assumi ng a unifo rm load a nd a fixe d

Circ um f erence , is shown in F~ . ( 1 J) .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . ( 1 J)

102
 where w the deflec tion u f the ice sh ee t
a rad i us of Lhe t a nk
D t he fl exural r j gidi ty of the ice s heet
D = Ei · Hi ' / 12 ( 1 - Vi 2)
Ei Youn ) I S modul us of i ce
Vi Poi ss on 's rat i o of ice

Eq uati on (14 ) is ob ta i ne d fro m Eq s. ( 12) and (13).

/:,V, = TI·D~· (1 - vf) ·P/ 1024· Ei · Hi .... . ....... ... ........ ( 14)

The in c rease i n Lhu vol ume dUH to the defle ctions of both the i ce she e t
and the bottom plate of Lhe t ank i s sh own by Eq . ( 15) .

G 2 2
/:,V, ~.P.( 1- v s 2 + 1-VL) .......................... ( 15)

1024 Es. h Ei· Hi

where Es Young's modulus of steel

l/s Po isson's rat i o of s t ee l
h thickness of bot t om plate of t he tank

The internal pre ssure is obtained by Eq. ( 16) using /:,V l and /:,V 2 obta i ned
from Model I and Model II .

1 /:,V 1 /:,Vl- /:,V2 /:,V,

P = ""(1 ·V=""(1· V - •••••••••••••• ( 16)

/:,H + Ho - Hi)
llH 1I0 - Hi

Dl!1-V~+ ~)
~Es·h3 Ei·h' /:,H - Ho + Hi
I. P
4E§. h' /:,H
+ --D~ • 'i',TIH-'H"o"=-:"""H"i- o ................. ( 17)

The pressure s calculated using Eq. (17) s howed on l y a fi ve percent

decrease from tho se of Model II; therefore, Model II I has little appli ca­
bi l ity to the experime ntal results.

4. Model IV

The results of the above mentioned mode ls showed far larger pressure
values than t hos e measur ed in the experiment.

Model IV cal culates the in crease in inte rnal pr ess ure taking into
cons ideration the Model III fa ctors plus the internal pres sure indu ced
s lippage between the i ce sheet and the si de wall of the tank. The rapid
de crease i n inter nal pressure seen in Fig. 5 (a) can be attributed to an
inc remental increase in volume due to slippage. If this slippage occurs
with consta nt velocity, the internal pressure is obtained fro m Eq. ( 18).
This eq uati on i s derived from Eq. ( 17) wi th the addition of a slippage

103
f a c tor.
\4. ES.h( lI\1 t H o - H i )
p2+! D~ Do-u E ·h lIH _ Ho t Hi _ 2 z

D6( 1-A 1-VI) 1

64 """E8-h't Ei' Hi lIH - Ho + Hi - 2z r) P

+ 4E~.h2
--D-6­ .....•.....•••.• (18)

where z t
z le ngth of slippage
i3 sli ppa ge veloc ity

The pres s ures calculated by Eq. (18) a re shown in Fig. 10. The
calculated internal pressures do not show a signif i cant chan ge despite an
incr ease , from O. 000"1 to O. 01 cm/ hr, in the s li ppa ge ve loci ty.

Model IV sh ows far larger internal pressures tha n the experimental

re sul ts; ther efore, this model also has no applicability to the
exper imental results.

5. Model V

This model calculates the increase in int erna l pressure taking into
consideration Model IV factors plus the permea bili ty of ice.

With saline water as the filling mater ia l , t here was only a slight
increase in in ter nal pressure wi th the growth of ice thickness. The
surface of the ice sheet beca me wet and t he density of the saline water on
the surface of the ic e sheet was very hi gh . This shows that th e
coefficient of permeabi l ity of saline-water ic e is hi gh.

The quantity of water permeating the ice shee t is obta ined by Eq.
(19 ) .

Q k.( \D6) ( P~~* ).lIt .................... (19)

where Q quantity of water permea ted

k coefficient of per meabili t y
w* density of caisson f i l ling material
lit time

The difference between the calculated and the measured deflection of

the ice sheet , with the slippage effect acc ounte d for by Eq. ( 18 ), can be
use d to determine the quantity of water that has permeated the ice sheet.
The coefficient of permeability of the ice can be calculated from this
quantity of water.

Figure 11 shows the derived coefficients of permeability for both

saline and fre shwater. Ke i s calculated from the change of the internal
pressure of RUN 6 ( freshwater) and RUN 12 (saline water). Kc is calcu­
lated from a regressive eva l uation of the exper ime ntal re sul ts : six tests
using fresh wa ter and four tests using saline water. The coefficient of
pe rmeabi lity of freshwater ice decreases with increasing ice thickness.

104
 With saline-water ice, the coefficient of permeability increased with
increasing ice thickness. When the ice is thin, little difference can be
seen between the coefficients of permeability of freshwater ice apd
saline-water ice. As the ice thicknes s in creases, the coefficient of
permeability of saline-water ice become s larger than that of freshwater
ice.

The derived coefficients of permeability shown in Fig. 11 are similar

to the results obtained by Saito and Ono (1.1 x 10- 4 ~ 8.4 X 10- 2
cm/s ec) using artificial sea ice and by Pounder and Little (3 . 4 x 10- 4 ~
1.2 X 10-' cm/sec) using multiyear sea ice from the Arctic Ocean. This
indicates that Model V may be used to model the internal pressure.

CONCLUSIONS

1. In order t o calculate the internal pressur e due to the growth of ice

in a caisson, the following fa ctor s must be known: the thi ckness of
ice, the slippage velocity between the ice sheet and the side wall of
the caisson, the permeability of the i ce , the size of caiss on and
Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio of both the caisson material and
ice sheet.

2. When saline water was used as the filling material in the test tank,
the internal pressure increased only slightly with th e growth of ice
thickness and the surface of the ice sheet became wet due to the
permeability of the saline-water ice.

3. I f an air gap exists between the caisson cover and fil l ing material,
the increase in internal pressure due t o the growth of ice thickness
would be lessened because of the permeabi l ity of sea ice.

4· With the us e of freshwater in the test tank, internal pressure

incre as ed markedly with the growth of ice thickness; also radial
cracks occurred on the surface of the ice. The occurrence of these
cracks did not have an effect on internal pressure.

5. Using a regressive calculation based upon Model V, the coefficients

of permeability of both saline and freshwater ice were determined.
For saline-water ice, the coefficient of permeability decreased with
increased ice thickness. The coefficient increased with increased
freshwater ice thickness. The coefficient of permeability was within
a range of 10- ~ 10- cm/sec for saline-water ice and 10- 5 ~ 10- 3
3 2

cm/s ec for freshwater ice. These values correspond wit h experimental

results reported by Saito and Ono (artificial sea ice) and by Rounder
and Little (m Ultiyear Arctic Ocean sea ice).

REFERENCE

1) Saito, T. and N. Ono: Percolation of Sea Ice - Measurements of

Kerosene Permeability of NaCl Ice -, Low Temperature SCience, Ser. A,
37, pp. 55-62 , 1978.
2) Pounder, E. R. and E. M. Little: Some Physical Pr ope rties of Sea Ice,
Canadian Jour. of Physics, 37, pp. 443-473 , 1959.

105

-
 [a=-S'C
Dial Gauge fa=-IO'C
a =-20'C
T =-30"(
a

Pressure
Transducer
Urethane Foam
Glass Wall

10 [T ('cday) 100
Fig.l Test tank and Fig . 2 Experimental relation
in s trumentati on diagram i ce thickness growth and accumu­
-lated air te~erature ( ~T )

n r--------r--------~-------r--__,

to - to

05 0.5 - .

°0:--~-S~---1~0--~--~-2LO---Ta~(-'C-)~
- JLO- 0~0----~S~---1~0----'--~-2~0--~--~-JLO-T-a-
( ·C~)

Fig . 3( a ) Experimental rel ation Fig . 3(b) Experimental relation

K and air temperature (Ta ) n and air te~rature (Ta )

l){,
Ta /Ta=- ~'C
1.0\---- - -- I- --::::O>---'==-l;l= -10'C­
T3= -20'C
I•
T3= -30 C

Fig . 4 Experimental relation

air temperature (Ta ) and i ce
surface temperature (Ts )

003 L - -L---'----'-L.....-'--'-'-1LO--'-----'----'-L.....-'-'-'-10LO-­
1 t (hours)

106
 pi
(kg a Freshwater oD
lem) To=-30'( o
o

~of---0 RUN 5 / 0 /0

oRUN6 00 0 P 1.0rs.a.une. w ter

To =-30'(
p (k92. oRUN12
lem) oRUN1~
20/ o, go'=°
o:l-I- - -+ - - ---j 0,
o~o
0° 0
O~lr o
o
00 ­ ,nRB
000 20 ~O 60 80. 100 120
o 20 ~O 60 I(hr) 80
Fig. 5(a) Experimental relation Fig. 5(b) Experi mental relat ion
internal pressure and growth of internal pressure and growth of
freshwater ice thickness saline-water i ce thickness

w
(mm)
'
Freshwater 30.00
T --30'( W
~O.OO 0 RUN 5 DG. l 0 00 (mm) ° RUN 12 D.G.l
• RUN5 D.G.~
oRUN6D.G.l 00
00
2000 : ~~~it~g·~ 0 °
• RUN6 D.G.~ 0 0 • RUNI1~ D.G.~ 0 ° I 0°

10 ~~ 6'0
2000 10.00 c ~ 0 D I ••••

I ···· lr~
1
0
10 ° 0 I
D°DO 00, •• ,f' I I
'1 80 DI 000
00 •• -

I n.'1 ~ ~ •••
O.OO~#-·Y. ". •• ..J.l.L..LH
O.OOJ-.g},:
o
S;.o •• ",' ':.
20 ~O 60
l . . .
o 20 ~O 60 I(hr) 80 80 100 120 I~O 160
t(hr)

Fig. 6(a) Experimental i ce sheet Fig. 6(b) Experimental ice sheet

deflection growth for freshwater deflection growth for sa line water

"3
 Fig. 7 Diagram for
Mo del 1 calculation

kg /cm 2
Ta =­ JO ° c
300 . : freshwater
/':; : saline water
p •
/':;

200
•
/':;

•
/':;

100
•
/ ':;

•
/ ':;

0 20 30 hr
10
t
Fig . 8 Calculation resu lt s: Model 1 ( Eq . 8

.
kg/cm2

Ta = -30· c /':;

• •
200 : freshwater /':;
/':; : saline water
p ~
~
e.6
100 ~
!
!
!
!
0 10 20 30 40 50 hr

t
Fig. 9 Calcu lation re s ult s: Model 11 ( Eq .ll )

108
kg/cn'
Ta =- 30· c
Jl =0.01 em/hr
50
0: freshwater
6: saline water
•
•
0
Jl =0.0001 em/hr ...
40 . : freshwater • 0
...c, c,

. : saline water ~ 0
p •
0 ...
A
C,

• •c,
30 0
A
C,
C,
A

20 •
0
0
A
C,

•~ A
c,
10 c,
i
0 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 h'

t
Fig . 10 Calculation results: Model 111 (Eq.18)

em/sec
c,
(x 10) . : RUN 6 (f.w.) KE o
10 0: freshwater KC
0: RUN 12(s.w.) KE
6: saline water c, o
K KC
o

5
c, 0
00
0 c,
~
c,­
c,

0
0 -
0
.0
~ eo

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 hr

t
Fig. 11 Derived coeff i c ient s of permeabi lit y

109
 lAHR Ice Symposium 1984

Hamburg

EXTRACTION OF PI LES BY REPEATED

WATER - LEVEL FLUCTUATIONS

F. Thunbo O1rlstensen Institute of Hydrodynaml cs and DenlTB r1<.

Hydraulic Engineering
p. T ryde Techni ca l University of Oenf1'6rk
Lyng by

Abstract
A model for the socces slve lifting of piles t¥ floating Ice sheets during repeated
water-level fluctuations Is presented. The e>rtractlon phencmanon Is well knewn, and numer­
OJ5 theoretical solutions are available, If the theory of elasticity Is applicable and If
cracks fonn In certain patterns. Most of the models consider an instantansOJ5 wl!tter-Iavel

rise to be the cause of pile extraction. None of thEJrl describes the sLCcessiv8 rrec:hanJ sn
where piles are lifted step by step as a result of repebted actions. Since neny plies are
lifted far more than the maximum reter . level fluctuation durIng rell!ttlvely short periods of
time, a successive mechanl91'1 must be the cause of extr03C'tIoo. A model for such a mechanlsn

Is presented. The model fOOJses on the refreezing of the Inner circumferential craCk.
The model will be tested by experiments at the Cold Regions Research and Engl neerlng

Laboratory (CRREL) In Hanove r, New Htllrpshl re, durl ng the sunrrer of 1984.
Only limIted results Bre Included In this paper.
Due to the complex nature of the phenocrenon, on Iy the pile-Ice Interaction I s consid­
ered. A detailed analySiS shruld also Include the soil-pile Interaction as well as a rela­

tion bet...aen the verti ca l motions of harbor and nearshore Ice and the open-'fr6ter offshore
w03ter-level fluctuation resulting fran tides, seiche motion, wind-ge ne rated set-ups, and

\lEJte r wave s"

111
I ntroduct Ion
Most ot the 'tIClrk on uplifting forces has been based on the theories at an elastic or
viscoelastic plate on an elastic foundation. As the water level rises, the Icesheetwlll
deflect and cause the veter to exert an uplifting force on the Ice sheet due to the h)<fro­
static water pressure on the botton of the Ice. This force Is balanced by the skin friction

bet--een the pile and the soil until the pile pulling capacity Is exceeded. The pile Is
eventually pulled oot of the grrund. It the pile pul ling reslst.elnce Is large enrugh, the

rising teter level ",III cause the Ice to tall Instead.

Failure OCQJrs In three modes. FI rst there Is adhesion tal lure, whid'l Is a she~r fail­

ure at the pile-Ice Intertace. Itlen I Ot-adleslon c~tlngs or jacj(ets are used, this f~llure

Is canrnon rut far fran universal. Second there Is shear failure In a clrrular Ice-Ice 10­

terface close tothe pile. This t~IIure type Is not canrnon as a first f~llure In fI~tlng

Ice sheets. Theoretically the shear failure Is not likely to ocrur under nonnal conditions
before the th I rd and most canmon fa I lure type, name Iy bendl ng fa I lure. Bendl ng stresses
cause the Ice to tall In tension at the bottan and fonn a clrQJmferentlal crack close to the

pile. Piles of all ""terlals have a hl!;tler heat conductivity than the Ice sheet. EScause
of this, ~n Ice cone fonns arrund the pile while the Ice grOtS; I.e. the Ice sheet Is thick­

er close to the pile than ' t Is a little distance tran the pile. Thus, bending stresses
hJ!Ve their maximum some distance fran the plte (Fig. 1). Of the canmon pile rraterl~ls,

steel has the h I~est heat conduct Ivlty. Experience gained through field obserlllttions ~nd

laboratory tests by Zabllansky <l984a) Indicates an average distance of two pile dl5"l6ters
for steel and concrete piles and one pile dlarreter tor 'tICloden plies trOT1 the pile perlrreter
to the crack fomed.

Often the Ice sheet doesn't separate .....tIen the Inner clrOJmferentJal craCk Is formed,
but the crack acts like a hinge. This Is due to Interlocking of the fr.elcture surfaces. It

the .eter level rises further, the Ice sheet will fall In tension at the bottan, forming
radial crad<s emanating fran the cl rrumfe,.entl~I crack. These radial cracks prq,agate wt­
tents .....tIen the .eter level rises. A nunber of wedges, often 5 or 6, Is formed. The ulti­
mate failure ocrurs when bending stresses cause the wedges to fall I n tension at the tq:>,
fontllng an ruter clrOJmferentlal crack.
The plate theory .05 Initiated by Hertz (1884). W'!""'n (1950) fonrulated the results In
terms of Kelvin functions.. Recent authors using the plate theory appr~ch are Kerr

(1975a,bJ, Michel (1978) .nd N9\lel (1958,1961,1970,1972). These theories deal .Ith only one

P'"""'

% A% %/ %
FOllure ~ ~

t~J
Plane

rlgure 1. Ice cone arrund pile.

112
..~ter-Ievel rise.. The aim of this peper Is to deal -wIth several cycles of a fluctuating

'IIIf!Iter level.
A rretJor problem In dealing with the uplift phenanenon Is the limited amoont of reliable
field rreasurerrents. So fer, field obser\RJtlons and lTB~surerrents have been reported bot ZlIbl­
l ansky' (1964b), Tryde (1963), Coe (1962), Wortley (1962) and Hodek (1976).

P late Theory ApD rooch

The plata theory epproach Is thoraJghly described elserrther8 and need not be explained
here. The governing differential equation for the prab I em reads:
4 3 2
d • 2 d • 1 d • I d. ~ (1)
~+-;:-~-;~+7;;= o
In which." Is the deflection of the neutral plane, r Is the distance fran the pile (I.e. the

polar coordinate), q Is the Intensity of the dlstrlruted load, k Is the toondatlon modulus
(I.e. the specific weight of ..ater), and 0 Is the flexural rigidity ot the plate.. An aver­

age 0 may be used to cOf\l)ensate for the nonhcrnogeneaJs rreterlal. The wei I-len own solution to

eq. (1) reads :

.(r) = Alber( r/l) + A2hel (r/l) + A3ker( r/l) + A4kel (rill (2)

'Where be'-, bel, ker" and kel are the Kelvin functions. Due to the reg.alarl'ty condtlons at

r -+- 00, Ai and A2 ntJst equal zero. The characteristic length, I, Is defined by:

1 = ( Eh3/ 12k( 1-V~ )0.25 = (O/k)0.25 • (3)

Is YOJng's mowlus and v Is Poisson's ratio of the Ice.. FrCJn bOJndary conditions such as

.(a) (, (4)

'W' (a) (5)

the specific solution can be foond. Prlrres Indicate derl'RJtlves, Do Is the ....eter-Ievet rise,
and a 15 the pile radius. 'Ittlen an lea cone fof1ftS ar"aJnd the pile, the most correct approach
'Would be to use the effective pile dlanater, 'WhIch Is the pile dli!lrreter plus the collar
size, as shcwn In Figure 1. A relation between the InciJced up l ! ft force, P, and the radial
bending stress close tothe pile, cr, can be established. This yields

p=~~2(lF(<ll (6)
3 p

'n ...tllch a Is the nondlnmslonal pile radius (dll) and

Fp«().) = (kern ker'a + kela kel l cx)/(ker'(l)2 + (keI'Cll 2). (7)

In the case of wedges, things becane a bit more c~llcated. The governing dlfferen­

tl al equation for the wedge reads:

4 3
d •
;Jt+-;J+
2 d •
• = ° (6)

In whldl x Is the nondlmen s lonal distance r/ l. Oleudonne solved this equation using a

Laplace tn!lnsform In i!I c01'lplex plane (Nevel, 1958) . With the usual regUlarity conditions

and the bOJndary conditions

weal ( 9)

W I I (a) ( 10)

a rell!ltlon can be estl!lbllshed bet...een the Induced uplift force and the 'tI6ter level rise:

113
 P = 1I·2lT kl 2,. (a) (11)

In wh I d1

( 12)

Dn2 and Dn3 are the nomellzed Dleudonne functions (Wym~n, 1950). Erfllhasls Is put on, the
fact that eq (11) 15 a purely elastic formula with no consideration of the strength of the
Ice. The corresponding ~ (6) for the uncracked plate Is limited by Inserting the fle)QJral
strength, Of' as o . Stresses can be detennlned In the wedge, but the calO..llatlons are too
caJ1)llcated to rutllne here. The resulting maximum uplift force, h~elJ er, can be approxl­
/feted by the much simpler fonnula:
2 3
P = 1.154 Of h (1.05 + 2a + 0.5( ) (13)

."here the flexural strength, Of' Is considered. The position of the outer clrrumferentlal
crack, I.e. the maximum bending stresses In the lIIedge, cen be found fran Figure 2. The cal­

culations needed to obtai" the curve In Figure 2 can be fcund In Nevel (1972). If the nllTt­
ber of .adges formed, N, Is considered, one sha.dd replace 11' bf N tan (1T/N) In eq. (11).
This Is where the plt'te theory approach stands today.
The solution for the deflection of a viscoelastic plate In the closely related bearing

capacity proble'Tl has been presented by Takagi (1978). Pla s tic analyses h.!llve been done, e.g.
by Meyerhof (1962), but these analyses have not yet been applied to the extr"!lctlon phenane­

non.
Cracks often form In pattems that are variations of those mentioned ab ove. This Is
because the Ice Is nonhanogeneQJs with respect to thlclcness, cryst.!lll structure and rrechanl­
cal prcpertles.. The formulae mentioned, hOli'ever, give reasonable results, althQJgh test re­
sults of SOfl"e authors Indicate that the maximum uplift force may be at least 20% hlg.er than
the theoretically predicted force.. This I s partially because theoretical predictions usual­

ly are based on the pile dlarreter, a, Instead of the effective pile dlarreter, .!lIeff. The use
of aeff Instead of a would typically Increase the predicted maximum uplift force by 5%. The

L.. li' 10~ .

0.5

Figure 2. Nondlmenslonal wedge length at ultl­

rrete failure as a fl.l1ctlon of nondlnenslonal
pile radius. 80th are nondimenslonallzed by
the dlaracterlstlc length ~.

114
 300 r--,r--'---.---.--~--~--~--~--'"

200

(kN)

100

o 0.2 0.4 06
h (m)

Figure 3. Theoretically predicted uplift forces,

assllTllng a pile dlanete of 0.25 m, a Yrung's
modulus for Ice of 5Xl0
6 kPa and a Poisson's ratio
of 0.33.

formulae are depicted' n Figure 3. P ml n Is the "1' rst crack ana Iys 15" correspondl"9 to eq
(6), and Prrex Is fran eq (11), where the 'fIeter level rise, D., has been determined so that

the systErTl Is at ult Irrete fa I lure; I.e. the bendl"9 str-esses I n the wedge are at rnaxlmL.fn.

Ref reez ' "9

One of the m05t Im!X)rtant features of an Ice sheet 15 the rafr-eezl "g. IHlen the Ice
sheet falls In tension at the botton, ~aterwlll penetrate Into the crad<. and start freez­
Ing; . I.e. the crad<. will sl(JIMly rSg31n Its strength with time. This will affect the stress
and strain dlstrlbJtlons In the Ice sheet ~s mentioned by Kerr (1975a). Consider a wedge of
the uncracked pl~te as shown In Figure 4.

In the plate theory a moment per length, '"1-, can be transferred a long the line de sc rib-
Ing the wedge, I.e. 8=1. The derivati on can be found In Mi chel (1978). In the wedge theory
(Nevel, 1958) no mOf'l"8nt can be transferred. The wedge Is free along the lines In Figure 4,
whld'l In this cese actu~lly represent crad<.s. As the crad<.s refreeze, hOI/ever, they will
gradually ~llcw an Increasing marmnt to be transferred. The governing differential equ~tlon

for this wedge-In model becanes:

3
d\ 2+v( I-B) d w ~
~ +------- ~ ( 14)
o
In which V Is Poisson's ratio. 615 a factor bet-aen 2Bro and one defined as the ma:dmum
transferable moment along the crad<. relative to the maximum possible moment In the uncrad<.ed

plate. For 8=1 eq (14) Is similar to eq (I), and for 8=0 It Is analogOJ s to eq (8). Since
8Q (8) was derived on the basis of simple bean theory, Poisson's ratio, V, was not consid­

ered; I.e. I t 'fIfIS set to 2Bro. The authors have not been ab.le to find generally valid ana­

lytical solutions to 8Q (14) for 0<6<1, and time has not yet allOfed numerical solutions.

Anafogws cons IderaTlons can be made for the Inner cl rcumferentl al crack. Instead of asslJ1i­

Ing zero radlel moment In eq (10), e certain maximum transferable moment cwld be assuned.

As the 'lleter level cyc les up and dOlIn, the Ice sheet may separate at the Inner clrcun­
f erent I a I c rad<.. 'WI ether l t d oes 0 r not detennl nes wh at process wi I I deml nate f rem there

on. In any case It seems evident that the refreezing of a crad<. Is a key to understanding
the whole phenanenon.

115
 figure 4. Wedge-shaped part of the I ce sheet.

These considerations she:. that a more detailed kncwledqe of the crack refreezing pro­
cess Is desirable. So f~r, on Iy fl'Btge (1976) has dealt with this probleTI In detail. His
~Jor Interest, thrugh, ..as thermal cr~cks In lake Ice. He performed laboratory tests by
rutting artificial cr"cks wIth a <naln saw and f1'8~surln!=l the refreezlnq, I.e. thlcmess -.er­
sus time. The gecmetrlc configuration of a crack indlc"tes that Ice ..ould freeze much fl!ls­
ter there than It .. ould frcrn a free undisturbed 'o6ter surface. This Is because the cold Ice
sheet wi II absorb heat f ran the wa nne r ..ater I n the crl!lck and because the presence of Ice
crystals at all depths of the crack Initiates horizontal crystal grooh Into the crad<.. The
results of Metge (1976), not surprisingly, support these considerations. Cracks proruced
with a cn~ln saw obvlwsly have the sarre .. Idth lit all depths, ....tIereas bending cr~cks tend to
hlNe a linearly varying width with depth. At the caTl)resslon side of the Ice sheet, the
bending crack has 2Elro width.. Th~s difference In geOfT'Btry f1'8ans that ~tge's results cannot
be directly applied to bendln~ crl!lcks, althrugh the physical processes are similar. Fur­
therTOClre, It .. ould be more Interesting to rreasure the flexural strength of the refromn
crZllck as cOT'lpared to the gecmetric configuration. Since the mechanical prcpertfes of the
Ice sheet wry substentl~lly with te~,..,ture, I.e. depth, l!I theoretlc,,1 prediction of the
flexur81 str"6ngth fran geanetrlc configurations lMy pr-oye Inadequate. Unfortun~tely.

though, rreasurerrent of the flexural strength Is destructive to the refro2Bn crack. Tests
are currently being carried QJt by the authors at CRREL In Hanoyer, NEW H~pShlre, USA, to

obtain a rrore deta lied ltrIowledge of hOf flexural strength Increases during refreezl ng.

Systanat I zat I on of Mode Is

TheoretIcal formulae, laboratory tests ~nd field rreasure1f8nts often disagree on the

value of the maximum uplift force th~t may ocrur under certain conditions. In the authors'

q,lnlon this Is because the uplift problEm Is usually treated In one model on Iy, dlsreglrd­
Ing the variety of processes ocrurrlng In nature. The most lmportZint determining par~ters

for the process are bell eyed to be the anblent el r t~~ture res pons Ible for the refreez­
Ing and the period and amplitude of the water-level fluctuation. By means of these parlln­

eters the extraction phenorrenon can be divided Into four rrodes. These rrodes are h Ig.er and
I~er period .. Ith higher and I~er amplltlJde, respectively. The terms higher and lOfer are

dellberZlltely used In a relative rrenner, sInce reliable I n forrret Ion on -nat Is hlg, and -nat
Is Ie:. h~s yet to be ach,leved. The authors hC4Je this Information will appear as a result of
the tests rmntloned above. The donnatlng physical processes of the four rodes are briefly

rutllned In the folle:.ln~h In all modes It Is assuned that bending failure ocrurs at ZIIn
ice-Ice Interface close to the pile, formfnq an Inner clrQJmferentlal crad<..

116
 -/'--/Az V---/_
J'

Figure 5. Side vi ~ of Inner circumferential crack.

Mode 1: Higher snplltude ~nd lower period

The hlg,er 8ITIpiitude of the 'fIlIter-level fluctUllitlon will Cl!use the Ice sheet to SBP~­

rate !It the lnner cl rOJmferentlal cl"llck. Often the crclck ... 111 have 8 shape similar to th8t
showed In Figure 5, allOWing dOrln..erds separcltlon only. The 100000r period of the 'teIter-level
fluctuation rrekes It Impossible for the Ice sheet to retlttach to the pile or to the Ice col­
lar. Instead the Ice collar. wIll grOrl In size because Its surface Is constlllntly being ..et­
ted during high water levels and being exposed to tne cold air during lew water levels. The
process Is similar to 8 candie-dipping process. As a conSeQuence of the growing Ice collar,
the ' CB sheet wi II contact the collar du rl ng a welter-Ieve I I ncre8se 8t 8 I <:wer leve I th8n In
prevl OJ s c~ I e So.

The rMxlmum upll ft force 'fill I I sl<:wly Incre8se for e8ch cycle, · 8nd eventually either the
pile may be pulled up .,..,t another step or a 5",11 piece of Ice may be br"""n of f. The doml­
n8tlng physlctll process In this mode Is the Ice accretion on the cr8cx surf8ce controlled by
the period T and the amplitude A of the 'tinter-level fluctLmtlon and the .,..blent air te"'P8ra­
ture ea.

Mode 2: Hig her ","plltude .nd hig her period

As I n rode I the hi g,e r ampll t ude 'filII I cau se the Ice sheet to separate at the I nne r
cl rOJmferentllll crad<.. The higher period, h<:wever, will allcw the Ice sheet to reattaci'l to
the pile or to the Ice col jar. Re-attachrrent Is Interestlnq on Iy ...tIen It occurs at a I Oller
level than the Inltllli level of attadlment. Otherlflse the process 'filII I not result In II suc­
cess Ive pull-OJt. The ice sheet may not reattach to the pi Ie or the Ice collar for sewral
cycles. Once enOJgh new Ice Is formed, re-attact'lnent 'fill I I oCOJr In one of the modes shOJln
In Figure 6 and 7 •. It I s believed that If the I c e sheet does not reattach to the pile dur­
Ing the first cycle after the separation (wh i ch would Imply a very high period and a high
freell ng rate), the Ice sheet wll I reattach to the colla r as shown I n Figure 6. Therefore,
mode 2 c OJld be subdivided Into tw o dl tferent modes. Sonetlmes, thOJgh, the collar wi II
falloff the pile. This could, for example, be the result of a short warm-up, e.g. a single
warm, sunny day. The larger heat conductivity of the pile causes melting at the pile-Ice
Interface, and e~ntually failure OCOJrs due to the .r:tlg,t of the Ice. The Ice sheet 'fiIould
then have to ra8ttach to the pile In a process sImilar to that after an adhesion failure at
the pile-Ice Interface.. The dorrinatlng physical process In this rrode Is regular lee fonre­
tlon fran the w8ter surface In an qlen crad<.. The contro lllnq partmeters are <T, A, ea)
and, I n the case of no collar, the adhesive strength dependent on the pile rraterlal.

117
 \ % /, /
__/' _J~ V-i,--'- /,­

Figure 6. ReattactYnent to Ice collar.

Figure 7. Re<,ttachrrent to pile.

Modes 3 and 4 are transition modes be"t'w'een modes 1 and 2, respectively. and the lOll

amplitude d()l'reln ....tIere pull-rut Is not occurring. SCM'm sort of sep-llratlon In the Ice sheet
Is needed to praWce a successive pull-rut, but at first the Ice sheet does not separate at·

the Inner clrrumferentlal crack, whIch acts like an active crad<. In roodes 3 lind 4.

Mooe 3: Lower ~plltude ~nd lower period

Due to the Interlod<.lng of the crad<. surfaces, the Ice sheet daBS not actually sepa­
rate, thrugh some movement may be possible. The constant rubbing and movement In the crad<.

SIT'Oothens the surfaces, and the crad<. tends to be I!'()re vertical. The IDler period keeps the

crack fran refreezlnq to a point of reattachment, and flooding of the Ice sheet ocrurs fre­

Quently. Thus, the Ice sheet becorres thld<ar In the vicinity of the pile and the crack.

Because of the sma II ampll tu:je the wetted surf ace I s not exposed as much to cold a I r as In

mode 1. Furthenrore, the canblnatlon of a la-.er period and a IDler amplitude does not give

the Ice forming In the crack time enrugh to develcp enrugh strength to wlthst~nd the forces

exerted frcmthe Ice sheet during a ...ater-Ievel chanqe. Small pieces of Ice will constantly

be brcken off and deposited on the tq:l of the Ice sheet, forming Ice rubble ~rClJnd the pile.

I t I s be II eved that th Is oode Is relet Ive Iy undangerrus to the p I Ie wIth respect to p ull­
rut, and transition to mode 1 will only ocrur thrrugh an Increase In the water-level fluctu­

ation amplitude. Transition to oode 4 may occur through an Increase In period.

Mooe 4: Lower 2rT1pl Itude and higher perloo

As In oode 3 the Ice sheet does not actually separ~te at the Inner clrOJmferentl~1

crack. The bending crack. fanned during a water-level Increase Is q:len at the botton (ten­

sion) side. It gradually refreezes In Its upper part, <'s shown In Figure 8. DurIng the

118
 Figure 8. RefreBzlng offcrad<. durl ng ..eter-Ievel Increllse.

~ ~:~~~z~~c~~~i;i Weier
nnn ~:~~~z~;c~~~~:g Weier

Figure 9. Refreezing of crad<. durl ng 'tIeter-level decrease.

subsequent teter-level deerellse, the pllrtlllily refromn crad<. reflliis In tension at the top.
Provided that water penetn!ltes Into the Cn!ldc., It will ~galn lIdd I"ReIterllll to the upper Pllrt
of the Ice sheet, liS shown I n Figure 9. Wlen the 'tIeter level stllrts to Incl"'8Z1se 1Ig;51 n, most
of the lee sheet will be In c~resslon due to the lidded I"ReIterllll In the upper Pllrt. Thus,
a Illirgar force Is required to clluse the Ice to fllll, lind the pile may be lifted 1I sl"Relll step
Instead. During the next water-level decrease the Ice will experience 1I Illirger da.tnwards
tlnplltude, since the pile and Ice collllr have been lifted. The Ice sheet l"ReIy then sepllrllte
when the lIctlve cradc. falls In tension lit the top. Thus, the rredlllnism transforn'6 Into IftOde
2.

Discussion of 5yste""tlzlng
The extractIon phenanenon has been divided Into frur modes, l!Ind sane of these CQJld be
sl.bdlvlded Into eYen rrore modes. The need to delll with dlffel"'8nt rrodes Is 1I result of the
responsible physlcliil processes beIng dl fferent for dl fferent rtlnges of the parllJ'lBters (T, A,

6a ). Of CQJrse nature doesn't beh8Ve thllt simply. A wrlety of phenanena Influence the
pull-rut, e.g. tempen!lture oscillations, under-Ice QJrrents, wllter Wllves lit a nearb,' Ice
edge, and snO\llCover. Tides lind seiche motion usually hllve a well-defined period, 'frItler8l1s
the superposition of these with vllrylng wind-generated set-ups, water waves, etc., often

crellte a ...ater-Ievel fluctuation that lIppellirs to be fllr fran slnusoldlll or even periodic.
Thus, nllture doesn't always stzry In the sMie mode for very long. The four-nl()de systElT'lllltlz­
Ing Is therefore 1I necessllry simplification In order to treat the phenorrenon theoretlclIlly
lind experimentally. The aim of this wori<. Is to find crltlClllI wlues of the parmleter set
(T, A, ell) at which trllnsltlon bet-een dl fferent modes tllke pillice lind to measure the rrexl­
mum u pi I ft force I nciJced 'n ellch mode.

119
 Tests

As ~ntloned above, laboratory tests are bel n9 carried rut at L5ACRREL durl n~ the
spring and SUTurer of 1984 to obtain a more detailed knodedge abrut the whole extraction

phenonenon. Three kinds of tests are being performed: a) single pile tests, b) grrup action
tests and c) c rad<. ref reez I n~ tests..

The single pile tests are performed by cycling a one-foot pile section up and do-n In a
water basin at freezing tanperatures.. The main parZJMters being varied In these tests are

(T, A, 0a)' whldl determine the mode as described earlier, and the pile material. which

determl nes the size of the Ice cone thrrugh Its heat condJctlvlty.

The grOJp actIon tests are perfonned by moving a grrup of piles -..ertlcally IIltli fail­
ure oCOJrs In the Ice. The main paraneters being varied In these tests are Ice sheet thld<.­

ness, pile spacing and grOJp configuration. The elm Is to establish criteria for grrup ac­
tlCW'l connecting Ice characteristics and grrup configuration, and to measure the dl Herent

Induced uplift forces. An approxlnete theoretical prediction of these forces has been pre­
sented by Kerr (1978).
The crack refreezl ng tests are performed I n a 2x8-ft basi n, 1 ft deep. The Ice Is
crad<.ed across the besln while dlsplac€fT)8nt and force are monitored. After cra~lng, the

Ice I s kept I n the desl red position and all owed to refreeze. After some time the Ice sheet
Is recra~ed at the serna place, lind the two forces required to cradc; the Ice sheet Is can­

pared. The ~I n plllraneters bel ng varl ed I n these ~ests are Ice sheet th I ck1ess, open I ng

angle of "'the bending crlll~, and Mlblent air tenperlllture. The aim Is to be able to predict
the flexural strength of a refromn crack as a fl6lctlon of time.
Unfortunately this testing method . Is destructive to the refrc::zen crad<., thus Inhibiting

tests on the further developnent of that specific crack .. It Is believed, however, that this
approadl I s more convenient tho!!ln the method of Metge (1976).

Conclusion
Only 1II few single pile tests with lew periods had been run by the submission de lid line

for this paper. These IndlC8te the existence of modes 1 and ~ as observed In nature. Fur­
thermore, the forces required to fall the Ice sheet during the first cycle egree fairly well

with the existing elaSTic pla"'te theories.

Unfortunately no fur'ther results are ready for this paper. The eu"'thors hope that all

test results will be ready for an oral present~tlon In late AUgJst. The test results will
be published In a future CRREL Report, and they will be part of a d oct ore I thesis pl~nned TO

be published by the Institute 01 H)drodyn.mlcs .nd H)dr.ullc Englneerlng.t Technlc.1

UniversIty 01 Derman. In the 1.1101 1985.

References

Cae, T.J., 1982. Vertical Ice forces on a pile: E>q:Ierlmental, theoretical and prqlosed
engineering study. "'.Sc. thesis, University of Rhode Island.
Hertz, H., 1884. Uber des gleld1gewlcht schwlmmander elastlscher platten. Wiedemann's
Annalen der Physik und Olemle, LeipzIg, Genreny, Vol. 22, p.449.
Hodek, R.J., 1976. A Ileid stcdy 01 Ice-pile Inter.ctlon: 1974-75se.son. Submitted by
MiChigan TeChnical UniversiTy, Ke'llJl6enaw Research Center "'to L5ACRREL.
Kerr, A.D., 1975a. The bearing capacity of flOl!'lTlng Ice pl~tes subjected to stllltic or
Quasl-sta"'tlc loads: A critical survey. U.S.A. Cold Regions Research and Engineering
Laboratory, CRREL Researd1 Report 333 ..
Kerr, A.D., 1975b. Ice forces on s"'tructures due to a dlange of the ...ater level. Proceedings
of IAHR Third I n"'tem8T I ona I Symposllm on·lce Problems, Hanover, N~ Ht!mpshlre.

120
Kerr, A.D., 1978. Forces an I ce cove r exerts on rcws or c lu sters of p II es due to 8 ch8nge of
the 'CIter level. Proceedings of IAHR Fifth Internatlon81 Sympasll.lT1 on Ice Problems,
LuleA, Sweden.
fo'etge, M., 1976. Thermal crad<.s In lake Ice. Ph.D. thesis, Queens UnIversity, Kln~ton,
Ont8rlo, ~nad8.
Meyerhof, G.G., 1962. E9adng capacity of floating Ice· sheets. Transactions of the ASCE,
Vol. 127( 1). p. 524-581.
Mldlel, Bernard, 1978. Ice tJedlanlcs. Les Presses de l'Unlverslte Laval, Quebec, Dlnada.
Nevel, D.E., 1958. The theory of a narrcw Infinite wedge on an eillstic fwndatlon.
Trensectlons of the Englneerl ng Institute of C'anllda, Vol. 2{.3).
NEJoIel, D.E., 1961. The narrcw free Infinite wedge on an elastic fo.JOdatlon. U.S.A. Cold
Regions Research end Englneerln~ Laborlltory, CRREL Resellrch RelX'rt 79.
Nevel, O.E., 1970. Concentrated loads on plates. U.S.A. Cold Regions Researdl and
Englneerl ng Laboratory, CRREL Resellrch RelXlrt 265.
Nevel, D.E., 1972. The ultlml.lte fllilure of a floating Ice sheet. Proceedings of IAHR
Intematlonlll Symposlun on Ice Problems, Leningrad, LESR.
Tekllgl, S., 1978. The viscoelastic deflection of an InfinIte floating Ice plate subjected to
a circular load. U.S.A. Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laborlltory, CRREl RelX'rt
78-5.
Tryde, p., 198.3. RelX'rt on vertical Ice lifting of plies In a nunbar of Danish rmrlnas, ...Ith
1I description of the lifting mechanign. Proceedings of POAC, Helsinki, Finland.
Wortlf1'(, C.A., 1982. Ice engineering design o f nerlne plllnq and piers. ASCE, Vol.
IOS( T(2).
Wyrmn, M., 1950. Deflections of an Infinite pillte. Canlldilln Journal of Research, Vol. Al8.
Zabllansky, l . , 1984l1. Personal contrunlcatlon.
Zablillnsky, L.., 1984b. In-situ rreasurEHT'Bnts of uplifting Ice forces. Proceedings of IAHR
Seventh Intematlonal SymposlU'Tl on Ice ProblEmS, Ha'Tlburg, W. Gennany.

121
 lAHR Ice Symposium 1984
Hamburg

ANALYSIS OF PILES FROZEN -IN TO AN ICE COVER

AND SUBJECTED TO FORCES THAT CAUSE PILE BENDING

Arnold D. Kerr Department of Civil Engineering

Professor University of Delaware
Newark, Delaware 19716 U.S.A.

ABSTRACT

The analysis of vertical piles frozen-in, at some elevatio~, to an

ice cover and subjected to forces that cause pile bending, are discussed.
It is shown that the formulation of such problems has to include the resis­
tance moment that the ice cover exerts against the bending deformations of
the pile. An expression for this resistance is derived using the bending
theory for plates on a liquid base . The derived moment resistance expres­
s ion is numerically e va luated for different values of the pile diameter and
ice cover parameters, and to simplify its use, the results are presented as
graphs. The e xp ress ions for the stresses in the ice plate caused by the
plate restraining moment are then derived. The paper concludes with the
analysis of t wo examples which utilize the derived mo ment resistance
expression.

Research sponsored by U. S . Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering

Laboratory (CRREL) , Ice Engin e ering Research Branch, Hano ver, New
Hampshire.

123
 1. INTRODUCTION
When riv e rs or lakes
f~eeze over, the form e d ice
Ice cover
cover often adhere s to the
piles it surrounds, and con­ Pile
strains its movements in
the contact region, as shown
in Fig. l.
Analyses of forces
between pile and ice cover, Fig. 1. Vertical Pile
Frozen-In to an Ice Cover
caused by a drop or raise of
the water level, wer e presented by A. D. Kerr (1975, 1978). There, cases
were considered in which the dominant forces in th e piles a re axial, and
the bending effects are negligible. The present paper discusses problems
which require the inclusion of bending as well a s axial forces.
Problems of this t y pe occur, for example, when the pile is subjected
to lateral loads, or when a sudden drop of the wat e r level induces axial
compression forces in the pile that may buckle it. The axial compression
force may also be caused by a load placed on top of the pile and its own
weight. The correspcnding analytical models for these two cases are shown
in Fig. 2.
0 "2(yL
p

} h s

(0) (b)

H
H

1/
x
I

Fig. 2. Analytical Models for Frozen-In Piles

In each case the rotational restraint that the ice cover exerts
against the pile is mOdeled by a spiral spring with a rotational stiffness
s. Thus, for the analysis of the shown problems, the s value has to be
known. It depends on the pile cross section in the contact region and on
the ice cover parameters. It is determined analytically in the next
section.

124
 2. DETERMINATION OF THE ROTATIONAL ICE COVER SPRING STIFFNESS s
The spring stiffness s enters the formulations for the problems shown
in Fig. 2 through a bOundary condition, as a coefficient of the moment

M (2.1)
s
that the ice cover exerts on the pile when it begins to bend. The term
V'x(H) is the sma ll angle of rotation a of the pile and plate at x = Hand
s is the proportional ity constant. Eq. (2.1) thus defines analytically
the spring s tiffness s.
Consider first the example shown in F ig . 2(a). For the determination
of the spring constant s, the pile is replaced by a "rigid" circular disc,
subjected to a rotation a, as shown in Fig. 3. It is assumed, i n the
following, that the ice cover responds elastically.

Fig. 3

The corresponding formulation consists of the differential equation

for the plate (Kerr and Palmer, 1972)
4
DV W + yw = 0 a ~ r ~ 00 (2.2)

and the boundary conditions w(a,S) wd (a ,S) and ~l'r(a,S)

w(a,e) =a a cosS
(2.3)
a cos S

In above equations w(r,S) is the vertical deflection at point (r ,e)

of the plate reference plane; ) , a ( ) j ar;

r

(2.4)

125
and
h-z

D
J
-z o
0 2
z E(z)dz (2.5)

E and v are elastic ice plate parameters. The position of the reference
plane, zo' shown in Fig. 4, is determined from the conditio n (Kerr and
Palmer, 1972)

h-z
o

f zE(z)dz o (2.6)

-z

Fig . 4

The anticipated deflectio n surface suggests a solution of the f orm

(Timo s henko and Woinowsky-Krieger, 1959, p. 285)

w(r,8) = W(r)cos8 (2.7)

Substituting (2.7) into equation (2.2) it foll ows that W(r) has to satisfy
the two Bessel equations
2
~ 2 .<!....!!. + ~ (2.8)
d~2
where ~ = 8r and S =;;:y;o. Thus, the general solut io n for W( r ) is

(2.9)

From the regula r ity condi tions at x it follows that Al = A2 o.

Noting that (Abramowitz and Stegun, 1972, p. 380)

kei (8r)
12
2 [ker' (8r) + kei ' (8r) ]
l

ker (S r)
l
12
="2 [ker' (Sr) - kei' (fIr)]
) (2 . 10)

where primes deno te differentiations with respect to the argument, the

remain ing terms in W(r) may be written as
• •
~( r)

. .

= A3 ker' (8r) + A4 kei' (Br)

The two constants, A3 and A4' are obtained us ing the two bounda ry condi­
(2.11)

tio ns in (2.3). Th ey are

alBa ker( Sa) - 2 kei' (Sa)]

(2.12)
BK
alBa kei(Sa) + 2 ker' (Ba ) ]
(2.13)
8K

126
where

K = ker(Ba) ker' (Ba) + kei(Ba) kei' (Ba) (2.14)

Thus, w(r,6) is determined.

Since according to eq. (2.1) s = Ms/a, we form the moment equilibrium
of the disc-plate structure, as shown in Fig. 5. Noting that in the actual

x x

Fig. 5

problem no liquid pressure acts on the disc, the resulting equation is

2n

HS = yJ 2
j ' r w cosSdrd8 (2.15)
o a
Substituting the obtained w(r,S) into the above relation and the n perform­
ing the shown integration s , we obtain
~l
s nDBa { [Ba ker(Ba)-2kel(Ba)] 2 +[Ba kei(Ba)+2ker(Ba)] 2}
- --K-- .1 1
= s (2.16)

Above equation represents the spring constant s for the problems shown
in Fig. 2(a). To facilitate its use, it was numerically evaluated for a
range of parameters encountered in the field. Th e results are shown in
Fig. 6.
When the moment Hs (Fig. 5) is sufficiently large, the ice cover may
break in the vicinity of the contact region with the pile, and this, in
turn, may strongly affect the pile respon se . For thi s reason, it is of

interest to determine th e moment and shearing forc e distributions in the

ice cover due to a . These expressions are obtained noting that

M (r ,8)
rr

(2.17)
-(l-V)D(W'rS /r

2
_D(V w),
r

127
 h ~ /O O ;;m h ~ 80 em

10 7 X 16
/
/
/
14
/
/ /
12
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
M
s=-
a
I kNcm ]
10
I
/ / /"
h
60cm
~

L rod
8
I
/
I
'
/ /"
/'
/'
/'
/'
/"

6
/ ./
./
/'
/'
/'
/'

~
/' ~ Eo,
/'
~
- - ­ 1000 kN/cm2
4 / 700

/ / - -­ 500

h -

1
40CITI

o
o 0.5 1.0 1.5 20 25
o/h

Fig. 6

For example, substitution of eq. (2.7), in conjunction with eq. (2.11),

into the expression for Mrr and Vrr yields

M
rr
DS2 [{ (l-v) [ ~ ker'(Sr) +
1
Sr
kei (6r) J }.
kei '(Sr) A3
(Sr)

+ {(1-V) [__2_ kei'( Sr)­ 1

Sr
ker (Sr) J + ker'(Sr) }A: ] cos8 (2.18)
(Sr) 2

where the constants A3 and A4 are given in (2.12)

• • to (2.14). It may be
shown that the largest bending moment Mrr is along 8=0 and n, and it takes
place in the contact region. Note, that for 8 = n/2 and 3n/2, Mrr O.

128
-

3. EXAMPLES
To demonstrate the use of the spring stiffness values s determined
above, the problems shown in Fig. 2 are analyzed .
(aJ A St~ess Analysis Problem
Consider the pile shown in Fig . 1. For a lateral force Q of short
duration, it is reasonable to assume that the response of the pile and of
the ic e cover is elastic. The effect of the ice cover on the pile is
modeled as shown in Fig. 2(a). It is assumed that the ice cover constrains
the pile "rigidly" in the lateral direction, and "elastically" against
rotational deformation s. The rotational resistanc e of the cover is modeled
as a spiral spring with stiffness s, as discussed previously. For the sake
of simplicity, it is assumed that the pile is fixed at the bottom. It is
also assumed that the hydrostatic pressure of the liquid has nO noticeable
effect on the lateral deflections.
The formulation of the problem, shown in Fig. 2(a) , for the l a teral
displacements v (x) and v (y), consi s ts of the differential equations
l 2
= 0 0 ;; x < H
( EIV l , xx ) + (N v )
1 l'x 'x
'xx

( ElV 2 'yy) 'yy

+ I, N v
. 2 2' Y
) 0 0 < y < h
(3 .1)

\ 'y

where L L

Nl = f n(Od~ N2 =In( ~)d~ L H+h (3.1 ' )

x Y

ann the boundary conditions

vl,x(O) o
v (O) = 0
2
(3.2)
Vl'X(H) = V2 'y(O) [EIV1'XX]H - [ElV 2 ,yy-SV 2 ,y] o o
V2 'yy(h) = 0 [ ( EIV 2 ,yy) , y]h = - Q

This is a linear boundary value problem. For a pile of constant

cross-section with El=const, and assuming that the effect of its own weight
is negligibly small , thus N=O, the solution is

v (x)
~~ 4~S* ( ~ ) - (~ )
2 [ 3 . 2J
l
I. (3.3)
3 2 I
v (y)
2
Qh
6EI
[_(~)3 + 3(Y11 )\ + _ 6_!i ( Yi]
4 +s * h hi J

129
where
sH
s* (3.4)
EI

The bending moment and shearing force distributions are obtained by differ­
entiation, from the above expressions. For example,

l
~\ (x) -Elv 2Qh I 3 " _ 1
l'xx 4+s* \ H
(3.5)

M (y)
2
= -Elv
2' yy
= - Qh (1 _
"h
:L)' J
The resulting moment distribution is shown in Fig. 7. Note that the jump
in the distribution, caused by the ice cover,
is
s*
(3.6)
Qh 4+s*

Thus, the larger the ice cover bending stiff­

ness, the more bending moment it absorbs. As
anticipated, for a very stiff ice cover the
effect of Q on the pile below the cover is
negligible. 2
4+s*
(b) Stability Problems
Fig. 7. M/Qh-Diagram
Next, consider the pile shown in Fig. 1
subjected to an axial downward force P, caused by a sudden drop of the
water level 6. ~~en the pile is very slender, the induced compression
force may be sufficient to buckle it, as shown in Fig. 8. If this is an
undesirable situation, and should
be prevented, then the buckling
load of the pile has to be known.
Its analysis is discussed in the
following.
It is assumed that the bifur­
cation load, P , i s the buckling
/Pile *) cr
load. To prevent buckling, the
force P due to 6, determined by
Kerr (1975) should be smaller than
Fig. 8. Plate and Pile
at Onset of Buckling the corresponding P
cr

*)For this to be true, it has to be shown that the post-buckling equilib­

rium branch is monotonically rising away from the bifurcation point
(Kerr, 1980).

130
 Assuming that the ice plate does not move in its plane, that the
'ffect o f the stresses caused by the surrounding liquid on P is negli­
cr
,ible, and that the pile buckling mode is planar, the buckling analysis
' or the pile may be reduced to the analysis of the beam model shown in
"ig. 2 (b) .
To demonstrate the buckling analysis for the pile, in the following
It is assumed that E1 = const and that the effect of the pile weight is
legligible. The eigenvalue problem for the determination of the buckling
load becomes

E1II, '"
+ Pv, = 0 0 < x < H
xxxx xx

v(O) = 0 ~(H) = 0 (3.7)

v, (0) 0 EI~, (H) + s;j'x(H) 0

x xx

rhe general solution of (3.7) is

(3.8)
where
(3.8' )

Substituting (3.8) into the four boundary conditions in (3.7), four homo­
genous linear algebraic equation s for A ,A ,A ,A result. A nonzero solu­
l 2 3 4
tion (that is, a bifurcation point) will exist when the determinant of
these coefficients vanishes. Expanding it, we o btain

(l-s') AH tgAH + ~ - (AH) 2 - 2s' = 0 (3.9)

cosAH
where
sH
s' E1
( 3.10)

Of interest is only the lowest root AIH. No ting that according to

2
eq. (3.8') Pcr/(E1) = Al' the corresponding buckling load is

P (3.11)
cr

To simplify the use of the above analysis, the lowest root of eq.
(3.9), namely ~lH, was determined f o r a wide range of s' values. These
results are presented in Fig. 9, as curve I.
For many problems encountered in the field, the base is a soil and
hence n o t "rigid". For such cases the above analysis yields an upper
bound on the actual P Since the degree of fixity at the base i s usually
cr

131
 100

80

I
60
s*= sH

EI

40

20
r

0
3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0

Fig. 9

not known, for engineering purposes it is often sufficient to know a close

lower bound on P ; that is, a load that is smaller than the actual P
cr cr
This is so, because if the anticipated P, due to the drop of the water
l evel 6, is smaller than the lower bound on Per then it is definitely
smaller than P and the pile is safe from buckling.
cr
To obtain a lower bound, the constrains at the bottom have to be
relaxed. It may be sufficient to assume that at x = 0 there is a hinge.
Thus, instead of the boundary condition V, (0) = 0, condition~,
(0) = 0
x xx
may be used. (This relaxation may be strong enough to take into considera­
tion that in an actual case also ~(O) ~ 0.)
Proceeding as above we obtain, instead of eq. (3.9), the condition

[ S O + (AH)2Jt9AH = AH s* (3.12)

The lowest root AIH of eq. (3.12) was determined for a range of s* value s.
These results are shown in Fig. 9, as curve II. The corresponding lower
bounds on Per are determined using eq. (3 .ll) . Thus, for an actual base
and a given stiffness s (determined from eq. 2.16 or Fig. 6) the corres­
ponding Per will be located between the curves I and II.
For the stability problem under consideration, the ice plate, except
in the vicinity of the pile, moves down by 6 before the onset of buckling.
It is, therefore, nece s sary to check if the s-expression derived before,

132
namely eq. (2.16), i s va lid also for this case. This is done next.
For P < P the plate deflections are rotationally symmetrical, and
cr
are denoted by wo(r). At the onset of buckling, because ~(x) f 0, the
plate deflections become

w(r,8) w (r) + ~(r,8) ( 3.13)

o
as shown in Fig. 8.
To determine the corresponding
spring constant s, consider a float­
ing ice plate reinforced by a rigid
circular disc. Assume that the disc
is first displaced by ~ and then
subjected to a rotation a (in
accordance with the pcsit ive sign
Fig. 10
convention), as shown in Fig. 1 0 .
The corresponding formulation consists of the differential equation
for the plate
4
D'J w + yw o a < r < ( 3.14)

and the boundary conditions

w(a,8) = ~ + a a cos8
1 (3.15)
a cose
J
Substituting w = wo(r) + ~(r,e) into the above formulation and noting that
wo(r) satisfies the equations

o a < r < (3.16)

w (a) ~
,
o
w
o,r
(a) 0 } (3.17)

the formulation in (3.14) and (3.15) reduces to

D'J
4
w+ Yw a < r < (3.18)
°
;:;(a,e) a a cose
I
w, r (a,e) a cos8 f
This is the boundary value problem for the determination of ~(r,e )
function of a. It is identical to the prob lem in (2.2) and
w(r,8). Thu s , the s-expression presented in eq. (2.16) is also va lid for
the stability problem.
For the case when the water level does not change but the pile is
subjected, at the ice cover level, to an Qutsine compression force P, the

P value is the same as determined above. The above analysis is also

cr
valid when the axial compression force in the pile i s caused by an out­
side weight, as well as a drop of the water level. In this case, P is
the sum of the two contributions.

REFERENCES
Abramowitz, M. and Stegun, I. A., Editors, 1972. Handbook of Mathematical
Functions, Dover Publications, New York.
Kerr, A. D., 1975. I ce Forces on Structures Due to Change of Water Level.
In Frankenstein, G. E. (ed.) Proceedings of IAHR Th ird International
Symposium on Ice Problems, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA, pp. 419-427.
Kerr, A. D., 1978. Forces an Ice Cover Exerts on Rows or Clusters o f
Piles Due t o a Change of Water Level. In Proceedings of IAHR symposium
on Ic e Problems, Vol. I, Lulea, Sweden, pp. 511-525.
Kerr, A. D., 1980. On the Buckling Force of Floating Ice Plates. In
Tryde, P. (ed.) Physics and Mechanics of Ice, Springer Verlag, Berlin,
Heidelberg, New York, pp. 163-178.
Kerr, A. D. and Palmer, W. T., 1972. The Deformations and Stresses in
Floating Ice Plates. Acta Mechanica Vol. 15, pp . 57-72.
Timoshenko, S . and WOinowsky-Krieger, 5., 1959. Theory of Plates and
Shells. 2nd edition. McGraw-Hill, New York.
 lAHR Ice Symposwm 1984
Hamburg

DYNAMIC ICE FORCES ON PILES

N.Khrapaty, Far-Eastern Poly technical USSR,

Dr.t.sc. Kuibyshev Institute Vladivostok

V.Lubimov Far-Eastern Polytecbnical USSR,

Kuibyshev Institute Vladivostok

Investigations of dynamic interaction between the ice

and elastic structures are considered to be important for
their design and calculation. Enormous damages take place
if they are resulted from a resonance "Ohenomena in the "ice­
water-structure" interaction (Maattanen, Davis). The paper
presents a method of calculation of ice forces acting on
elastic structures which enables to represent main relation­
ships for forces and failures frequencies in the first
approximation.
The comparison of numerical results are in a good ag­
reement with experimental data, approving the method presen­
ted here.

135
 Introduction
More and more attention is being given now to the in­
vestigation of oil ~~d g3S drilling on the deep water. This
requires the construction of special deep-water offshore
structures with an increased upper deck for excepting "over­
lapping". A great height of the above water line part
enables the flexibility of a structure, the origination of
self-exciting oscillations and a greater resistance of ice.
This phenomenon \'l3S often considered in a literature /2,3.',
from the viev~oint of problems arising when wave-passing
structures are built (jacket multi-legged etc.) with the
structure hinged fixing at the seabottom, or with the help
of reinforced cable ways for fixing floating drilling plat­
forms /2/ etc.
Although the certain progress has been achieved in this
problem and different methods are found, the complete solv··
ing of problem under consideration hasn't yet come to an
end. In particular methods of ill ternative accounting of
elasticity and self-excited oscillations are unknown when
the designed offshore structure is to operate in seas with
seasonal ice. In this case it is necessary at the same time
to consider ~ different calculated problems: dynamic waves
in an interseasonai period and a dynamic effect of ice
fields in winter. In the latter case, as in wave forces, the
resonance oscillations are possible to arise too in the
"ice-structure" interaction, they are caused by cycling fai­
lure of ice that may lead to accidents /4,5,6,9,10/.
Usually the evaluation of ice loads is made by statis­
tics methods or by a spectral analysis of the records ice­
structure interaction. So the statistic evaluation of natu­
ral observations of the ice cover interaction with bridge
piers /10/ showed that when the ice thickness grows, a mean
cycle of its destruction increases, but the cycle frequency
decreases. The deviation of a mean calculated process of ice
faiLure from observed in natural conditions in 90% cases
doesn't exceed 35% but its maximum value is 50%. I f the ice

136
 field movement velocity increases, the mean value of this
characteristic decreases, a great influence of a velocity
factor on the ice strength is simultaneously confirmed. On
the other hand the ice strength change in spring influences
little on the time o~ the ice failure.
Thus, statictic approach enables to give many factors
effecting on ice failure process parameters even with fixed
offshore structures. It is true that for obtaining actual
parameter values, necessary for the ice-resistant offshore
structure calculation, the flexibility of structures, D ra­
tio to the ice thickness etc. must be taken into considera­
tion, which require a great number of expensive and labour­
consuming natural observations.
The same disadvantage is in the method of spectral ana­
lysis of the ice-structure interaction. As in the case men­
tioned above, the analysis requires in essense the data on
"the structure-water-ground" interaction with an ice effect
in certain actual conditions, i.e. results of ice load
transformation but not the interaction itself. At the same
time the structure deformations, calculated with the help of
the spectral analysis of ice forces, differ from the obser­
ved in nature /13/. There are many other a~proaches to the
problem ~jder consideration /4,5/. Nevertheless it should be
noted that extra number of investigation is necessary for
making a unified technique of the calculation of a dynamic
interaction between the ice masses and offshore structures.
The paper intends to show the interaction process bet­
ween ice "fields" and offshore structures with vertical
faces including such apart standing cylindrical supports as
piles. The design structure model having a modification of a
cantilever fixed beam, is chosen for this purpose, the cal­
culation of its behaviour with the method of dividing is
presented /7/. Special attention is given to finding the
right side of the initial equation, which determines the
time function of the ice load on the account of a contact
failure physics of a loaded ice ,volume.
Such an approach confirms the factors of resonance ori­
ginating in an "ice-structure" system, which was many times

137
occured in natural conditions. Besides the calculation of an
icefield and offshore structure interaction, without taking
the ice failure physics analysis into ac count, may become
faulty.
Theoretical analysis of an offshore
structure - ice field interaction.
Ice forces on offshore structures , as observations
showed, are time functions. In relation to the intensity of
acting loads, its time function modification, there may be
either an ice o~ a structure failure, even at limiting loa­
ding time that results in the necessary descriptions of the
processes taki ng place. In this connection the problem of
drifting field interaction with an ice-resistant structure
may have two statements. The first one is to determine the
structure movements and shift character supposing values at
the applied ice load. The second one evaluates the ice load
intenSity for the given displacements and a structure move­
ment character.
Both these two statements are possible if the solution
of these problems have a determined design parameters the
choice of which is not evident. Let's do the following.
Ice resistant offshore structures, the design modifica­
tion of which is a fixed cantilever rod, will be acted upon
by an ice field drifting at V velocity (fig. 1a).
For this rod a differential equation characterizing its
b ehaviour without r esistant for c es, has a form:
a"y aly (1 )
EJ a,r4 + m at l = Pet>
where EJ - stiffness of the structure; m - its distributed
mass; pet) - ic e load.
For design calculation under consideration let's take:
boundary =0. -0.
Yx-a 1/'
:t1 ,taO
(2)
" =0 •
!IA=e y'"
,he
=0.
ane. initial conditions

!I.t.,(J --0 •

138
 The problem considered may be conditionally devided
into two parts /9/, the first one is to find the way of a
differential equation solving (1), and the s e cond ooe - to
determine the ice load in time function pet).
At present there are two main ways of structure behavi­
our investigation when dynamic loading is acting on: the me­
thod of a steady or running wave.
According to method of running wave originating equa­
tion (1) may be subdivided into two parts /7,8/:
a"yCI) (4) m 82y(l) P
d.r" = tf -!J 7iT + EJ = tf· (5)
where q is an interconnection function, chosen in coorela­
tion with the splitting process.
It is easy to prove that the expressions (4) and (5)
.
are eqUJ.va 1 ent t 0 the equat~on
. ( 1 ) at !I m=51 C~) =:3
/I t h a t ~s
.
an additional condition for joint solving of equations (4)
and (5).
Let's assume that the interconnection function q is cha­
racterized by an expression
n
(6)
'I(X,t)· ~
l., 9L Ct >'P,Ct).
.
where n=1,2, 3 •••• , ki ~Cx) - func tions of coordinates (fig.
1 b), the number of which depends upon the nece s sary accura­
cy of the calculation and is realized by a number of dismem­
bering.
Now the right-hand part of the equation (4) has been
determined, and it may be integrated by considering boundary
conditions (2) (the time t is included in the equation as a
parameter). The integration result is written in the matrix
form:
., -,
{y} = ~ [A J{ ~} {~} [A] {y}
or =p (7)
where {~l is vector of decomposing coefficients; [AJ - is a
pliabile matrix; {yj is a displacement vector, ~ is a co­
efficient effecting on the accuracy of calculations and de­
pending on a number of segments, obtained in the choice of
typical pOints on the rod axis.
It is required then that the equation should be solved

139
lor all points as in the expression (7). l'hen substituting
(7) in (5), we get the equation:
{u}=-..£.L(Ar'{y}+~{P}' (8)
K,m
which i s a time function. For s olving this e quation at ori­
ginating conditions 0), a sufficient number of numerical
methods has been worked out.
So, it remains to find out the r egularities of the ice
l oad changes as a time function. Here the most reasonable is
the account of real laws of the ic e-sheet strain in the
contact zone with vertical fac es of offshore structures, ac­
compani ed, in the end, by an ice failur e and packing of fai­
lure materials /11/.
The r ecord analysis of an ice forc e on an offshore
structure allows to single out clearly expressed cycles
e ither in the form of assymetric triangles or a bowl-like
i r'l ulses. T' )j s allows, in its turn, to. state a phase af inc­
reasing of ice laad and the phase of its decreasing, which
differ in duration and depend on features of ice contact
strain and its failure /11/.
The stress-strain ice sheet condition at the offshore
structures is characterized with great gradients af stress
and strain, and also with a localization of them in compara­
tively small ice volumes near the contact boundaries and
with relatively great values of actual stresses at two or
three-axial ice loading.
In common when the penetration originates, the pile
contact with a rectilinear edge of drifting ice is observed
along the line then it turns into a strip with parallel sides.
At t h e same time the contact zone will reach its maxi­
mum while penetrating the support along its whole width and
indenting the ice either.
The reverse strains begin to absorb ice layers far from
the structure, devel aping at the contact boundaries. The ice
volume indicated is subjected with the elastic confinement­
compression by the ice mass surrounding it.
At a gradual increas~ of a contact width zone and the

140
depth of penetration and an acting ice force, the stresses
at the ice-structure boundary will exceed the limit of elas­
ticity, then - the limit of uniaxial ice strength compressi­
on. The degree of this exceeding depends upon the ratio of
contac t width d to ice thickness /I • While the contact
zone increases at a constant ice thickness. the influence of
ice horisontal boundaries begins to act which provide the
transition of three-axial compression of the ice volume to
two-axial and then, when diN - 00 to a condition, close
to uniaxial ice edge compression. These characteristics of
a contact stress are taken into account with the help of the
elastic confinement coefficient <X ref( dill)
The physical meaning of this coefficient is that at
diN - co the stress state appears in the ice cover, the
ice is strained in this stress state like the ice samples
tested in uniaxial compression. In the case of 0 -=: lJ/H -:0 00
the ice volume is surely to appear at the vertical faces of
offshore structures, the ice volume is in three-axial or
two-axial compression, the boundaries and geometrical sizes
of which depend on geometrical forms of a structure. ice
field movement velOCity, its temperature and salinity.
At high strain rates (more 10-J S-') and low ice tempe­
ratures accompanied by its brittle failure, the regularity
of a contact stress change doesn't have rul influence on pro­
portionality of the strain rate. At relatively low ice
strai:::J. .cates (at the saGle tl;:;;j!erature) this regularity is
observed only in elasticity limits. The outside load increase
is accompanied by a structural ice change in the contact
zone, by its microfailures. Gradually the contact stress/
strain relationship becomes non-linear. When the acting
stresses reaches the contact ice strength limit, to which
the certain structure penetration width enables, the ice
failure and a further packing of failure materials. Thus,
analysing the process of stress/strain ice formation, it is
easy to calculate the phase of intensification of the ice
load.
As mentioned above, the authors of this paper suggested

141
an idea of determining the sizes of loaded ice volumes at
a cylindrical pile from the expression
Sf =Acx"a (9)
where Ot is a elastic confinement coefficient, taking into
account the effect of the contact zone width/ice thickness
ratio; d is a pile diameter; A is a coefficient conside­
ring ice strain properties.
As the crushed ice renders less resistance to load
acting, which possesses smaller contact strength, then the
phase of load decreasing comes when the confinement of fai­
lure materials and pressing out them beyond the contact bo­
undaries takes place. In connection with this we may single
out the second zone of contact strain of already failed ice
3, (fig. 2), when after the ice reaches its outside boun­
dary, the next cycle of ice field loading originates. The
confinement boundaries are determined by the degree of ice
failure in a contact zone, which depends on an ice field mo­
vement velocity, on a temperature distribution along its
thickness, on the cont act zone width/pile diameter ratio.
The approximate theoretic al solution allowed to find
a graphic relationship betweGn the boundaries of the second
zone Sl and · a coefficient ex /12/.
Thus, the ice load P on a structure may depend on the
penetration depth of the structure into the ice S • Suppose,
the force P changes according to a linear order (fig. 2),
then finally we have:
p= K,S - nC SrS!:.S + nS
, "
P~/("S+8'tnD S>Sf+ nS2 (10)
where /(,.p, / S, ; /(2=(1J-1!)/~ ~ . p.,
are determined-
according to the technique (1): n - cycle number, starting
from 0; 8, C, D - constant values (fig. 2).
In common practice the value of S may be determined
conSidering the ice mo~ement velocity/structure difference:
S .. !(V- y') dt • /It - Y + £ , ( 11 )
o
where £ - constant of integrating.
Relationships (10),(11) allows to give a final formula­

142
tion of mathematical solution of ice-structure interaction:

Hil=- :~ [Ar'{y}+~{P}; {S}=<Vt+E-y){o}'

(12)
{PJ=K,{SJ-nC{~} SrES, +n~ .

{P}=K,{S} -CB+nlJ){5} $>$, + nSl

Here is} - vector-pillar. takinll into account the point of

applying the load.
The numerical solution (12) using an easy standard pro­
gramme, allows to get displacement and velocity diagrams
chosen at calculating the points of structures in the time
function.
Discussion of results.
Figures 3 a,b represent the results of separate calcu­
lations illustrating the scope of possibilities of the tech­
nique proposed. As a base to these calculations the natural
investigations of Maattanen were taken /6/. The fig. 3 a
analysis represents the ice thickness of 10 cm in an ice­
structure enables that there appeare resonant oscillations,
i.e. the infinite increase of their amplitude takes place.
At the same time the resonans was not observed at an ice
thickness of 55 cm, but dynamic strains exceeded static ones
1.8 times, which confirms that the frequencies of its own
oscillations of structures differ a little from the frequen­
cies of acting ice loads. The same conclusion was affirmed
by the author of the paper /6/, analysing the results of ob­
servations when considering the ice acting on lighthouses
"Kemi-1" and "Kemi-2".
References
1. Kbrapaty N.G., 1981. Dynamic ice forces on offshore
structures. D.T.S. thesis, Leningrad, p. 40.
2. Korzhavin K.N., Dolgopolov U.V., Korenkov V.A.,
1Q7R. Reliability of structures in ice dynamic forces.

143
Review, I.iosc ow, Iill ormener50, p. 64.
3. Kulmach P.P., 1970. Seismores i stance of Port struc­
tures. I.loscow, Transport, p. 2h8.
4. Kulmach P.P., 1980. Anchoring of floating Construc­
tions. Leningrad, Sudostroenie, p. 3~5.
5. Lubimov V.S., 19RO. On dynamic analysis of shore
piles. (ed.) Proceedings. Hydrotechnical structures. Vladi­
vostok, p. 42-5 0 •
6. Lubimov V.S., 1980. Periodically changing hydrotech­
nical interactions. (ed.) Proceedings. Hydrotechnical struc­
tures. Vladivostok, p. 94-97.
7. Lubimov V.S., 1983. On duration of the failure cycle
of ice-offshore structure interaction. (ed.) Proceedings of
Meetings on ice acting on rivers and reservoires in building
and operation of offshore structures. June 7-9, Murmansk,
p. 31-32.
8. Lubimov V.S., Khrapaty N.G., 1980. Application of
dividing technique to analySiS of shore ~iles. (ed.) Procee­
dings from Investigation of offshore structures. Leningrad,
p. 99-104.
9. Lubimov V.S., Kbrapaty N.G., 19RO. Vibration of off­
shore piles during ice sheet failure. (ed.) Proceedings:
Hydrotechnical structures. Vladivostok, Far-Eastern Univer­
sity, p. Cl-15.
10. Maattanen M. Ice forces and vibrational of Bottom.­
Founded steel lighthouses. THIRD nITER Symposium on ice
problems, Hanover.
11. Peyton H.R. Sea ice strength. Final report to offi­
ce of Naval Research. Geophisical Institute University of
Alaska. Collcke, Alaska, 1966.
12. SNi~ 2.06.04-82, 1983. Forces on offshore structu­
res (wave, ice, ships). Moscow, Stroyizdat, p. 3R.
13. Readly D.V., Checma P.S., Swamidas A.S., 1978.
Stochastic responce of a three-dimensional offshore tower to
ice forces. THIRD ll~TER Symposium on ice problems. Hanover,
New Hampshire, p. 375-383.

144
a) 5) x x xt x
rpCO) CPU) (jJ(2)
~
" f
.:::t
" •V
'" ~
'"

.8'ig. 1. ( a ) scheme or s cructure (b) coordinate :runccions

.D (

Fig.2. MOde~ ice rorce

Q) Ij

51st

t,s
0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.1, 1.6 1.8 2.6

5) lj

l.s
12 fJ

Fig.3. Displacements 01' structure (a) H= 10 sm (b) l:i=53SlD

145
 WlR Ice Symposium 1984

Hamburg

DYNAMIC FORCES OF ICE FLOES

ACTING ON BRIDGE PIERS

Sun, Zong-fu Civil Engineering Department

Director of Hydraulic The Northern Jiao-tong University
Laboratory Beijing, CHINA
Ing, Da-zhi ibidem
Associate Professor

ABSTRACT

The theoritical formulas for predicting impact

force of drifting ice floe on bridge piers are presented.
The empirical formulas of dynamic force FD based
on field experimental result carried on by Qiqihaer
Railway Administration are suggested as follows:

A comparison between calculated values from

empirical formulas and those observed in HONDO and
PElI1BRIDGE shows reasonable agreement.

147
 In cold re g ions, the dynamic force acting on bridge
p iers c~used by ice floe is one of the important engi­
neering problems. Ice floe movements typically occur
in Spring during ice breakup in many rivers. With
different velocities and different masses, different
dynamic eff ec ts I-lill be caused, showing an uneven
feature of dynamic response.

I. Theoretical Analysis
A drifting ice floe, shown in Fig. 1, moves toward
a bridge pier with the same velocity v of water stream
1
in the river. After collision, within a very short
time interval, the ice floe and the pier get a common
velocity v 2 , which can be calculated by momentum equa­
tion:

or
in which ffi1 mass of ice floe
ffi2 mass of bridge pier
v1 velocity of ice floe before collision
v2 velocity of ice floe and pier a1'ter
collision
Therefore the ice floe and pier get a kinetic energy
of
2 2
2 ffi1 v 1
E Hm +m2 )v (2 )
1 2 2(ffi +ffi )
1 2

1
-­
Uj

J
FIG. 1

Ice Floe. GII'Id Pier­

148
A) Impacting force acting on the pier caused by change
of momentum due to collision
d(rnv) m (v 1 -v2 )
1 (3)
F'M = --a:r- = At

B) Work done by crushing of "ice floe

Crushing force F'K of the ice floe is (see F'ig. 2)

F'C nhb<Ji.( = n~ h(2x· tan<>l.)

so, (4)
here F'K crushing force of ice floe after collision
n shape coefficient of pier
x depth of pier wedged into ice floe
OC compressive strength of "ice floe
~~-- local compressive strength of ice floe
2~-- angle of pier shown in F'ig. 2

and the energy loss due to crushing of ice floe EC

will be:

EC = J:F'Kdx = WKX
F'K
"~F'
K2no-c h·tanol..

~F'/ oil (5)

where

149
 t41
According to experience and experiment :

"",
= 1/(17.8 hOC) for semi-circular pier
<>I., = 1/(19.8 h~) for rectangular pier

C) Work done by deformation of pier

FKl 3 C F l
W -!F K( - - + -1-K) = t F/O{z (6)
D 3EI GA
3 C11
where 1 (7)
01. z = + ---
3EI GA
and C1 -- shape fact or of shear
~z - - coefficient of deformation

E,G -- elastic and shear moduli of concrete

A,I -- area and moment of inertia of pier cross­
section
D) Work done by rebound of ice floe
The relationship between velocities before and
after collision of ice floe can be written as
(8)

and the corresponding \-Iork done by rebound of ice floe

WR will be:
2
WR
= im1 v 3 = i m1 (C 2 v 1 )2 (9)

here C -- rebounding coefficient

2
Applying the l aw of conservation of energy to
Eqs. (2), (5), ( 6 ), and (9), we get
2 2
m1 v 1 2 2 2
= ·~FK 01, +~FK c,t:t+~m1 (C v )
2(m 1+m ) 2 1
2
therefore,
m1 2
m ( - - -C )
1 m1 +m 2 2
FK - v (10)
- ~ 01, "'~:z.
be neglected

( 11 )

150
 Hence the dynamic f orce FD acting on bridge piers by
the ice floe can be predicted by the following formu­
la s :

FD FK + FM (12 )

m ( v -v )
1 1 2 (3)
FM c.t
m
ill ( -1 - - C2 2 )
1 r.l 1+ill2
FK v1 (10)
<:>t, .. o/z
A

where t otal dynamic force acting on piers

dynamic force caused by kinetic energy
dynamic force cau sed by change of
momentum

II. Experimental Results and Empirical Formul a s

In the past -3 years, the experiments c2.rrie d on
by Giq ihaer R8ilway AdmiIlistration on Nenjia.'1g River,
Northeast of Ch ina(3,4J, shOVIed very interesti:::g
resul ts about dyn2- ."ic forces, impact ti;;le i .1t e rval ,
viorati on (magnitude 2nd period) and de format ion 01:
pier, etc. J ut only dync:mi c '::orces be ell s cu:: (,(' ·Ie!"'e .

Table

~1easu2:- ::J. I. :pact '!eloc i ty of l ~E Floe

Dyna:ni c ;Corce Time Int 'v2.1 i.,e i ore Co lli 3 'n !. f tGr Collis'n
FD(1: l ) t(sec) v (m/s) v (m/ s )
1 2
25.0 0 .051 0 .2 2 O. J73
32 . 0 0.048 0.28 0 . 200
24 . 0 0.044 0 .1 2 0.023
45 .0 0.050 O .I;Lc 0.115
51.0 0 . 041 0 .1 7 0 . 070

151

---_.

 c::"sc<l -m the e x pcr i enta l r e~ults shol-m in Table 1,

tOGether 1'11";\ w.C a t'.!ral .i:' re q uency of brid::;e pier) =
4-7 .:: 'z , h( i.l!ic 'mc !:s of ice floe) = 0. 78 m, A(area of
ice fl ~c ) = 7. 30 0 2 , p( density o f ice) = 920 kg/m 3 ,
~ ( ~aos of ice f loc ) = 5. 2L _1 0 3 kg, W(weight o f ice floe)
= 51 leI; , 2.nd the ::-bove -I'lentioned relation F D = Fr.~ + FK'
th e foll owin g em?i r i c al formulas can be got :

FK /0.5 - 1 .5( v
jgh
1
)1 ','1 (13)

F~l 40[95(wo h/V 1 )O.15- 3of . .l ( 14)

FD ={1 0 .5-1.5(~ )1+L.0 [95( ~: )O.15_ 30 r 1

}W
(15)

1000
·lO t.J. h.
'IT,

f91i \r, 0\ o
•
).,len-Jio.ng
Hond.o
<:) ~bf.;d.ge

100
0

•
• 10

)0
o

F.... /W
I=k/W

.~ .11. . '4 .~ -6 .S ,.0

F,~. · ',3 C........ e of Eq. (13) P'G . 4. CUNe of Eq. (14-)

152
III. Comparisons
Field test data collected at HONDO on the Athabasca
River and PEMBRIDGE on the Pembina River, both in Al­
berta, Canada, are rewritten into Table 2. Table 3
gives a comparison between data measured in-situ and
results calculated from equations (13), (14), and (15).
It seems that most of the calculated dunamic forces FDC
are reasonably agree with the measured dynamic forces
FDM , in spite of some deviations. Taking the changable
and indefinite factors of field test into consideration,
the results are acceptable, and this might be an expla­
nation to the disagreement of calculated and observed
values of indentation X in Report SWE 83/01[2J.

Table 2
IMPACT EVENTSr.2"J
No. F(kN) h (m) A(m 2 ) v 1 (m/ s) (Hz)
1 490 1.3 59 2.3 57
2 440 1.2 49 2.1 57
3 340 0.5 110 1.3 12.5
4 420 0.5 110 1 .1 12.5
5 300 0.4 31 1.2 12.5
6 340 0.4 72 1.2 12.5
7 220 0.4 100 (e) 1.2 12.5
8 320 0.4 110 (e) 1 .1 12.5
9 980 0.6 10 (e) 1.9 57
10 520 0.45 10 1.5 12.5
11 560 0.45 20 1.5 12.5
12 620 0.45 225 1.5 12.5
13 910 0.45 145 1.5 12.5
(e) - estimated value

153
 Table 3

COM PAR I SONS OF DYNAM IC FORCES

Meas ' d Data C2lcul 'd Data FDC( kN ) F -F

DC DM x100%
No .
Fa1 (kN) Eq.(13) Eq. ( 14 ) Eq.(1 5 ) FDM

490 317 21 2 529 8

2 440 2 19 162 381 - 13
3 340 . 178 228 4 06 19
4 42 0 123 222 345 -1 8
5 300 46 49 95 68
6 340 98 11 3 210 - 38
7 220 149 164 313 42
8 320 134 177 311 -3
9 980 36 19 55 - 94
10 520 23 19 42 - 92
11 560 46 38 84 - 85
12 620 514 424 938 51
13 9 10 33 1 273 604 - 34

IV . Co ~cluding Remarks
-­ The dynamic fo r ce of ice floe acting on piers, FD,
consists of two parts:
1. Impact fo r ce Fi.'1 caused by change of momentum ,
2 . Dynamic force f K caused by kinetic energy of
pier and ice f l oe .
-- FM and FK can be estimated from empirica l f ormul as ,
Eq s . (14) and (1 3 ), which are availab le in engi ­
neering practice .
-- The empirical formulas can be revi sed if more ex ­
perimental data can be got .
-- The relationship between dynamic force and crushing
strength of ice floe is to be studied . Its effe ct
needs to be expre ssed in the formulas .

154
 REFERENCES
1. Eranti, E. and Lee. G.C. , 1981. Introduction to
Ice Problems in Civil Engineering.
2. Huiskamp, W.J. , 1983. Ice Force Measurements on
Bridge Piers 1980 - 1982.
3. Li, S.2. ,1983. Field Experimental Method of
Dynamic Force of Ice Floe Acting on Bridge
Piers (in Chinese).
4. QQHERA, 1980. Dynamic Force of Ice Floe Acting
on Bridge Piers (in Chinese).

155
STATISTICS IN ICE ENGINEERING

 IAHR Ice Symposium 1984

Hamburg

ON THE RELIABILITY OF ICE-STRUCTURE

INTERACTION LOAD PREDICTIONS

F. G. Bercha, President F.G. Bercha and

Assoc i at es Limi ted Canada
R.H. Nagel, Engineering Associate Amoco ~rOUU~L~on Company U.S.A.
T.G. Brown, Senior Engineer F.G. Uercha and
As sociat e s Limited Canada

The paper describes a method for evaluating the reliability of ice­

structure interaction load predictions for different interaction modes,
structure types, and ice kinematic and mechanical property cases.
Specifically, following the derivation of reliability measures which
take into consideration the variability of input kinematic and mechani­
cal properties, accuracy of methodology, and reliabili ty of inherent
ice-structure interaction assumptions, several reliability case studies
are described. These include various combinations of conical, cylin­
drical, and multi-pod structures interacting with first and multi-year
ice sheets, ridges, and their combinations. The work described is based
on applications of statistical methods to ice property evaluation as
well as techniques of risk and reliability analysis applied to the
icestructure interaction equations and the assumptions upon which they
are based. It is believed that a broad reliability evaluation of the
type described in this paper has heretofore not been developed and
applied, and thus the work described constitutes a novel and useful
contribution to the field of Arctic marine and inland ice engineering.

157
 1• INTROIJUCTION
A need to consider the uncertainties inherent in information
available on ice properties and ice-structure interaction behaviour has
been expressed by a number of investigators over the last decade (Assur,
1~75; ~ercha, 1~79). The general requirement to incorporate the uncer­
tainties in ice design criteria as well as our understanding of inter­
actions has been expressed by ~heeler (1~79), while the development of a
probabilistic theory directed at incorporating some of the inherent ice
system uncertainties has been developed and presented by Bercha (1978,
1\179). wheeler's work, however, is of a relatively general nature
although its concept is sound. On the other hand, the more rigorous
probabilistic theory developments by Bercha, as well as their applica­
tions by the same author to multi-modal or rubble pile failure behaviour
in rlercha (1~79), presupposes the principal source of variability to be
the input properties and excludes consideration of tne uncertainty
concerning the idealization of the interaction.
In the present paper, with a mathematical development for load
deviations similar to that presented by the author in the above noted
earlier works (3ercha et al., 1~78; Bercha, 1~79), the concept of reli­
ability is extended to incorporate the inaccuracy of assumptions regard­
ing the precise interaction behaviour, resulting in a more generalized
form of load spectrum. At the same time, because of the substantial
uncertainty concerning the validity of the assumptions, the rigour of
the work cannot be considered comparable to that of the previously cited
references, and results are expressed principally in a relative and, at
best, probably quantitative, reliability index.
In the balance of this paper, then, the development of a concept
of reliaDility evaluation of ice load predictions is presented. Follow­
ing this brief introduction, Section 2 outlines the principal sources of
uncertainty, Section 3 indicates methods of theoretical development of
the reliability index, while Section 4 gives sample reliability analy­
ses. Section 5 gives a summary of reliability results for specific load
calculations and Section 6 presents the conclusions and recommendations.

2. SOURCES OF UNCERTAINTY
In the prediction of ice-structure interact io n loads, the follow­
ing two principal sources of uncertainty may be idenrjfied:

158
 (a) Uncertainties due to quantitative input parameters.
(b) Uncertainties due to choice of idealization of the inter­
action.
The ice cover represents not only a ·high degree ·of variability in
­

its geometric properties, but also any given region of ice has highly
variable mechanical properties. The ice kinematics variability includes
ridging frequencies, geometries, and length; different geometries and
consolidation characteristics of rubble fields; and a complex kinematic
response field giving rise to a highly unpredictable velocity field.
Mechanical properties are not only dependent on a large number of
external independent parameters ranging from initial formation water
characteristics, formation history, and geographic location, to current
state variables including ice and ambient temperature, snow cover, load
orientation, strain rate, brine volume, and numerous others.
In essence, for the purposes of the present analysis, input
parameters have been subdivided into kinematic and mechanical proper­
ties. Even in their probabilistic form, kinematic properties continue
to manifest significant uncertainties. For ins tance. Figure shows
several different sail height distribution idealizations based on essen­
tially the same data sets. Clearly, the mean values to a large degre(,
are a function of the choice of distribution (Wheeler, 1979). In the

0.'

RIDOE 'AIL HEIGHT (F'T. )

159
 reliability evaluation presented here, no attempt is made to reconcile
the variation in these criteria but rather they are used as an input to
the uncertainty analysis.

UJ 6CO
~
'"'"a::
UJ 400
0..
~
0
u
200 I

0 i I i i I I
0 -5 - 10 - 15 -20 -25

TEMPERATURE ( 'C)

F ~ C-"; ~ , G~S~ l ~ G S T1E~ G T:i !ESi...1. :5

Mechanical strengths present a similar, and perhaps more complex,

problem. On the one hand, as shown in Figure 2, considerable scatter
exists for a small-scale property, even when it is measured in a very
controlled and systematic manner. The extrapolation of this property
requires the utilization of some form of scale effect concept, As has
been pointed out by the present author (Bercha, 1977) and others (lyer.
1983; Neill, 1976), no unique way of extrapolating small-scale strength
to effective largescale strength properties is available. Rather, a
variety of techniques, as illustrated by the curves in Figure 3, eiists
and the object of the reliability analysis is to consider all these as
possible inputs. The second general source of uncertainty is that asso­
ciated with the choice of idealization for the ice-structure inter­
action. Consider crushing against the simple single pile illustrated in
Figure 4. Even here. there is a considerable amount of uncertainty;
does the entire contact zone fail simultaneously, or is there a sequen­
tial failure of a series of zones as suggested by Michel and Toussaint
(1977) and Kry (1978). The variation in the load forming an input to
the reliability analysis must accommodate the full credible range of
l ocalized failure modes, from a domino type of failure involving sequen­

160
t1al failure of many small zones, to the · possibility ot a total ;CO'I"

failure, Clearly, as the structure gets larger, the likelihood of t a e

entire ice contact surface failing simultaneously becomes smaller.
Much more complex forms of interactions exist with partial I y
consolidated fi rst-year ridges, ride-up, rubble pile interactions, allJ

other interactions.

• --: C ,'W/Vlf7
o 1\'_, FN

eu'"
,'t

O+-----.r----.-----r----, ----,,----r-- -- r----T ----,---~

,n >0
o I()

ASP[CT ~I\TlO b / h

1'11-'-1:'" !li T . "I" (II n:TI " f "i'( Ao: , ' 1 r I ~"'I"

-------------/~

r lONI
! >c, '"!1l \

I
I

{
o
f
i
I

161
 The reliability index, R, of a given ice load prediction, L, is
~iven in terms of the uncertainties associated with the input data and
tlethodology idealizations. The input data variability is expressed as a
standard deviation which can then be utilized as a basis for the gener­
ation of a random variable form of tne interaction equations. The
~dealization uncertainties are simply expressed as upper a"j lower bound
differentials abou't a mean value. Specifically, given the following
c;uantities:
(a) a, the standard deviation of the load based on input para­
meter deviations,
(b) L, the mean value of the load preciiction,
(c) ll L, the difference between the mean value and the lower
bound based on iaealization uncertainties,
(d) llU, the difference between the upper bound and the mean
value, with the upper bound based on idealization uncertain-­
ties only,
then the reliability index is defined as

R
llL + llU + 20.

Now clearly i f the sum of the deviations, the denominator, is greater

tnan L, the reliability is less than I, while the smaller the deviation,
the greater the reliability. If the deviation were 0, reliability would
be infinite as expected.

3.2 Input Parameter Uncertainties

The effects on ice load prediction of variation in ice kinematic
and mechanical properties discussed above are systematically dealt with
usi :,~ ,robabilistic ice-structure interaction theory developed by the
a"r .• f'T (lJercha, 1979). This theory is based on the first approximation
Wi ~ nods derived in part from Haugen (1968) which uses first order
> .ttial derivatives to describe the load spectra in terms of a distribu­
(10n with a mean and a standard deviation.
This method is sufficiently accurate for input data which exhibit
distributions with relatively small variances, such as structure materi­
al properties. The analysis is less accurate for input parameters
sl.owing a large degree ot variation, sucn as wind velocities. The

162
latter cases require a more elaborate treatment whicn is beyond the
scope of the current work.
The method used is best illustrated by example. Consider the
sheet crus hing failure load given by Equation (1) as

(I)

where Cc is the contact factor, Cs is the sequential failure factor,

0c is the ice crushing strength, h is the ice sheet thicKness, and Ii
is the structural diameter.
Cc varies from 0; 8 to 1.0 for brittle and ductile failure
modes, respectively, Cs is a decreasing function of the structural
diameter and thus is constant for any given facility. This leaves 0 c
and h as random input parameters subject to the distributions des c ribed
in the kinematic and mechanical information sections of the report.
The mean value of the load is given by Equation (1) evaluated for
the mean values of input parameters. Thus,

(2)

The standard deviation of the load can now be approximated fro m the
standard deviations of the input variable distributions using the method
of partial derivatives. The standard deviation is g iven as:

(3)

where sFis the standard deviation of the horizontal cOlllponer· t

x
of the crushing load, and s Oc and sh are the standard deviations
of the ice crushing strength and sheet thickness, respectively.
Substituting Fx from Equation (2) into this equation gives,

h 0) 2 - 0) 2 2f'2
SF = [( Cc Cs s
0
+ (C c Cs °c sh (4a )
x c

which simplifies to

- 2 2
SF C C oMs 2 + 0 sh (4 b)
c s c
x °c

163
 3.3 Idealization Uncertainties
In addition to the load deviations which can arise from varia­
tions in the input data, there are inherent limitations in the method­
ologies used in simulating the ice-structure interaction. These limita­
tions introduce an additional degree of uncertainty into the calculated
loads.
Factors which can influence the accuracy of ice load predictions
include assumptions which must be made in the geometric idealization of
ice features, non-simultaneous failure mechanisms, variations in ice­
structure coefficients of friction, strain rate influences on ice
strength, and other mechanisms specific to individual interaction modes.
In order to provide an assessment of the reliability of the
methodology used in each interaction simulation, upper and lower bounds
of the force levels were set as percentages of the calculated force
levels. The numbers were obtained by a hypothetical comparison of the
interaction equations and the phenomena they represent. Where avail­
able, numerical corroborating sources were used to aid in establishing
these limits. For example, Wright and McGonigal (1980) have measured
the sail height to keel depth ratios of multi-year pressure ridges in
the 8eaufort Sea and determined a mean ratio of 3.IY:1 with a standard
deviation of .36. The information available, however, is sparse, and a
mean ratio of, say, 3.3, is sufficient to account for up to a 30%
variation in the loads as calculated by the multi-year ridge interaction
equations.
Ultimately, since many factors could not be empirically verified
for lack of data and because many factor variations have overlapping

effects, subjective judgement was required to integrate all of the

S0urces of methodological variance and their interrelationships into a
set of upper and lower bounds for each of the interaction scenarios.
For example, multi-year ridge inplane load failures may be
estimated to deviate by as much as 50% from the mean value. This is due
to several factors, the most important of which are:
(a) The difference between idealized and real ridge geometry.
( b) The effects of finite ridge length.
( c) The effects of varying thicknesses of ice behind the ridge.
The effects of ridge cross-section variations are similar to
those mentioned above and can either increase or decrease the effective
ridge load. In this case, variations in the sail height to keel width

164
and more significantly, variations in the ridbe w1.cJth, cause Var1.at10n:
in the inpiane moment of inertia.
The ice sheet thickness behind a multi-year ridge plays a ,"a]Ol
role in determining the nature of the interaction. Indeed, if the sheet
is thin enough or weak enough to fail in crushing lIefore the rid g l.
failure load is reached, crushing and pile-up, rather than ridg"
failure, will result.
It should be noted that all of the ridge interaction scenarios
considered in the present work are based on ridges orientated at righl
angles to the direction of motion of the ice sheet. Ueviation from this
angle will vary the determined ice load, and possibly the nature of the
governing interaction.
From the above considerations, bounds of .:!:.50% were set on the
reliability of the methodology for inplane flexural loads generated by
multi-year ridges.

4. SUMMARY OF RELIABILITY RESULTS FOR DIFFERENT LOAUS

In the work during which this method of reliability evaluation
was developed, nine principal interaction modes were considered. These
are as follows:
(a) Inplane multi-year ridge failure.
(b) Multi-year vertical ridge failure.
(c) Friction ride-up.
(d) Maximum sheet action.
(e) Sheet crushing.
(f) Adfreeze ride-up.
(g) Sheet flexure.
(h) Rubble pile formation.
(i) First-year ridge.
The deterministic interaction equations utilized as a basis for each of
these interactions, together with the pertinent reference for their
source, ale presented in laDle 1.

Toe basis for toe numericat reliabililY resu~ls re,·orted herein

including the standard deviation and tne estimated upper and lower
bounds for each of these interactions are also given. Clearly, the
standard deviation was obtained utilizing the met nod described in
Section 3 hereof. Some comments on tne considerations entering into (toe

165
 TAAU !

.u:l.lAaILIT"t oViIoU.H IS SlilVn

SOURCE

I
I
aERC~ ASD
", :? .. "h 1,;:,::~ S7Z:-;~INC
::~ :..~ ~ I""s J; 0; (I979/ I
i
3E~CaA A..iD i
I
3" 6 ~" 'ir~SSI .'-lC
--~ .' II
", ( 197 9 )

I
I }, ",,,,. i oon, (: - . " ,, : CROASOALE
(1978 ) I
I: -"0 ..:::-tl ' : 5 i

I
i
_ ~, 1

\ : -= .... : ~ - ~~- '

o: ~ I'.
SE~C;U ,,-"0
S :::::\:~~! ::.;;
J .': J.:
(Ii :"n

!I

I
AD'llEEl,
"U OE-v?
I I)) ' .J I C :~O..u;)AL:::
(IH7)

;;I:!!ZT
- ;;.-,- "~ - )

701tXA7lC!II

I 7lRsr-'!EAB.
UJG£ ::
.:1
,

evaluat10~ of the upper and lower bound for each of the interactions
follow herein.
(a) Inplane multi-year ridge failure
Multi-year ridge inplane load failures were estimated to
vary by up to 50% from the mean value. The basis for this
estimate was described in Section 3.
(b) Vertical multi-year ridge fsilure
Vertical failure of ridges is significantly affected by the
geometry of the ridge, particularly variation in the sail
height to keel depth. In addition, vertical flexural
failure interaction theory is subject to uncertainty in the
value assigned to ll, the ice-structure coefficient of fric­
tion. Most interaction theories. including those used in

166
 this work, assume the classical model of Coulomb friction in
describing ice. Unfortunately, ice, unlike many materials
used in engineering practice, demonstrates significant vari­
ation of its friction coefficient with temperature and
contact pressure (Michel, 1978).
In consideration of the above factors, bounds of +30% were
set for multi-year ridge vertical flexural loads.
(c) Friction ride-up
The phenomenon of friction ride-up is not of concern from
the point of view of structural integrity. The +30~ given
to the friction ride-up load assumes that the entire sheet
is forced up the sloped surface of the structure as an
integral mass. Although this has been observed in isolated
instances (Croasdale and Marcellus, 1977), a more likely
scenario ~s the formation of a rubble pile on or in front of
the structure due to destabilizing moments which arise in
the individual ice pieces as they advance up the slope.
Ride-up is, however, an important consideration in the
design details of an ice interacting structure because small
localized ride-up can threaten equipment and personnel on
the working surface of an island, even if its structural
integrity is maintained.
(d) Maximum sheet action
The integral freeze-in scenario which the frozen-in sheet
load equation models is considered highly unlikely, primar­
ily due to tidal and storm surge effects. ilecause of the
simplicity of the model, its methodological reliability is
high but should only be used for extreme upper bound loads.
(e) Sheet crushing
The ice sheet crushing load is one which has received a
great deal of attention over the years and as a result is
one of the better understood interactions. Factors con­
tributing to the relatively narrow bound limits of +20%
attached to methodological considerations include strain
rate effects, sequential failure effects, and aspect ratio
effects. The latter term is included in the relisbility
rating of the sheet crushing strength ( o c), the former two
are included in the coefficients Cc and Cs •

167
 Strain rate effects can be largely eliminated by considering
a worst case scenario involving brittle failure resulting in
the major source of uncertainty being the sequential failure
factor, Cs '
(f) Sheet adfreeze
As with the maximum sheet action load and the sheet crushing
load, the methodology associated with sheet adfreeze is
relatively simple. The primary sources of error are the
evaluation of y, the adfreeze depth, and the adfreeze bond
strength. The sequential failure factor is also included.
Because of the above, the bounds are increased 10% over the
sheet crushing load bounds to +30%.
(g) Sheet Flexure
The sheet flexural loads are described by models developed
by Nevel (1972), Bercha and Stenning (1979), and others
based upon the idealization of ice subject to buoyant forces
as an elastic matrix supported on a linearly elastic founda­
tion. This idealization does not account for those portions
of the ice sheet which become totally submerged or rai,sed
out of the water during the interaction, nor is possible
variation in the ice-structure coefficient of friction
accounted for. The factor '1 accounts for the idealized
wedge shaped pieces used in the interaction equation. This
failure mechanism can be observed in scale model tests but
the actual pattern of breakage Can show a considerable
deviation from the equi-sized pieces of the idealization.
Due to the conservative nature of the original flexural load
formulation, a lower bound of -50% and an upper bound of
+30% was established for this interaction mode.
(h) Rubble pile formation
Rubble piles are formed by essentially the same mechanism
responsible for the creation of first-year ridges in areas
of ice sheet convergence. Models such as that developed by
Parmerter and Coon (1973), although adequate in explaining
the geometry of pile-up phenomena, are not capable of
predicting forces on structures. The mixed mode failure
theory developed by the author and others generates more
realistic predicted loads but has some theoretical

168
 limitations. Among these are the difficulties in estimatLlg
the distribution of bluck slope angl e s at ti. e ruLLl c pilo -·
ice sheet interface and the definition of the critical angle
at which only crushing failure can occur. Inaccuracies in
these factors are estimated to give a +50% bound to the ice
loads thus calculated.
(i) First-year ridge loads
The final interaction mode is that associated with penetra­
tion of a first-year ridge. Unlike multi-year ridges which
are void free, first-year ridges are composed of ice rubble
in varying degrees of consolidation. Their geometry is also
more variable than that of multi-year ridges (wright and
McGonigal, 1980). In addition to the above, the theory of
ridge failure uses two uncertain parameters, the cohesion of
the rubble pile and the angle of internal friction.
Variation in the above can be expected to result in a +3U%
bound on the accuracy of first-year ridge failure loads.
Specific reliability index results, of course, need to be based
on a specific kinematic and mechanical property data set or population
and a particular interaction scenario. As an illustration, we will
discuss the load variability for monocones in the ~eaufort Sea. Table 2
summarizes the mean values o'f the loads as well as reliability indices
for the monocones interacting with all po ssible formations in the
Beaufort Sea. As may be seen, relatively high reliabilities manifested
for the dominantly crushing s ets of conditions; however, as for the more
complex interactions, reliability is still low. It should be noted that
the input reliability of the data set was relatively high, suggesting
that considerable work still requires to be done in the methodology
area. The results given in Table 2 correspond to a 45 ° mono cone with a
waterline d~ameter of 100 ft. (30 m) .
If the cone angle varies, it is interesting to note the
variability of bounds corresponding to input information and methodology
for the sheet flexure case. Figure 5 illustrates the bounds correspond­
ing to the principal uncertainty types as well as the total uncertainty
bound above the mean value for the sheet flexure load. If the supreme
upper bound (that is, Sum of the bound differential and one standard
deviation) is considered equivalent to the 66% confidence interval, then
it must be admitted that the reliability of the prediction is not very
high. Clearly, predictions of lower reliability indices, as would be
the case for the ruob ] e pile iilteraction loads, yield very very low
reliabili ty.

169
 r.uU: 2
!1OKOCO/R: I NTtlACT[ON I.OADS - lEAI.iFQlT iE A

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5. CONCLUSIONS AND RLCOMHENDATIONS

A method for evaluating the reliability of ice-structure inter­
action load predictions for different interaction modes, structure
types, and ice kinematic and mechanical property cases was presented.
Specifically, the derivation of a reliability index which takes into
consideration the variability of input kinematic and mechanical proper­

170
ties as well as the accuracy of the mathematical idealization was given.
It was indicated that the treatment of input uncertainties was relative­
ly rigorous, to within the limitations of normal random variable theory,
while the treatment of the uncertainties associated with idealizations
was necessarily highly subjective. Nevertheless, it is believed by the
authors that the attempt at tracting these two sources of uncertainty in
a systematic fashion and evaluating them through a qualitative compara­
tive reliability index forms a basis of a useful tool for structural
designers seeking for a basis for assignment of safety factors associ­
ated with different interaction loads and modes.
Recommendations for further work are directed at the development
of a more accurate measure of the reliability of ice load predictions
and may be subdivided into those associated with input data uncertain­
ties and methodological or idealization ~ncertainties. Clearly, as a
broader input data base becomes available, the absolute accuracy of
statistical measures based on this expanding population will continue to
increase. On the borderline between pure statistics and methodology
exists the problem of scale effect. Certainly, if large populations of
full-scale measurements of structures for variable conditions became
avail\,ble, a solution to that problem would more than likely follow
without great difficulty. However, it is unlikely that for a signifi­
cant period of time more than a few data points on the scale effect
curve will become evident; accordingly, it is urged that further analy­
tical and all possible empirical effort be directed at the solution of
this important problem. In the area of idealization, a better under­
standing of the interaction mechanisms, with particular emphasis on
their stochastic or random components, is encouraged. To date, much of
the physical modelling has concentrated on causing the occurrence of the
ideal mechanism; that is, the simultaneous failure of all subzones in
the failure zone. The physical modelling and full-scale observations
should emphasize detailed accounting of the time variability of sequen­
tial failures in order to develop a broad data base for these areas.
Similarly, rubble pile interactions, ride-up, partially consolidated
ridges, and interactions affected by adfreeze must be further
documented.
In summary, this paper represents a first attempt to provide an
indication of the reliability of load predictions to be used as a basis
for design. Because of the complexity of the load reliability prot.lem,

171
however, the treatment presented must be regarded as a first approxima­
tion and it is hoped that it will serve as a useful basis for further
work.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Funding of the work described herein by Amoco Production Company
is gratefully acknowledged. The cooperation and advice by Mr. R.H.
Nagel, engineering associate of Amoco, is also hereby acknowledged. The
roles of the other principal authors, Dr. F.G. Bercha and Dr. T.G. Brown
involved that of principal investigator and project engineer, respec­
tively.

RU'EIiliNCES

Assur, A., 1975. "Problems in Ice Engineering", Proc. Third Inter­

national SympOSium on Ice Problems, Hanover, N.H.

Bercha, F.G., 1Y78. "Applications of Probabilistic Methods in Ice

Mechanics", ASCE Meeting, Chicago.

lIercha, F.G., 1979. "Development and Application of Multimodal Ice

Failure Theory", IUTAM Symposium, Lulea, Sweden.

Bercha, F.G. and Stenning, D.E., 1979. "Arctic Deepwater Ice-Structure

Interactions", OTC, Houston.

Bercha, F.G., Danys, J.V., and Rokne, J.G., 1978. "Probabilistic Ice­
Structure Interaction Theory", IAHR Symposium, Lulea, Sweden.

Bercha, F.G., Potter, R.E., Goss, R.D., and Ghoneim, G. A.M., 1980.
"Effect of Pile-ups and Rubble Fields on Ice-Structure Inter­
action Forces", OTC 3884, Houston.

Croasdale, K. R., 1977. "Ice Engineering for Offshore Petroleum Explora­

tion in Canada", POAC, St. John's, Newfoundland.

Croasdale, K.R., 1978. "Ice Forces on Fixed Rigid Structures", Report

for Working Group on Ice Interaction on Hydraulic Structures,
Committee on Ice Problems, IAHR.

Croasdale, K.R. and Marcellus, R.W., 1977. "Ice and Wave Action on
Artificial Islands in the Beaufort Sea", Third Canadian Hydro­
technical Conference, Quebec City, Quebec.

Haugen, E.B., 1968. Probabilistic Approaches to Design, John Wiley &

Sons, Inc., New York.

lye r, S.H., 1Yb3. "Size Effects in the Ice and Their Influences on trie
Structural lJesign of Offshore Structures", POAC '83, Helsinki,
Finland.

172
Kry, P.R., 1977. "Ice Rubble Fields in the Vicinity of Artificial
Islands", POAC 1977, Newfoundland.

Michel, B., 1978. Ice Mechanics, 1st Edition, Les Presses de L'Unive~
site, Laval.

Michel, B. and Toussiant, N., 1977. "Mechanisms and Theory of Indenta­

tion of Ice Plates", J. of Glaciology, 19, No. 81, pp. 285-301.

Neill, C.R., 1976. "Dynamic Ice Forces on Piers and Piles", Canadian
J. of Civil Engineering, Vol. 3, No.2.

Nevel, D.E., 1972. "The Ultimate Failure of a Floating Ice Sheet", Ice
Symposium, Leningrad.

Parmerter, R.R. and Coon, M.D., 1973. "On the Mechanics of Pressure
Ridge Formation in Sea Ice", OTC.
~;adhams, P., 1975. "Sea Ice Morphology in the Beaufort Sea", Report to
Ocean and Aquatic Sciences, Dept. of Environment, Victoria, B.C.,
Beaufort Sea Technical Report #36.

Wheeler, J.D., 1979. "Probabilistic Force Calculations for Structures

In Ice-Covered Seas", POAC '79, Trondheim, Norway.

Wright, B. and McGonigal, D., 1980. "Features of First and Multi-Y"ar

Ridges", Proc., Workshop on Sea Ice Ridging and Pile-up, Calgary.

173
 IAHR Ice Symposwm 1984

Hamburg

PROBABILI STIC ANALYSIS OF

ICEBERG LOADS 0" OFFSHORE STRUCTURES

Marc A. Maes
~esearch Engineer Det norske Veritas (Canada) Ltd.
(Ph.D. Candidate) (The University of Calgary)

Ian J. Jordaan
Head, Research & Development Det norske Veritas (Canada) Ltd .

ABSTRACT

During the past few decades there has been increasing acceptance that ab­
solute safety i s not a realistic engineering objective and that some ele­
~~nt of risk is inevitable in str~ctural engineering. Part of the evalua­
tion of risk is concerned with environr,lental loading and Iolany aspects have
received attention in past years, including potential hazards to offshore
structures such as extreme waves or earthquakes. Possible loading of
structure s offshore eastern Canada by icebergs pose s a unique environment­
al problem. The present paper is devoted to ~ probabilistic evaluation of
suc h loads. Fi rs t, prob 1ems re 1a ted to iceberg dens ity and occurrence are
audressed, together with the relationship of these factors to flux and
directionality of motion. iJata on the factors just outlined is used to
develop arrival rates of icebergs. It is shown that iceberg loading may
be treated analogously to a compound Poisson process. In the evaluation
of the loads, the mass, velocity and size (width) must be treated as ran­
dom. Models for these, based on an empirical analysis of data, are dev­
eloped. The de~uction of probability distriuution for mass, velocity and
size given a collision is shown and that these are updated versions of the
distributions for randomly chosen icebergs. Finally return periods for
calculated kinetic energies are developed, ba sed on a calculation proced­
ure for ice loads which uses the mass and velocity cor,lbination s together
with added mass. Statistics of extremes are used where appropriate. It
is shown that the assumption of independent, identically distributed ran­
dom quantities is not fully justified and that mi xtures of such quantities
should be considered. An example of the application of the theory is given.

175
1. INTRODUCTI ON

The discovery of extensive oil and gas reserves in offshore areas has led
to considerable development of technology to enable engineers to design
structures for these evniron~ents. Extreme temperatures, winds and waves
are exa~p1es of hazards which have been considered. In areas offshore
Eastern Canada, an additional risk is the possible collision of an iceberg
with the structures. Attempts at quantification of risks for such an
occurrence are relatively recent, and the subject consists of new, or
frontier, technology.

Before proceeding to detailed risk analysis, some conlments on safety are

appropriate. There has been acceptance in the last few decades that ab­
solute safety is not a realistic objective. Therefore the risk in any
undertaking is assessed and loads are based on this evaluation. The con­
cept of risk deals with undersirab1e events and includes two components
(Jordaan, 1983a): the estimation of probabi1 ities and the assessr,;ent of
consequences, both being related to the undesirable events. Risk analysis
is actually part of decision theory and can be used to make optimal deci­
sions in the face of uncertainty. The present work relates to the basic
formulation of the probabilistic part of the risk-decision analysis.

Risk analysis of offshore structures must be formulated so as to take into

account the type of system. For fixed structures the problem is related
to iceberg arrivals at a specific site and the analysis of the interaction
with the fixed structure (Maes et a1, 1983). The analysis can readily be
adapted for the case where strategies such as iceberg towing are consider­
ed, by including the probabilities of detection and towing. Floating sys­
telllS can be removed, i.e. avoidance is a possibility. Ship-ship and ship­
installation collisions have been extensively studied and avoidance stud­
ies have included the use of game theory (Skjong and i~je1de, 1983); a gen­
eral approach to the problem of design strategies in the presence of ice
for mbi1e units is given by Nessim et a1 (1984). Regardless of whether
the system is fixed or floating the form of analysis presented here can be
used as a basis for formulating the problem. In all applications to follow,
the iceberg hazards during a period tL will be considered; this could be
the design 1ifetinle, for example. The relationship between design 1ife­
tinre, return period, and annual safety level needs careful consideration

176
and analysis in formulating design criteria.

2. ENV IRONI~nnAL ACTIONS

Lon g-ter~environmental actions which result in loads on a structure can

be typified by the three scenarios of Fig. 1. The env ironmental condition
in question is character ized by its magnitude, e.g. wind speed or wave
height.

A continuous quantity X(t) as produced by waves or wind, results in a seq~

ence of peaks ... Vi' Yi +i , Yi +2... as shown in Fig. l(a). In its turn Zn'
the largest value occurring in the time period to to tl is max (Y i ).

c
en
CI
~

to tl
(a) Continuous

(b) Discrete (c) Intermittent

Fig . 1 Possible Environmental Scenarios

177
Discrete processes (Fig. l(b)) have the same nature as classical compound
Poisson processes. Earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, iceberg occurrences ­
in fact all infrequent events - fall into this category. For icebergs,
the kinetic energy E at the f,loment of invading the site, corresponds to
the "hlagnitude" variable. When a structure is about to be impacted, the
value of E depends on mass M, velocity V and hydrodynamic effects; addit­
ional assumptions must be made about eccentricity of impact and the con­
tact shape, but these random quantities may be considered to be stochas­
tically independent of E. Given the design value of E, a dynamic ice ­
structure interaction model can consequently evaluate loads and damage on
different s tructura 1 memiJers.

Intermittent environmental action (Fig. l(c)) combines both previous scen­

arios. In the case of ice-infested waters there could for example be con­
secutive periods of continuous first-year ice movements, open seas or ice
floe impacts.

The infrequent iceberg occurrence corresponding to the second case above,

i.e. discrete arrivals at a given location, will be the subject of the
present paper.

3. ICEBERG ARRIVALS

T~lo basic approaches have in the past been employed to determine the fre­

quency of iceberg arrivals at a site. The first consists of models rely­

ing on the physics of motion of a body at sea as driven by wind and curr­
ent, resulting in iceberg trajectory forecasting systems, which input mea­
sured short-term wind and current data, the initial position of the berg
and its estimated size. The most probable path of the berg is calculated
and may be used to reach a decision about the optimal course of action,
e.g. disconnection of the unit. Various short-term forecasting systems of
this kind are available (Smith and Banke, 1983). The same methodology has
also been extrapolated to long-term risk analysis. A large area around the
site is r,lodelled and the trajectories of incoming icebergs with random
sizes, mass and varying frequency of arrival are generated. The risk to
the structure corresponds to the nur,lber of "successful" trials occurring
when the iceberg penetrates the site.

178
 The second r.lethodology is more direct in nature. The risk to which a site
is exposed is considered to be determined by the icebergs that actually
arrive at the site and not with their history, past trajectory or rate of
occurrence at a distant time and place (Maes et al, 1983). The r.lethod does
not require assur.lptions about correlations between iceberg characteristics
or foIOvel,lent and environmental conditions.

The first approach appears more appropriate for operational decision-making

especially for floating systems whereas the second lends itself to overall
risk analysis of systems. As a result, extensive simulations can be avoi~
ed for fixed structures. We will show that the probabilistic tools des­
cribed in sections 4 to 8 serve the purpose of obtaining usable measures
of !ceberg risk to which the structure is exposed.

4. THE POISSON PROCESS FOR ICEBERG ARRIVALS

The limiting density of icebergs around a circular site with radius b, is

designated as p and defined as the ratio of N(A), the number of bergs in
an area A around the site, to the area A itself, as both A and N(A) in­
crease. At time t a berg is characterized by the following random quanti­
ties: mass 1'1 and (equivalent) diameter D (Fig. 2), both remaining cons­
tant in time, position (R,A) instantaneous speed V, direction of motion a
and added r.lass to surge T.

Site

2b

Fig. 2 Structure and Iceberg

179
 - --

•
The existence of the lir,1iting density p at tir,1e t defines a two-dimension­

al Poisson process in the larger area around the site. This process can

be converted to a simple one-dimensional Poisson process (Dunwoody, 1983;

~aes, 1984) in time with a certain arrival rate at the site or equivalent­

ly, the reciprocal of the average waiting time between arrivals or colli­

sions, A,

where A
(1 )

in which dr,1 P (D) and vm = P (V) where P ( . ) denotes the expected value of
the argument. Under the above assumptions the Poi s son process is not dep­
endent on the probabil ity distribution of 0 .

If follows that the probability of at least one iceberg arrival during a

short time interval llt is equal to 1 - Pr {(no arrival) } = 1 -e -Ailt and
since Ail t is small, the probabil ity of a single arrival (denoted event C)
is Ail t.
Hence
Pr (e) = p (2b+d m)v llt (2)
m
Analogously, for a given speed v and diameter d, the probability of an
arrival a is:
Pr (C I v, d) = (2 b +d) v II t. (2' )

Aclassical analysis ~lOuld now proceed as follows :

(1) Consider the number of arrivals N during a lifetime tL to be indepen­
dent and Poisson distributed with parameter A\. Estimate A, or, in
view of the equivalence expressed in equation (1), estimate p and fi x
it at that value.
(2) With the random quantity E' being defined as the kinetic energy of
the bergs given that they penetrate into the site, (E' is different
from E, as shown in the section 7), consider the E; to be indepen­
dent and identi cally di stributed (i.i.d.). This distribution is ob­
tained from a best fit to measured values.
(3) Under the above assumptions, the distribution for N impacts can be
found by cordpounding the distributions for the single impact case
(Maes et aI, 1983).
I (4) Formulate return period and other risk measures on the same assump­
tions.

180
Although this approach is valid if no uncertainty at all exists about A
(or p) and the parameters of the distribution, it should be used with care
because it can underestimate the risk regarding design kinetic energy. As
a Illatter of fact, the i. i .d. approach presented above is found to be a
limiting case of the exchangeable one (see section 6), namely when total
information about all "paranleters" is available. This does certainly not
apply for icebergs in view of the typically short and sometimes conflict­
ing data and opinions. The analysis above will be extended in the follow­
ing.

5. EXTRE~AL ANALYSIS

An optir,lal design decision is the result; of a full probability and conse­

quence analysiS such as the simplified one represented in Fig. 3. How­
ever, to facil itate decision-making, the following traditional ~easures
are frequently employed:
the return period R(y) of an event with n~gnitude greater than y:
R(y) = P(T(y)},where T is the waiting tinle until such an event occurs.
The return period consequently represents the average duration between
events with n~gnitude greater than y. The inv~rse function y = R-l(r)
gives the r-year event.
The "nlost probable largest" or "cha~acteristic extreme" y* is the mode
of the probability distribution fy(Y). It is frequently used in long­
term wave analysis. It draws its name fror,1 the peakedness of fy(Y) if
N becomes very large, and is therefore appropriate in such cases.

oL k::
~
DESIGN

LEVEL
O
~'NG
CONSEQUENCES

Fig. 3 Choice of Optimal Design Criterion

1B1
The nur,lber N of randor,l quantities among which the largest one is selected,
can be :
large (N -+- 00), in which case aSYfilptotic distributions for Y can be used,
independent of the "underlying" forr,l of X Ulaes, 1984) . Examples are
extreme waves, wind and river discharge.
sr,lall (N = 0,1 ... ) for very infrequent event s.
random itself, for example in the case of the number of earthquakes,
floods or iceberg arrivals during a lifetime t L.

Evidently, this case is particularly relevant to the present study. As

noted >Ie are considering a Poisson process, so that instead of the more
familiar compound Poisson process in which the sum of a random number
(Poisson-distributed) of i.i.d. random quantitie s is studied, we are con­
cerned with the extreme of the set. The "i.i.d." assumption however po ses
severe probler,ls and this aspect will be di scussed in the following section.

6. INOEPENDENCE ANO EXCHANGEABILITY

The usual j,lethod of inference is to estimate the parar,leters of the distri­

bution on the assumption that all SUI cessive values of the random quantity
are i. i.d. This is not satisfactory since one subsequently violates the
independence assumption by amending the paral"eters estir"ates as more data
is obtained; in addition, uncertainty in the parameters is not taken into
account. The problem is particularly acute in the case of short data sets.

The "i.i.d." assumption can be replaced by de Finetti ' s concept of exchan­

geability. Random quantities are exchangeable when the order of obtaining
the quantities is considered to be unimportant. Thi s means that the sub­
scripts of the random quantities are of no significance and are therefore
"e xc hangeable". For example, consider the mass Mof an iceberg arnvlng
at a site, and suppose that during the last 5 years only 3 icebergs inva­
ded thi s particular location. It would be difficult to maintain that the
order of arri va 1sis important to the r,lasses measured. Independence how­
ever is another r,latter: our inference about a future value of mass would
clearly be altered if a fourth ' iceberg would intrude and provide us with
additional information.

182
For details of the theory, reference is made to Jordaan and Maes (1984).
In brief, the result is that exchangeability implies that the sequence of
randol,1 quantities is i.i.d. given the paranleters of the distribution and
that the final results are equiv alent to these i.i.d. results weighted by
the probabilities of the para meter values and sunmied over all possible
values.

7. UPOATI NG OF SPEED AND ~IAS S

If the probability distributions of mass Mand speed V are known, Bayes'

principle can be applied to transform these into distributions of mass M'

and speed V' of ice features that are known to arrive at the site (Jordaan,

1983b). In sinlple terrtls this can be expressed as follo~i s:

equation (2') Pr (el v,d) '" (2b+d)v

Bayes' rule Pr (vld) Pr (Alv) Pr(v)

<X

Therefore,

If there exists a relationship between mas s and dianleter of the form ~l<xd T ,
the sar.ie procedure resul t s in
fW (nl) <X(2b+Ti,l IT ) fH(r,l) (4)

Correlation between ~ and V should also be considered (~~es et al, 1983)

but the effect is not considerable.

8. EX~IPLE

Consider a specified site (structure) with diameter 2b=100m in the Labra­

dor Shelf, where during the past to = years, no = 3 icebergs have been ob­
served. Documentary data consist in seasonal iceberg density [,lapS for the
general area (Table 1), measurements of instantaneous speed (Fig. 4) and
[,laS S of icebergs chosen at random in the Labrador Sea. The design 1ife­
time is tL = 30 years. The average equivalent diameter of i cebergs d is
m
100m.

Fig. 5 shows the best fit of a gamma distribution to the data of Table 1.
This was used to express uncertainty regarding p. This distribution was
incorporated with the observations at the site (as noted above), and using

183
 3.5

Berg chosen at random

c 3.0
0

u arriving on site
c 2.5
:::J

>- 2.0
III

<II

"C 2.5
>­
1.0
.0

"
.0
...
0 0.5
D...

a
a 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2
Iceberg speed (m/s)

Fig. 4 Instantaneous Speed of Icebergs

2.0

'"~
1.6
c
0

U
C
:::J
LL 1.2
>­
III
c
<II 0.8
0
>­

.a 0. 4
"
.a
...
0
D...
a
a 0.1 0.2 03 0.4 0.5
Iceberg Density P _10- 8 (m- 2 ,

Fig. 5 Uncertainty Regarding Iceberg Density

184
 0.05

0.04

0.03

~ 0.02
.0
o
L...
a.
0.01

o III I I I
0 10 20 30 40 50
Number of ic e berg arrivals at the site for
exchangeable random quantities
Fi g. 6 Probability of Various Iceberg Arrivals
During Li fetime
Table 1 Average Seasona l Number of Icebergs
per 0.25 Degree Lat i tude ' Square
Year _Season
W Sp Su F
#1 0 2 0 0

#2 0 0 0 1
#3 1 5 1 0

#4 0 1 1 0

the assumption of exchangeability, the distribution of the number of ice­

berg arrivals at the site during the lifetime of 30 years was derived and
is shown in Fig. 6. The probability distributions for mass and velocity,
updated according to equations (3) and (4), can be used to derive the kin­
etic energy of the berg. Added mass was modelled also as a normally dis­
tr ibu ted randOfll quantity with mean 1.5 and standard deviation 0.15.

The resulting probability distributions for a sing le encounter and the

weighted (compounded) distribution for a random number of arrivals (for
exar.lple, corresponding to Fig. 6) are shown in Fig. 7. Finally the design
kin8tic energy versus return period is shown in Fig. 8. This is a most

185
useful format for design purposes. Both classical and exchangeable res­
ults are given; the exchangeability refers only to the arrival-rate anal­
ysis and could, in a more general analysis be extended to mass and veloc­
ity as well.

The practi ca l value of the results i s illustrated in Table 2. Clearly the

assumptions (i.i.d. versus exchangeability) can make a considerable diff­
erence to the design value.

9. CONCLUDING REMARKS

It has been our objective in this paper to demonstrate that iceberg haz­
ards can be evaluated in the same way as other extreme environmental -con­
ditions that cause heavy structural loading or damage. Global and local
loads can subsequently be evaluated using techniques such as the one des­
cribed in Nessim et al (1984) . The loads are dependent on the input stru­
ctural stiffness, the deformational behaviour of the i ce and the selected
design kinetic energy. A typical value of a lOO-year load on a 30m wide
structure would be about 300 MN. The entire [,lethodology can be applied to
the design of the individual components of the offshore structure.

,., 2.0 -r----------------.....,

I
o

c 1.6

- 0

u
C
::J
1.2
>.
One encounter
.­11\
c All encounters
'" 0.8
">.
.­
.­
.a
.a
<) 0.4
0
L­
0...

0
0 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400
iceberg kinetic energy (M J)

Fig. 7 Probability Density of Kinetic Energies

186
 1000

l.i.d.

11\
L­

">­
<II 100 Exchangeable

"0
0
L­
<II
0.

C
L­
:>
10
<II
0:::

2.5

a 500 1000 1500 2000 2500

3000
Design kinetic energy (MJ)

Fig. 8 Return Period for Design Kinetic Energy

Table 2 Design Kinetic Energies Taken from Fig. 8

I Ri sk of Exceedance of E (~IJ)
1: 10 1 : 100 1 : 1000
i. i .d. 170 1250 2800
exchangeable 130 1350 3300

REFERENCES

Dunwoody, A.B. 1983:; "The Design Ice Island for Impact Against an Offshore
Structure". Proceedings OTC, Houston, Texas.

Jordaan, LJ. 1983a; "Risk and Safety Assessment for Arctic Offshore Pro­
jects", Conf. on Arctic Technology and Policy, M.LT., Cambridge, Mass.

Jordaan, I.J. 1983b;"Ri sk Analysis with Application to Fixed Structrues in

Ice" presented at Semi nar/Workshop on SEA ICE ~1ANAGEMENT, Memoria 1 Univer­

187
sity of Newfoundland, November.

Jordaan, l.J. and Haes, M.A. 1984; "Probability, Exchangeability and Ex­
tremes, with a Discussion of Iceber9 Loading". Second Canadian Seminar on
Sys terns Theory for the Ci vi 1 Engi neer, May 17 and 18, 1984.

Maes, M.A. 1984; Ph.D. thesis, in preparation.

Maes, M.A., Jordaan, l.J., Appleby, J.A. and Fidjest¢l, P. 1983; "Risk
Assessment of Ice Loading for Fixed Structures", Proceedings of the Third
International Offshore I~echanics & Arctic Engineering Symposium, Vol. 3,
pp. 220-227.

Nessim, H.A., Hurray, A., Maes, M.A., Jordaan I.J. 1984; "Risk Analysis
Methodology for Mobile Offshore Units Operating in Ice-infested Waters".
Proc. Ice Tech '84, SNAME, pp. Hl - H12.

Skjong, R. and Mjelde, R.M. 1982; "Optimal Evasive Manoeuvre for a Ship
in an Environment of Fixed Installations and Other Ships". Modelling,
Identification and Control, Vol. 3, No.4, pp. 211-222.

Smith, S.D. and Banke, E.G. 1983; "The Influence of Winds, Currents and
Towing Forces on the Drift of Icebergs". Cold Regions Science and Tech­
nology, ~, pp. 241-255.

188
 WlR Ice Symposium 1984

Hamburg

G~OLOGICAL EVIUENCE FOR 60 MET~R D~~P P~SSU~-RIDGE KE~LS IN

TH~ ARCTIC OCEAN

Erk Reimni tz, Geologist U.S. Geological Survey

P. W. Barnes Geologist Menlo Park, california
R. L. Phillips Geologist

Abstract
Ice gouge patterns on the Alaskan Beaufort Sea shelf extend from the
coast seaward to water depths of at least 64 m. The maximum measured
draft of sea ice in the Arctic OCean, however, is only 47 m. Thus the
numerous gouges seaward of the 47 m isobath might be relict, cut during
times of lower sealevel many thousand years ago. Sedimentation rates

along the shelf break are very low, and a rain of particles settling
vertically in a quiet environment on these bedforms would not obliterate
them soon.
several lines of evidence suggest, however, that these deep-water
gouges are modern features. Continuous, 3aO-day current records at 60
depth near the shelf edge show that the environment is dynamic, with long­
period current pulses up to 70 cm sec- 1 capable of transporting medium to
coarse sand as bedload and fine sand in intermittent suspension. A rich
benthic fauna also reworks the upper 20 em of sediment and provides
sedimentary particles for current transport. The water depth along the
seaward limit of the ice gouged shelf surface, if of relict origin, should
shoal eastward in the region where isostatic rehound after deglaciation
occurred. The deep limit of gouges instead varies irregularly between 49
and 64 m water depth along the shelf edge, as one would expect from an
interaction of sporadic ice reworking to 64 m depth during the last 200
years and continuous reworking by currents and organisms. For offshore

petroleum development, this interpretation has the important implications

that bottom-founded structures at >47 m water depth may not be safe from
ice impact.

189
Introduction
Numerous efforts have been made during the last two decades to
determine the ice thickness distribution in the Arctic Ocean, and in
particular to learn the keel depth of the largest modern pressure
ridges. With the discovery of oil and gas in the arctic offshore, and the
trend to extend exploration into deeper water and increasing distance from
shore, knowledge of the maximum ice thickness on the continental shelf is
becoming increasingly important.
Various approaches have been used to directly obtain keel depth data
in the Arctic, but as yet no satisfactory technique for water depths of
less than 100 m exists. In the deep sea, upward-looking sonar profiles
obtained from submarines are nearly ideal for measuring two-dimensional
under-ice profiles along single tracks. One ),900 km long profile from an
area northeast of Greenland, for example, identified 44 ridge keels
between )0 and 40 m, and one slightly over 40 m deep (Wadhams, 1978).
From the data sets obtained by similar techniques, the deepest keel
measured is 47 m (Lyon, 1967). Laser profiles of ice surface relief,
obtained by aircraft, together with established ratios between sail height
and keel depths of pressure ridges, give an estimate of under-ice
relief. In one application surface and subsurface ice profiles wer~

obtained together without finding remarkably deep keels (Wadha.~, 1981).

~ttempts of applying the above techniques to continental shelves,
however, face two serious problems: (a) The Beaufort shelf is the
boundary between the moving arctic ice pack and the continent, and resists
pack ice pressures; this results in larger and more numerous ridges than
over the deep basin (Tucker, 1981). These ridges and the shallow water
prevent access by submarines. (b) Estimating keel depths from sail height
requires that ice ridges be free-floating and in isostatic equilibrium.
The latter is not necessarily the case on the continental shelf, where the
ice canopy commonly is under strong lateral compression.
For continental shelves, virtually all public data on ridge keel

configuration stems from spot measurements made with horizontally held

sonar transducers lowered throuyh the ice adjacent to ridges, and from
cores of ridges (for example, Weeks et al., 1971; Kovacs, 1976). Because
these techniques are time-consuming, the depth of only few rid~e keels
have been determined by such methods. Fixed upward-looking sonar devices
have been used with limited success in several applications to record
under-ice relief and movement, but any data so obtained is not public.

190
 Where the seafloor is sediment covered and is shallow enough to
intercept the deepest keels, these mark their paths by criss-crossing
patterns of ice gouges (Pelletier and Shearer, 1972; Reimnitz and Harn~s,

1974). Side scan sonar is ideally suited to map such patterns. These
seafloor records, however, are not permanent, because of various kinds of
sedimentary and erosive processes. Distinctive interndl sedimentary
structures, bedding discontinuities, and .non-sequential ages in sediment
cores of formerly ice gouged terrane may hold a record of sediment
disruption and mixing by ice keels. On present shelves however, such
r .e cords cannot be deciphered and dated with available techniques.
Attempts to interpret the history of deep keels from the geologic record
therefore are presently restricted to studies of surficial gouges and are
limited by our understanding of processes that erase shelf relief. This
report is an attempt to interpret the age of deep-water gouges seen on the
Alaskan Arctic shelf in light of these processes.
Hackground Information
The crisscrossing patterns drawn by ice keels on the Beaufort Sea
Shelf have been mapped and interpreted since the introduction of side scan
sonar techniques to marine geological studies of the Arctic in 1970. 'rhe

existence of gouges in water depths greater than 47 m was recognized, and

attributed to the past action of glacial ice, or to sea ice gouging at
times of lower sea level 10-12 thousand years ago (Kovacs, 1972, Pelletier
and Shearer, 1972; Hnatiuk and Brown, 1977; Lewis et al., 1992).

Pelletier and Shearer (1972) based their interpretation on a sedimentation

rate of 1 m 10 3yr- 1 , a rain of particles resulting in an even blanket
draped Over ridge crests and gouge floors alike. According to this mOdel,
12 to 16 m of sediment is required to completely bury a gouge with 3 to 4
m original relief (Pelletier and Shearer, 1972).
Reimnitz and Barnes (1974) question this model and the presumed
relict nature of gouges along the shelf edge. In the Alaskan Beaufort
Sea, they felt that gouges can be traced to 75 m (Reimnitz, et al. 1972),
or to 100 m or deeper (Reimnitz and Barnes, 1974). Reimnitz et al. (1977)
restated their doubt of the presumed old age of deep-water gouges in the

Beaufort Sea with new data from the Chukchi ~ea, and in light of high
current velocities measured near the shelf edge. Lewis (1977) conducted a
thorough statistical evaluation of ice gouge measurements in the Canadian
Beaufort Sea, and proposed that the break in ice gouge par&neters he
observes at 50 m depth marks the outer limit of modern !lice scouring. II

191
But his ~odel again assumes uniform blanketing of seafloor relief by
sedimen t. Wadhams (1980) supported Lewis' concept, and stated that gouges
at least 1000 years old are still visible on the shelf surface today. For
this reason, he believed that knowledge of the rate of shelf submergence
(transyression) within the last few thousand years is important for
relating the ice gou ge distribution to that of keel depths in the Arctic.
Methods of study
The seawa rd margin of the ic e -gouged shelf in the Beaufort Sea from
Point Barrow to Harter Island was determined from 10 available U.S.G.S.
survey tracks (Fig. 1). Along 4 of these tracks, both side scan sonar and
precision fathometer were operated. elsewhere preCision farrthograms were
not available. The side scan records show identifiable gouges when gouges
are no longer discernable on the fathometer records. The maximum water
depth to which ice gouge relief can be recognized using fathomet.er records
alone, therefore, is about 10 m shallower than when both systems were
operated together.

DEEP WATER GOUGES (m)

72'
G 82 Fathometer and aldescan
Beaufort Sea 068 Sideican only
• 51 Fathometer only

.. Current meter

62 X Bottom photoa

~~====:::r~200m
56 80m
70'

70'

60 100Km
! !

'6"
Figure 1. I'lap of the stUdy area, rougly defining the shelf break between
the 60 and 200 m isobaths, and the farthest seaward points along our 10
survey tracks to which ice gouges can be traced with different survey
tools. The locations for bottom photographs and a current meter mooring
are shown.

The seaward margin of the ice gouged shelf surface

With increasing water depth, the intensity of ice gouging decreases
from the midshelf toward the outer shelf. In statistical compi lation s,
maximum gouge in c ision depth, flanking ridge height, total gouge relief,

192
and 'gouge intensity' show peaks in 30 to 40 m water depths, and decrease
to zero at about 65 m in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea (Barnes, et al., in
press). Along the 10 available survey tracks, features clearly identi­
fiable as ice gouges are seen to depths between 49 to 52 m in the Chukchi,
and to 64 m in the Beaufort Sea (fig. 1). At these maximum water depths
the relief of ice gouges is somewhat subdued, probably due to their
advanced stages of sediment filling, compared to those of the mid-shelf.
On almost all transects the seaward boundary of ice gouges is associated
with rythmic bedforms, spaced between 3- and 10-m apart and with
amplitudes of less than 20 cm. We suspect that these bedforms are
produced by currents flowing parallel to the shelf edge. Figures 2A and B
are side scan sonar example records of the outer limit of ice gouges
obtained near Barter Island. Clearly defined ice gouges are present at 56 ·
m water depths on Fig. 2A, while Fig. 2B shows signs of current-produced
bedforms with indistinct traces of gouges only 1200 m to seaward. The
fathometer record obtained along the same survey track, but shifted
slightly upslope (Fig. 2C), also demonstrates the change from ragged ice
gouge morphology to smoother bottom farther seaward.
To evaluate whether these deep-water gouges are modern or relict, we
examine next the reflief-leveling process at that depth.
Relief-leveling processes at the shelf edge
Sedimentary processes affecting ice gouge relief along the outer
shelf include sedimentation, winnowing by currents, and the activities of
bottom dwellers. The processes will be discussed in this order.
Sedimentation.- We believe the outer continental shelf of the
Beaufort Sea has been an area of little or no sediInentation during
Holocene time (Reimnitz et al., 1982) in difference to a wedge of late
Wisconsin and early Holocene marine sediments thickening from the midshelf
seaward postulated by Dinter (1982).
Barnes and Reimnitz (1974) defined a "shelf edge sediment facies"
between 50 and 130 m water depths, characterized as a bi-modal, poorly
sorted, gravelly mud with high textural variability between sampling
stations. We interpret this facies as relict. The mean particle size of
surface sediments is medium sand to silt, but gravel percentages of 60%
(Barnes and Reimnitz, .1974) and nearly 100% (Reimnitz et al., 1982) can be
found. Foraminifera from a hex core, raised from a depth of 123 m
(70 0 57'N. 14°06'W.), were studied by Ronald J. Echols. He assigned a
paleo-depth of 15-35 m to a horizon 40 cm below the seafloor (Ron Echols,

193
 c

" o 500m

Figure 2. Adjoining segments, A and B, of sonographs recorded near the

shelf edge crossing northwest of Barter Island (Fig. 1). The 'last
gouge' is at a water depth of 56 m in 2A, signs of hydraulic bedforms
with traces of possible gouges are recorded about 1 km farther seaward in
2B. C, Tracing of the fathometer record obtained along with the sonograph,
with corresponding gouge marked by X.

194
 14
written communication with Barnes, 1974). Two C whole-sample date s of
sediment 2 cm and 10 cm below the surface at this sit~ are 9,565 ± 215
yrs. and 14,980 ± 200 yrs BP, respectively. Furthermore, Naidu and Mowatt
(1983) suggest a relict age for the surface sediments of the outer shelf,
particularly east of Prudhoe Bay, based on the spotty distribution of clay
minerals.
Hundreds of bottom photos taken along the outer shelf also suggest a
lack of modern sediment accretion. Figure 3 shows a pair of such photos
from a series taken along several km of drift track at a station marked on

Figure 1. High textural variability over short distances shown by this

pair of photographs, is typical for ice-gouged terrain lacking appreciable
sediment accretion (Reimnitz and Barnes, 1974. One photograph is from a'
gouge trough blanketed by soft mud, the other from a stony flanking ridge
crest. Numerous stalked anemones living here on the rocky substrate are
suspension feeders, and their presence indicates that an abundant supply
of fine particulate matter is periodically present, either from seafloor
erosion or cross-shelf transport.

The ice-rafted origin of relict gravel along the shelf edge,

discussed by Mowatt and Naidu (1974), RodeicK (1979), and Barnes and
Reimnitz (1974), is additional proof that little or no sediment has
accreted during Holocene time. This conclusion is in line with the
generally held concept that the shelf edge serves only as a temporary
resting place for sediment moving from terrigenous sources to ultimate
depositional sites in deep marine environments (Southard and Stanley,
1976).
Winnowing by CUrrents.- The shelf edge in the study area lies under
the influence of the uBeaufort Current," in an energetic environment of

low- frequency, reciprocating flow with a period of 3 to 10 days (Aagaard,

in press). The flow direction of current pulses is parallel to local
isobaths, with eastward flowing current pulses strongest. At the 60' m
isobath seaward of Prudhoe Bay, Aagaard maintained a current-meter
mooring, with instruments 10 m and 20 m above the shelf surface, for a
period of 380 days. Uuring this period, current pulses of up to 70 cm
sec- 1 were recorded at 10 m above the bottom.
One can extrapolate from measured currents 10 m off the seafloor to
the seabed itself, thereby assessing their effects on sediment movement,

195
following the theoretical guidelines summarized by Komar (1976). To do

this, several assumptions must be made.

First, knowledg~ of seabed rou~hness is needed for calculating the

boundary shear stress. Not knowing the actual bed roughness, we will
assume a flat bed, wh ere only the sediment grainSize causes roughness.

For this case the roughne ss length Zo for rough, turbulent fl?w is given

by

where U is the grain diameter. ~ increase in roughness, such as from

burrows , from ripples, and especially from ice gouy"es, significantly

enhances turbulence and local boundary shear stress, thereby aiding
sediment movement. The seabed on the outer Beaufort Sea shelf certainly

is rougher than a "flat bed" and the stated assumption, therefore, makes

our assessment very conservdtive.

Second, we assume that the instrument moored 10 m above the bottom is

within the logarithmic layer, where currents "feel" and are influenced by

bottom drag. In reality, this layer probably is only 2 to 3 m thick, and

thus we are again underestimating the stress at the seabed.

Fina lly, we assume that silt and sand size particles lack cohesion,

and are not held to the seafloor by any force other than gravity. These
particle sizes predOminate in the water depths of interest here, and make
the last assumption a reasonable one. In the presence of a rich benthic

community discussed in the next section, lack of cohesion probably is true

even for mud accumulations found in gouge troughs. Analyses of GEOPROBE

data from Norton Sound, Alaska, and from the shelf off the Russian River
in California, show that muds with up to 30% clay, when tracked and plowed
by deposit feeders, behave as cohesionless depOSits of that grainsize
(David Drake, written communication, 19B3).
With the foregoing asswnptions, we can now estimate the bed shear

stress (~b) which would be generated by the range of current velocities

Ineasured by Aagaard, and compare these estimated values to the sediment
threshold data recently summarized by Miller et al. (1977). We use the
well-established law-of-the-wall equation,

U· z
U In
K z
o

196
where U is the current velocity at z = 10 m, K = 0.4 (Von Karman's

constant) and U* is the IIfriction velocity". U* is defined as

where P is fluid density. The computed U. values and the critical

values from Miller et al. (1977) are shown in Table I for mediUl' to coarse
sand, fine sand, and clay size sediments. The table covers the grain
sizes and current velocities likely to be encountered at 60 m water
depth. The table suggests that grain movement in fine sand occurs when
currents at 10 m from the seafloor are above 30 cm sec- 1 , and medium to
coarse sand will start moving when currents are between 50 and 60 cm
sec- 1 , still below the measured peak velocities. Thus, even with our
generally conservative assumptions, sand must commonly move along the
outer shelf. The higher-speed pulses of 70 em sec- 1 observed by Aagaard
(in press) could transport even coarser material than considered in
Table I.

TABLE I
Values within the box are above the critical friction velocity at
which given particle sizes begin to move. Velocity values in cm sec- 1 .
Diameter Friction Velocity Measured Velocity
D (em) U· critical U at 10 m

30 40 50 bO 70

U· calculated)

5 x 10- 2 (med. coarse sand) O. 9 ~_1_._5_11. 8 2.~

1 x 10- 2 (fine sand) - 1.0 0.8 1.1 1.5 1.6 1.9 .

1 x 10- 3 (clay) -0.8 0.7 0.9 1.2 1.4 1.6 1

1

Activities of Bottom Dwellers: The effects of a benthic community on

the elimination of bedforms can not be quantified, but probably is
substantial along the shelf edge in the Beaufort Sea. Nowell, et al.

(1981), discussing sediment entrainment by currents, conclude-that

"Benthic organisms playa significant role in modifying the conditions for
bottom-sediment current entrainment by : (1) altering the individual
particle characteristics for entrainment; (2) changing the bulk

197
 char-acter-istics of the sediments, such as its perm~abitity; and (3)
varying the boundary properties of the flow by altering the surface
roughness of the bed." Thus, surface tracks made by benthic organisms
alone can double the boundary roughness and decrease the critical
entrainment velocity by 20~.

The upper 5 to 20 cm of sediments in box cores raised from the shelf

edge in the Beaufort Sea, where Carey et al. (1974) reported the peak for
benthic biomas, are extremely bioturbated (Barnes and Reimnitz, 1974).
This stands to reason, in view of the photographic examples of the benthic
community in Figure 3. Given such a rich fauna, and its reported
influence on the current entrainment velocity, the destructive effects on
ice gouge relief must be strong. In the presence of gravel-size clasts
within the shelf-edge sediments, the combined effects of animals and
currents over long time periods should also result in winnowing of fines
and explain the lag gravel deposits widespread on the outer shelf (Barnes
and Reimnitz, 1974).
Besides the effects of bottom-dwelling organisms on sediment
entrainment by currents, their burrowing and ploughing activity must be
significant in redistributing sediments, especially in areas of locally
steep ice gouge relief. Uiving observations have shown that the effects
of benthic activity on the smoothing of gouges is noticeable over short
time periods (~eimnitz and Barnes, 1974). Each new track or mound made on
a slope that is originally at the angle of repose results in dominant
downslope movement of sediment particles. Time lapse photography from
GEOPROBE (Drake and Cacchione) on the California shelf at depth of 93 m
(38°30' N) and interpreted by F. H. Nichols (personal communication, 1983)
demonstrate the rapid rate at which biologic activity reshapes the sea­
floor. Starfish, brittle stars, and heart urchins produce microrelief
over a period of several days, which is soon smoothed over by waves or
current, only to be roughened again by organisms within days. Nichols
estimates that the upper 5 cm of the sediment blanket is totally reworked
by organisl~ everyone or two months. Based on the high benthic biomass
at the Beaufort Sea shelf edge, we believe this type of activity here is
similarly intense dnd contributes significantly to the leveling of ice
gouge relief.

198
Figure 3. Two sea f loor photographs taken several hundred meters apart
near the shelf edge at a depth of 53 m. where indicated on F ig. 1 .
(U.S.G.S. Sta. 48 courtesy of A. G. Carey. Jr . ). (A) Soft mud po nded
within the trough of an ice gouge. with numerous brittle stars . (8)
Pebbles and cobbles with attached organisms protruding through a thin
film of mud along the edge 0' an ice 90uge.

199
~~gussion

Ice gouges can be traced to depths between 51 and 64 m on the Alaskan

Beaufort Sea shelf, and to 49-52 m depth in the Chukchi ~ea near Barrow.
This interpretation differs from Reimnitz et al. (1972), who thought they
could trace ice gouge relief on fathograms to water depths of more than
100 m. This is also in part a re-interpretation of the work by Reimnitz
and Barnes (1974): linear, parallel, and rythmic features along the shelf
edge between longitudes 150" and 153" W were originally classified as
probable gouges. These patterns, seen on all of our sonographs seaward of
unquestionable ice gouge patterns, now are considered current-produced
bedforms.
Let us assume that (a) ice gouges between 47 m (the deepest observed
ice keel), and 64 m (the depth at which our data puts the deep-water limit
of ice gouges), are relict forms that have been preserved from times of
lowered sea level () 10,000 yrs), that (b) the shelf has undergone no
vertical movelnent during this time interval, and (c) that the keel depth
distribution for pressure ridges at the end of the last ice age was
similar to that of today. Given these conditions, and a sea level about

80 m below its present position (Forbes, 1980), the deep-water limit of

ice gouges should lie at 120 to 130 m rather than at 64 m (fig. 4).
During times of lower sea level, however, glacial icebergs provide another
source for deep keels, and most workers would agree that glaciers were
calving into the Beaufort Sea Gyre at that time (i.e., Forbes, 1980).
Such ice can have draft of over 400 m, as witnessed by a grounded berg in
northern Baffin Bay at a water depth of 450 In (John Lewis, oral
communication, 1982). Thus, given the presence of icebergs together with
lower sea level at the end of the last ice age, ice gouges could exist on
the continental slope to water depths of at least 500 m (Fig. 4). Because
no ice gouges are observed at depths over 64 m, where ice plowing should
have occurred, such relief forms are not preserved for ten thousand years.
If relict ice gouges exist along the shelf edge, the configuration of
the seaward ice gouge limit should reflect postulated Holocene vertical
crustal movement. Tectonic uplift seems to be occurring off Barter Island
(Dinter, 1982), while isostatic uplift in response to glacial retreat is
occurring in the J~cKenzie River embayment, east of our study area
(Forbes, 1980). Thus, the seaward limit of ice gouges should lie shal­
lower in the eastern than in the western Beaufort Sea. Such a trend is

200
 Present ..... - . Late Wisconsin ---W<! SL
.... .....
'
-,~ 8e8 Ice

Recent 8e8 Ice

+ "; "
",-4= Icebergs

-1000m

Seaward extent of gouging

Figure 4. Idealized profile of the shelf edge north of Prudhoe Bay,

showing the seaward limit of ice gouges, a) as mapped, and b) as expected
for lower sea level (dotted horizontal line and dotted segment of shelf
profile).
not observed. In fact, gouges are reported from 80 and 82 m in the
MacKenzie embayment (Lewis, et al., 1982); Hantiuk and Brown, 1977). This
is about 20 m deeper than in Alaskan waters and the reverse of the trend
expected for relict gouges.
In the Chukchi Sea near Point Barrow, gouges are found to depths
about 15 m above that in the Beaufort Sea, a difference that cannot be
explained by differences in vertical crustal movement. However, the cur­
rent regime here is more dynamic and the i ce conditions less severe,
because of the clockwise rotation of the Beaufort Gyre. Therefore the
gouges at the deep water limit in that area probably are younger than
those seen in the Beaufort Sea.
Another line of evidence for a relatively young age of deep-water
gouges comes from the central, topographically flat Chukchi Sea. Here
high gouge densities occur in patches to depths of 58 m (Toimil, 1978).
Such highly variable ice gouge density over a few km distance in identical
settings, i s inconsistent with a relict gouge surface produced over
thousands of years, and now undergoing gradual burial. Furthermore
individual furrows commonly are associated with hydraulic bedforms.
Migration of these apparently active ripples and sand waves seem to
obliterate ice gouge relief.
We believe that ice gouges seen in water deeper than 47 m result from
modern keels. This actually is not incompatible with ice data, as larger
and more numerous ridges are known to form on continental shelves than in
regions studied with submarines (Tucker, 1981, and Wadhams, 1978). Thus

201
laryer and more nwnerous keels should also be present. Furthermore,

~eimnitz and Barnes (1974) suggested that presently available keel data
are most representative of the quiet state of the ice following the cata­

strophic events of ridye building. We speculate that during the cata­

strophic events, larger but unstable ice masses may exist long enouyh for

gouging to occur. Ice keels erode with the aging of ridges, thereby
further biasing keel distribution data collected from submarines (Wadhams,

1978). Additionally, submarine data from the Beaufort Sea were obtained
only during one relatively short time period in one particular year,
allowing no assessment of month-to-month, season-to-season, or year-to­
year variability, necessary to evaluate extreme features (Gaver and
Jacobs, 1982). They believe that the extreme features may therefore not
be documented.
Notwithstanding the above problems, the latest attempt at extra­
polating extreme keel depth values from keel statistics was made by
Wadhams (198]). Using reasonable asswnptions. he calculated the return
period for ice impacts in various water depths. Extrap·olating from his
calculated impact return periods at a single point on the 65 m isobath to
an area at the same water depths, a new gouge could be formed every 68-328
years (Wadhams I 1984, written communications).
Sununary
We have· shown that relief-leveling from bottom currents and biologic
reworking along the Alaskan Beaufort Sea shelf break is dynamiC, with
current pulses capable of transporting coarse sand, and the additional
action of a rich benthic fauna. Ice gouge relief on the outer shelf thus
appears to be obliterated by lateral sediment movement, and the p6nding of
finer-grained sediments in local depressions. Obliteration of gouge

relief by lateral grain motion is also indicated by the presence of

rhythmic hydraulic bedforms. The mode of ice gouge obliteration we
propose is contrary to that postulated by Pelletier and Shearer (1972), in
which ridges and troughs are blanketed by an even rain of particles
settling out vertically from suspension and under which reli·ef forms would
be preserved for thousands of years.
I-Ie postulate that the record of ice gouges extending to as deep as 64
m in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea is also a record of ice keels to be
encountered within a period of a few hundred years.

202
Acknowledgements
This study was funded in part. by the M.in~rals Management Service
through interagency agreement with the National Oceani c and Atmospheric

Administration, as part of the OUter Continental Shelf Environmental

Assessment Program. The study was further supported by the Uepartment of

Energy. lie thank David Drake of the u. S.G. S. for his help in assessing
the effects of measured currents on sediment transport. A. J. Carey, Jr.

kindly gave us his sea floor photographs.

References
Aagaard, Knut, in press. The Beaufort Current, ~ The Alaska Beaufort
Sea - Ecosystems and Environment, Schell, Keimnitz, and Barnes, (eds.),
Academic Press, San Francisco.
Barnes, P. W., and ReilTUlitz, Erk, 1974, Sedimentary processes on Arctic

Shelves off northern coast of Alaska, ~ Reed, J.C., and Sater, J.E.
(eds.) The Coast and Shelf of the Beaufort Sea. Proceedings of the
Sympmosium on Beaufort Sea Coast and Shelf Research, Artic Institute of
North America, Arlington, Virginia, p. 476.
Barnes, P. W., Rearic, U. M., and Reimnitz, Erk, in press, Ice gouge
characteristics and their relation to ice gouging and ice dynamics, in
Barnes, P. w., Schell, Donald, and Keimnitz, Erk, (eds.), The Alaskan
Beaufort Sea - Ecosystems and Environment, Academic Press, San
Francisco.
Carey, Jr . I A. G., Ruff, R. E., Castilo, J. G., and Dickinson, J. J., 1974
Benthic ecology of the Western Beaufort Sea continental margin:
Preliminary results, in keed, J. C. and Sater, J. E. (eds.) The Coast
and Shelf of the Beaufort Sea. Proceedings of the Symposium on

Beaufort Sea Coast and Shelf Research, Arctic Institute of North

America, Arlington, Virginia, p. 665-680.

Dinter, David A., 1982, Holocene marine sediments on the middle and outer
continental shelf of the Beaufort Sea North of Alaska: U.S. Geological
Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series, Map I-1182-B.
Forbes, D. L., 1980, Late ~uaternary sea levels in the southern Beaufort
Sea, in Current Research, Part B, Geological Survey of Canada, Paper
80-1B, p. 75-87.
Gaver, D. P., and Jacobs, P.A., 1982, Data analysis and modeling of Artic
sea ice subsurface roughness: U.S. l"iaval Post Graduate School,
Monterey, California, Technical Report NPs55-82-031, 65 p.

203
Hnatiuk, J., and Brown, K. D., 1977 Sea Bottom scouring in the Canadian

Beaufort Sea; ~roceedings ~th nnnual offshore Technology Conference,

rtouston Vol. III, p.519-528

Komar, P.O., 1976, Boundary layer flow under steddy unidirectional
currents, ~ Marine Sediment Transport and Environmental Management, D.
J. Stanley and D. J. P. Swift, editors. John Wiley & Sons, New York,
p. 91-106.
Kova c s, Austin, 1972, Ice scoring marks floor of the Arctic shelf: The
Oil and Gas Journal, Oct. 23, 1972, p. 92-106.
Kovacs, Austin, 1976, Grounded ice in the fast ice zone along the Beaufort
Sea coast of Alaska: Cold Reginons Research and Engineering Laboratory
Report 76-32, 21 p.
Kovacs, Austin, 1980, Recent ice observations in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea
Federal - State lease area: Northern Engineer, v. la, p. 7-12.
Lewis, C. F. M., 1978, The frequency and magnitude of drift-ice groundings
from ice scour tracks in the Canadian Beaufor~ Sea: Proceedings of the
Fourth International Conference on Port and Ocean Engineering under
Arctic Conditions, ~t. John's, 26-30 ~eptember 1977, v. 1, p. 567­
576. Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's.
Lewis, C. F. M., Blasco, S. M., Pelletier, l3. R., Sparkes, R., 1982, Drift
ice scouring on the canadian Beaufort Shelf: Eleventh International
Congress on Sedimentology, HCMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario,
Canada, p. 92.

Lyon, Waldo, 1967, Under surface profiles of sea ice observed by

submarine, ~ Physics of Snow and Ice, International Conference of Low

Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, Supparo, Japan, v. 1, p. 707­
711.

Miller, M. C., McCave, I. N. and Komar, P. D., 1977. Threshold of

sediment motion under unidirectional currents. Sedimentology. 24:

507-527.
Mowatt, T. C., and Naidu, S., 1974, Gravels from the Alaskan continental
shelf, Beaufort Sea, Arctic Ocean: Petrographic character and
implications for sediment source and transport: Alaskan Geology and
Geophysical Survey Open-File Report AOF43, 40 p.
Naidu, A.S., and T.C. Mowatt, 1983, Sources and dispersal patterns of clay
minerals in surface sediments from the continental-shelf areas off
Alaska: Geo. Soc. Amer. Bull., v. 94, p. 841-854.

204
Nowell, A. R. M., Jumars, P. A., and Eckman, J.E., 1981, Effects of
biological activity on the entrainment of marine sediments, in
Nittrouer, ed., Developments in Sedimentology, Elsevier Scientific
Publishing Company, New York, p. 133-153.
Pelletier, B. R., and Shearer, J. M., 1972, Sea bottom scouring in the
Beaufort Sea of the Arctic Ocean: 24th IGC, Section 8, p. 251-261.
Reimnitz, Erk, and Barnes, P. W., 1974, Sea ice as a geologic agent on the

Beaufort Sea Shelf of Alaska, in Reed, J. C. and Sater, J. ~. (eds.)

The Coast and shelf of the Beaufort Sea. Proceedings of the Symosium
on Beaufort Sea Coast and Shelf Research, Arctic Institute of North
America, Arlington, Virginia, p. 301-353.
Reimnitz, Erk, Barnes, P. W., Forgatsch, .T. e., and Rodeick, C. A., 1972,
Influence of grounding ice on the Arctuc shelf of Alaska: Marine
Geology, v. 13, p. 323-334.
Reimnitz, Erk, Barnes, P. W., Toimil, L. J. and Maurer, D. K., 1977, A
word of caution on the age of deep-water ice gouges in the Beaufort
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Assessment of the Alaskan Continental Shelf; Principal Investigators
Reports, Apr. - June 1977, v. 2, P 452-455.
Reimnitz, Lrk, Barnes, P. W., Rearic, D. M., Minkler, P. W., Kempema, E.
W., and Reiss, Thomas, 1982, Marine geological investigations in the
Beaufort Sea in 1981 and preliminary interpretations for region from
the Canning River to the Canadian Border: U.S. Geological Survey Open­
File Report 82-974, 64 p.
Rodeick, C. A., 1979, The origin, distribution, and deposistional history
of gravel deposits on the Beaufort Sea continental shelf, Alaska: U.S.
Geological survey Open-File Report 79-234, 87 p.
Southard, J. B., and Stanley, U. J., 1976, Shelf-break processes and
sedimentation, in Marine Sediment Transport and Environmental
Management, D. J. Stanley and U. J. P. Swift, editors. John Wiley &
Sons, New York,p. 351-377. Wimbush, M., and W. Munk, W., 1970, The
benthic boundary layer. In A. E. Maxwell, ed., The Sea, V. 4, part
1. New York: Wiley-Interscience, p. 731-758.
Toimil, L. J., 1978, Ice gouged micro-relief on the floor of the eastern

Chuckchi Sea, Alaska: reconnaissance survey: u.s. Geological Survey

Open-File Report 78-693, 48p. and Appendix.

205

.­
Tucker, W. B. III and Govoni, J. W. 1981. Morphological investigations of
first-year ~ea ice pressur~ ridge sails. Cold Regions Science and
Technology, v. 5, p. 1-12.
Wadhams, Peter, 1978, Characteristics of deep pressure ridges in the
Arctic Ocean. Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on
Port Ocean Engineering under Arctic Conditions, St. John's, 26-30
September 1977, r~ggeridge, D.B., ed., v. 1, pp. 544-555. Memorial
University of Newfoundland, St. John's.
Wadhams, Peter, 1980, Ice characteristics in the seasonal sea ice zone:
Cold Regions Science and Technology, v. 2, p. 37-87.
Wadhams, Peter, 1981, Sea-ice topography of the Arctic Ocean in the region
70° W to 25° E: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal SOciety of
London, A. Mathematical and Pysical Sciences v. 302, n. 1464, p. 45-85
Wadhams, Peter, 1983, The prediction of extreme keel depths from sea ice

profiles: Cold Regions Science and Technology, v. 6, p. 257-266.

Weeks, W. F., A. Kovacs, and W. D. Hibler, III, 1971, Pressure ridge
characteristics in the Arctic Coastal environment: Proceedings from

the First International Conference on Port and Ocean Engineering under

Arctic Conditions, V. I, p. 152-183. (Technical University of Norway).

206
ICE MODELLING

 lAHR Ice Symposium 1984

Hamburg

OBSERVATI~S ~ 'mE GOOrnI OF

UREA ICE ~ A ~ ICE BASIN

Robert Ettema Iowa Institute of Hydraulic USA

Research Engineer Research, The University ot Iowa

Andreas Mueller Swiss Federal Institute Switzerland

Research Scientist of Technology

Alfred G. Cook Iowa Institute of Hydraulic USA

Graduate Student Research, The university of Iowa

Abstract

Presented here are observations on the growth of six sheets of urea

ice on a relatively small ice basin (O.51-m deep, O.9--ln wide and 5.8-m
long). Detailed measurements of the evolution of temperature profile in
the solution and ice sheet were taken using a vertically-staggered array
of thermistors which were located through each ice sheet, in the
underlying solution, and in the air above the basin. Growth rate, heat
fluxes and crystal structure were monitored for each ice sheet during its
growth and warming periods.

For relatively rapid ice sheet growth on ice basins it is usually

desirable to have a low air temperature and a solution temperature close
to the solution's freezing temperature. However, for small ice basins
that are dot well insulated, supercooling of the solution may limit the
ice sheet thickness that can be attained with the ice crystal structure
usually required for scale modeling. Beyond this thickness, ice sheet
growth is accompanied by the irregular growth of randomly-spaced dendritic
crystals, which may subsequently become included in the lower colunnar
layer of the ice sheet and noticeably affect its strength and frictional
properties.

207
 In troductioo

An important approach for examining the performance of structures and

vessels in ice-covered waters is scale modeling involving use of a model
ice basin and a model ice material. Al though urea ice is presently a
cOTJOO.nly used model ice, considerable uncertainty shrouds its growth,
properties, and optimum means of preparation for modeling purposes.

A variety of factors affect the properties of urea ice sheets grown

under laboratory conditions. These include: urea concentration; air and
solution temperatures at seeding, during ice growth and during warming of
an ice sheet prior to testing. Only a few published studies (e.g., Timco
1979, Hirayama 1983) have been devoted to the study of these factors.
Also important are factors related to the dimensions, layout and thermal
character of the basin in which an ice sheet is to be grown. The study
described herein was directed to observe features of urea ice growth in a
relatively small ice basin for several air and initial bulk solution
temperatures. The observations are of significance for ice sheets grown
from other aqueous solutions in small basins.

Six sheets of urea ice were grown from a 1.3% by weight, urea
solution in a 0.51-m deep, 0.9--m wide and 5.8-m long basin housed in a
refrigerated room. Details of the basin's construction are shown in Fig.
~. Temperatures throughout the solution, in the air above the solution
and through each ice sheet were ronitored using a vertically-staggered
thermistor array which was connected for data logging to a computer.

INSULATED THERMISTORS

m
ICE WALLS

UREA

SOLUTION

A
......- -- - - - - - 5.80 - -.J'v--- - - --l SECTION A-A
(ALL DIMENSIONS IN METERS)

Fig. 1 : Dimensions of the small ice basin

Prior to wet-seeding, and initiation of ice growth, the urea solution

was mixed using an air-bubbler line to ensure that both the temperature

208
and urea concentration were kept homogeneous throughout the solution, and
to prevent the growth of ice over the solution. The bulk tEJllperature of
the solution was held to wi thin 0.2°C above the desired tEJllperature,
through the use of an imnersion heater placed in the basin, while the air
above the basin was chilled to a predetermined tEJllperature for seeding.
On attaining the desired air tEJllperature, the heater was removed fran the
basin and the solution was cooled to a selected bulk tEJIlperature, TB , at
which point the bubbler was shut off and the surface of the solution was
further cooled to ~.4 ° C, whereuPon the solution was wet-seeded. The time
when mixing of the solution ceased was designated as t = O. Each urea ice
sheet was grown for a period of about 1000 minutes, after which the roam
tEJllperature was set to 2°C and the ice sheet was warmed. While each ice
sheet was warming, its flexural strength, elastic modulus, brine content
and tEJllperature were measured.

Observatioos

The initial phases of ice sheet growth were similar to those usually
observed for wet-seeded urea ice grown on . relatively deep ice basins
(Hirayama 1983). Each ice sheet was characterized by a relatively tough
top layer of fine crystals and a weaker, lower layer of columnar ice
crystals. Eventually, however, the growth of columnar ice was observed to
be accanpanied by the growth of irregularly sized and oriented dendritic
ice crystals. A section through an ice sheet grown on the basin is
depicted in Fig. 2. Crystal types A and B (Fig. 2) developed as the
sheet's top layer, and were relatively fine-grained canpared to the type C
crystals which formed the lower columnar layer of the ice sheet. Type A
crystals, typically 0.5 to 1.0 rnn in diameter, developed fran the seed
crystals which had settled on the solution, while type B crystals
developed later by recrystalization as grains typically 2.0 to 4.0 rnn in
length. If the solution beneath the ice sheet became supercooled, it led
to the irregular growth of near-vertically oriented type D, dendritic,
crystals whose length occassionally exceeded total ice sheet thickness.
One to two hours after the appearance of the type D crystals, sparsely
distributed, large type E crystals were observed to grow at near­
horizontal inclinations amidst the type D crystals.

The total thickness, h, and top layer thickness, h.r are plotted in
Fig. 3 versus the square-root of the product of air tEJllperature TA, in °c,

209
and time t, in minutes, for several initial values of TB. Also plotted in
Fig. 3 is TB5 , the solution temperature at an elevation 5 11m beneath the
underside of each ice sheet. Wi thin the TB5 versus I (TAt) plot, regions
characterized by the appearance and growth of several of the afore-cited
ice crystal types are indicated.

Temperature profiles at several ·times during the growth of four of

the ice sheets are shown in Fig. 4, together with the locations of the
underside on the ice sheet and the underside of the top layer. Solution
temperatures at elevations 100 11m and 400 11m beneath one of the ice sheets
are given in Fig. 5. The accuracies of the locations are limited by the
accuracy of the ice sheet thickness measuranents. It was observed that
the growth rate, and recrystalization, of the top layer decreased as the
ice sheet became colder, and v irtually ceased when the temperature of its
underside fell below about _1.0°C to -2.0°C. The growth rate of the type
D crystals was initially rapid and reached a peak rate when TB attained a
minimum value of about -O.45°C, and ice began to grow on the basin's
walls. The type D crystals then slowed in growth and were eventually
enveloped in the columnar layer of type C crystals.
o
~ 0.61-~~~::=:~,-,=:,--r--rl

10

20

40

Fig. 2: Section

through an ice

60 80 100 120 140

sheet, indi cating
several ice crystal Fig . 3: Ice thicknes s and solution ./iT,!I
types ; type E is
not shown temperature relationships
with degree-migutes
It is apparent fran the above results that sheets of urea ice with
the columnar crystal structure usually required for scale modeling can be
grown only as long as the solution does not becane supercooled. This may
be a problan in the use of small, narrow and shallOW, basins for

210
 -030 03.-~---.--~--~--~-.--~~
' :0",," -SE ED
/ SEED
-0.4~
00

u
:; ,07"
.>::
::>
~ -O.9C

'"w~ · \.05 TO!l:O): '040(:

....w T4 ' 125 °c
-120 ToIFO): OOOC
.. . ICE ·WATER 'IITE"RFACE T... :-14 ~OC
-) 35 --­ TOP LAYER ( "N OF.RSIDE)

-1.5 . ICE· '.....ATER I.'HE:RFACE

- - - TOP LAY E.R (UNDER SID E)
- '.50 OL--'-...J6~~-'12'--'-,.LB~--2L4~---'3-0~-'36
(0) DISTANCE BELOW ICE SURFACE (mm)
- 1 80L.~'--,.L0- 20 30 40
(bi DISTANCE BE LOW ICE SURFACE(mmi
06r-.-'--r-r-.~'----~.-.-'-~
0.6

100
200
02 '00
40 0
~ 0.0 SOO
6
w -0.2
0:
::>
~ -0.4
~
%-0.6
w
I­ .0 8
1

-1 0 T (I 'Ol:1 00C
9
To. : -13°C
T i l .O):04
e
T" ' -15°C
0C 1
-1. 2
._..... ICE· WATE R INTER J=ACE ..... ICE -WATER INTERFACE
-14 -­ - TOP LAYER \UNDE~SIDE )
- - - TOP L 4'tEj;l W ND EASI DE.I

- I. 6 L--'--i........- '__,_-'-~-'-~---'__'---'
t) 5 10 15 20 25 30 - 2 .10~-'--i..--'----"6--'----2.L4~--3L2~---'4-
0~--'4 8
(e) DISTANCE BELOW ICE SUR FACE (mm)
(di DISTANCE BE LOW ICE SURFACE (mmi

-034 Fig. 4: Temperature profiles

BELOW
- 03 6
ICE SU RFACE through ice sheets
······· 100 mm

~ -0.38
- 400mm

w
0:
:::> -OAO Fig. 5: Temperature profiles
f­
<:
0:
in solution 100 mm and 400 mm
cu -042 below ice sheet surface
tl.
::;:
UJ -044
f­

-046

-048
0 200 400 600 800 100 0
T IME SINCE SEEDING, I, (m ini

211
moctelin~. By assessing the approximate magnitudes of the heat fluxes
associated with ice sheet growth and the degree of solution circulation
within the basin during ice growth, it is possible to evaluate the
likelihood that the solution in a basin will become supercooled during ice
sheet growth. The primary mechanism for solution Circulation results from
the convection currents developed along a basin's vertical walls.
Additional mechanisms for solution mixing result fran urea drainage fran
the ice sheet and convection of cooled solution from the basin's base.

Heat fluxes during ice sheet growth. The principal component heat fluxes
associated with ice growth on a solution in a shallow basin are indicated
in Fig. 6 and calculated values for each heat flux are compared in Figs.
7a,b,c. Heat fluxes asSOCiated with evaporation, 'E' radiation, ~R' and
convection to air, ~ CA' were evaluated using relationships given by Paily
et al. (1974). Heat conduction through the ice sheets, ~I' was evaluated
using the measured temperature profiles depicted in Fig. 4. Measured
values of TA and TB were used to estimate heat transfer from the
solution, ~T' heat conduction from solution to ice, 'CW' and heat loss
through the basin's boundaries, ~B' An equivalent value of 'B was
calculated as a heat flux through each ice sheet. It is noteworthy tiJat a
change in the temperature gradi e nt can be observed in the lower portion of
the ice sheets in Figs 4a,b. The asSOCiated changes in conduction must be
canpensated ei ther by a change in heat convection or by freezing of
solution within the ice sheet.

It is evident from Fig. 7a that , at the air-ice interface, the

estimated sun of 'CA' ~E' and ~R is approximately equivalent to the
calculated value of ~I' and that the sum of 'F and ~T is in good
agreement with ~I' although some scatter is also evident. The scatter may
be attributable to the variation in ice sheet porosity. Additionally, as
indicated in Fig. 7c, ~ B is of the same magnitude as 'CWo A characteristic
of a small basin is that heat transfer through boundaries may be of
similar magnitude as heat transfer through. an ice sheet. Another
characteristic is that the solution may become well mixed. It is
interesting to observe (Fig. 7b) that smaller values of the ratio ~F/~T

occur with higher values of TB'

Circulation currents. Heat transfer through a basin's boundaries can

generate circulation currents due to the rising of solution cooled

212
there. The magnitude of a current up a sidewall, and conditions for ice
growth on a sidewall were approximately estimated using Polhausen's method
(in White 1974) for evaluating free convection along a vertical isothermal
plate. These estimates show that a convective layer with a mean velocity
of about 3x10-3 mis, a maximum thickness of about O.015m and the
circulation discharge of the order of 1.5xl0-4 m3 /s were produced with T8
- TF = O.3°C, and a heat flux of 7W/m2 through the basin's walls. For
this discharge , the turn-over time of the basin's solution was estimated
to be about 340 minutes. Cooling of the solution through the basin's
botton likely produced temperature fluctuations (see Fig. 5) which were
interpreted as thermal instabilities of riSing, cooled fluid.

Ice grown fron an aqueous solution does not readily incorporate the
solute molecules, which are rejected into the solution. If the enriched
solution is retained within a porous ice structure for a period of time
and subsequently descends through the ice, a mechanism is provided for
convective heat and mass transfer within the solution. However, the
propensity of enriched urea solution to descend is counterbalanced by its
relative buoyancy due to its being colder than the solution beneath the
ice sheet. The effects of urea concentration and temperature on solution
density can be evaluated via the relationship

where T8 = temperature of a cell of enriched urea solution; up and IlC =

the density and concentration differences, in % by weight, between a cell
and the basin solution. In order for a cell of chilled , enriched urea
solution to descend its concentration must be such that it becomes denser
than the solution beneath it.

Ice Sheet I'anning. In order to attain a desired strength for modeling

purposes, urea ice sheets are usually warmed and, thereby, weakened. For
the present study this was achieved by increasing the air temperature
above the ice sheet, to 2°C. Temperature profiles through a warming ice
sheet and flexural strength (measured fron cantilevers) of the same ice
sheet are shown in Figs. 8a, b. The broad seatter of data in Fig. 8a can
be attributed in part to error sources attendant to acquiring the
measurement, but is largely due to the presence of types D and E dendrites
beneath, and embedded in, the ice sheet. Of interest in Fig. 8b , is the

213
 AIR

/</> - '
T UREA
SOLUTION Fig. 6: Heat flux terms

0 500 1,000 I, (min)

t, (min)
TAl ( OC) T.{I' 0), lOCI 0 500 1,000
320 - <P,+ <P, 1.1
320
-15 T., (OCI T.U '0), lOCI ---<P,
--­ <P, -14.5 0 .0
+ -13 0.4 280 ,
-15 1.1 -<P
280 +, - 14.5 0 .0 • T
-12.5 -0.4
+ -13 04 ,
,,
..
~,
{; -7 0.4 I
240 -12 .5 -0.4
T-T =150
{; -7 0.4
t-
•,
I, I
N
200 ~
E /'- .p I \ 0 "

"
I­ <PR
N
E
o~/ "0 ...... \ /\:\f
I­
<[ "
. ,~ 160 , ',,~-¥.-f-\X A
~ <[ I T. \ / ("tl' \
<Pe -~ \ .-....f/ \~ / /\A-:~ / +
T -T ,7 ° 120 \
x/'
"I 'ti\ I I \ ",'"
120
•• ,/ fI, /~-J...~
I I +'

80
<p" 80 .....~/ "'./ '0
<Pe +-£..._ _ &----'"
'k. ~ ,
~~~
40 40
<Pc
0 0
(0) 0 30,000 60.000 I, (seel 0
30,000 60,000
(b) t, (sec)

o ~oo 1,000 " (mi n )

16 [
I
\' lOC I Te '" 0) , 1°C ) J
- 145 00 Fig. 7: Heat flu x estimates
-13 04
a .12 ~ - (1 0:;
-7

214
apparent occurence of a temperature peak located just below the ice
sheet's top layer. The peak possibly results fram the refreezing of less
concentrated, urea solution, or melt Ml.ter, moving downwards fram the
upper warmer surface of the ice sheet. Heat conduction alone would likely
not produce such a peak in the temperature profile.

o
<l.
~ 80
I
>­
<:J
Z 60
w
'"
>­
<f)
40

TAO -12.5°C
T.(,oO)o-0.40oC

o SOO
200 300 400
(0) TIME OF WARMIN G (min)

TOP LAYER' \
E
S 0 y. 'A>
""'=
~ 20 0<: """'" ~~ ICE SHEET !%.
~
It
!3 40 TIME OF
PEAK
~
<f)
WARMING (min) ~
w 60 0 260
S!
0< 80 •
330
UREA
g c 420
, 510 SOLUTION
w 100
CD
TA 0 -12.S °c
tl
..
z
>­
<f)
120

140
T.(,oO)o-0400C

-0.48 -044 -0.40 -0.36 -0.32

-0.S6 -0.S2
Ci

TEMPERATURE (OC)

(bl

Fig. 8: Ice sheet flexural strengths (a), and temperatures (b),

during wanning

(bncludillg <llservatioo

The following concluding observation Ml.S drawn fram the study: Basin
design together with the temperature reg:imes of air and solution can
affect the crystal structure and properties of wet-seeded urea ice
sheets. For fast ice sheet growth it is desirable to have a low air

215
 temperature and a solution temperature close to the freezing
temperature. However, for a small ice basin that is not well insulated.
supercooling of the solution may limit the ice sheet thickness beyond
which growth of the usually required (for scale modeling) crystal
structure of urea ice sheets may no long occur, unless the basin is
heated. When the solution becanes supercooled, columnar ice crystal
growth is accompanied by the growth of randomly spaced and sized dendritic
crystals, which may lead to a nonuniform distribution of ice sheet
strengths and a radically roughened ice shee t unde rside.

References

Hirayama, K., (1983) , "Properties of Urea-Doped Ice in the CRREL Test

Basin", Report 83-8, U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and
Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, NH, USA.
Paily, P.P., Macagrio, E.O., and Kennedy, J.F. (1974), "Winter-Regime
Surface Heat lDss from Heated Streams", Report No. 115, The
University of Iowa, Institute of Hydraulic Research, Iowa, USA.
Tirnco , G., (1979), "The Mechanical and Morphological Properties of Doped
Ice : A Search for a Better Structurally Simulated Ice for Model
Test Basins", Proc. fOAC79, Vol. 1, p. 719-739.
II'hite, F .M., (1974), "Viscous Fluid Flow", McGraw-Hill Inc., USA, pp. 377­
380.

216
 lAHR Ice Symposium 1984

A
•
Hamburg

A FINE-GRAIN MODEL IC E

Ernst Enkvist; Wartsila Arctic Research Finland

Head of WARC Centre (WARC), Helsinki,

Seppo Makinen;
Res earch Office r, WARC

A8STRAC T

The tradi tional doped and seeded model ice always presented problems
because it i s a two-layer ma terial wi th a hard top layer and a l oose
columnar-grain main layer. Therefore it was considered essential t o
develope an improved type of model ice to be used for testing s hip s and
offshore structures in ice in the new fac ility of WARC. After lengthy
pilot tests with severa l al t ernati ve structures of model ice a fine
grained saline T-l ice was sel ected for further development. Its
cracking behavior came out to be superior t o traditional model ice. I t
is nearly ho moge n ous and essentially brittle with no interlocking of
crystals causing remnant strength after initial breaking. The mec hani cal
properties are improved, resulting in realistic behavior during ship-ice
interaction. The producti on time is short, up to 70 mm thick sheets may
be produced overnight, and the bending strength is controllable by
tempering. The new model ic e was acc e pted for use as a standard ice in
the main basin of WARC. Severa l ship model s, for which full sca le
re su lts exist, have been retested to obtain in fo rmati on on the
model-ship correlation.

HI STORY

As late as in the sixties model tests in ice were generally not

considered f eas ibl e . Not to mention some premature efforts with fresh
wate r ic e and paraffine wax, the first se ri ous method was that of AAI,
Kas hteljan /9/ . This saline ice fulfills the scaling requirement for the
flexural strength, but the strain modulus is too l ow , Enkvist /1/ and
Timco/5/. Th e materi al is a two-layer saline ice with a hard top-layer
and a briny columnar-grain main-layer . After the initial brittle failure
of the top layer the interlocking c rystal s se em to cause a remnant
s treng th, Timco /5/ . This will influence the qualitative behavior of
broken ice, as the pieces tend to stick edge to edge even after the
initial breaking. The saline model ice has been improved by a tempering
process, i.e. the top laye r becomes deteriorated during a lengthy
warming period. This makes it pos s ibl e to us e lower salini ties. Also
other dopan ts have been introduced, Timco/4/ and Hirayama/3/. Even with
careful ice-control the traditional model ice s till leaves much to be
desired, because it i s a two-layer material. Se paration of the top layer

217
may be a se rious proble m, and comp li ca ted means of avoiding s uch adverse
behavi or has been pro posed , Tse re panov /7/.

Whe n Warts ila dec ided to inve st in a new ice model basin it was also
deci ded to initiate a project t o obtain esse ntial improvements in the
model i ce materia l. The objective was to fi nd a homogenous, brittle
material with imp roved mechanical similarity which would be poss ible to
produce overnight . ·A s Ti mco had already in vestigated a number of
dopan ts, it was dec ided t o tes t vari ous al terna ti ve s truc tures. One of
thes e came out to be promising. There is a pa t en t application for it,
the in ve ntor being Seppo Makinen of WARG. Afte r more than a yea r of
implementation efforts, it is now accepted as the standard model ice
material in the mai n basin of WARG.

The new WARG fi ne - grain mode l ice is a sa line Tl-ice, which is

homoge nou s, br i t U e and fu l fi 11 s mos t re qui remen ts as to me c han ical
prop erties. It may be produced up to 70 mm thickness ove rni ght a nd is
relati ve l y stable and cont ro llable during severa l hours of testing.
Other dopants may be used with a simi l ar structu re. Urea was t ested an d
came out to be feasible but it does no t result in improvements in the
me chani ca l properties.

STRENGTH PROPE RTIES

Sea ic e is a material with su bstantical va riations in I ts s t ructur e and

properties. In fact, approp riate measuremen t of the field ice mechan i ca l
properties is necessary in conn ection wi th fu ll-scal e ice trials. f or
small sh ips progressing at a low velocity, the mechanical breaking of
the ice cover is the main component, Enkvist/2 / . Thus , the ice
resistance recorded in different i ce fie lds may vary substant iall y, and
such variations sho uld be possib l e to rep roduce in model scal e .

fig. I sh ows the gene ral st ructure of a model ice sheet. The mai n layer
is fine -gr ai ned and ne ar-h omoge nous. It is, how ever, harder near the top
than near the bott om: a conical hardness tester which penetrated 4 mm
upwards into the bottom, only penet rated 1 mm downw a rds from the top. A
horisonta l uni ax i a l compr ess ive strength test with the upper hal f of an
ice sheet s howed ab out doubl e strength c omp ared to t he lower half. Thus,
there i s some anisotropy, as in se a i ce.

When anal ysing the flexural strength fr om a beam test, the t ota l
thi ckness is used, incl udi ng a layer of addi ti onal growth of low
strength. This lay er may be 10-20% of the total thi ckness, but with
improved fr eezing control it tends t o decrease. When judging the
num eri ca l quantities presented bel ow, please no te that they are
sens i tive t o the meth od of te sti ng, a nd t hi s is also in a process of
imp r ovemen t.

The model ice s hould behave realistically when broken by a shi p model or
against an off shor e structure. This call s f or bri ttle beha vior . fi g. 2
shows a typical force-deflection record, which in dicates that this
requirement is fulfilled. With the 2% sali nity cu rrentl y used at WARe
the rising part of the re cord becomes roun ded f or thin shee ts o f 10 mm
thickness. The drop a t breaking still remains perfectly steep. There are
promising indi cat i ons t hat further ice control will make it po ssibl e to

218
obtain good records from thin sheets.

10'"' rlf;C due to lo~ £

t ' . drQP ...:-,., l OP !ayll!!""

r .l ek",

1
Oi !'~. l.IICtt:'. fnt and !!ICC'!! l~r .. t tor,

Fig. 2 .
Examples o f typi c al original
force-deflection r e cord from
42 mm traditional seeded ice
(top ) and 45 mm FG-ice drawn
t o the same s cales. The test
type is in-situ cantilever.

Fig. 1.

Photomicrograph of FG-ic e . The grainSi z e is about 0.5 mm.

The fle xural strength of in-situ cantilever beams fulfills the general

scaling requirement in most common ship model tests. Fig. 3 shows the

average strength versus thickness dependency. Anyhow. flexural strengths

between 10 and 80 kPa produce a useful range of scaling possibilities.

The strain modulus from deflection tests with an infinite sheet produces

E/~ ratios ·..,hich are generally between 1000 and 2000. This is enough to

avoid the excessive deflections prior to breaking. which can be clearly

obser v ed in case of traditional model ice. The standard method of

measuring the strain modulus E from recorded in-situ c antilever beam

tests produces low E-values. Table 1 shows how they correlate with a few

E-values fr om infinite sheet deflection tests. Using the ratio indicated

by table lone may find E/6 ratios of up to 2480 wi th the FG-ice frozen

from a 2% NaCl solution.

219
 Date h Eb Ed 6 Eb/ 6 b E/d b E/Eb
(mm) (r4Pa) (r',Pa) (kPg)
83-09-14 22 15.9 24 .7 27.6 576 1257 2.18
83-09-22 32 12.7 23 .7 20.9 605 1134 1.87
83-09-23 25 10.4 25 .3 26.5 392 955 2.43
83-11-19 40 18. 0 27.9 24 .8 731 11 25 1.55
84-02-04 I 40 10 .1 23.3 17.0 593 1365 2.30
84-02-04 II 40 7.9 18. 2 13.4 589 1366 2.31

Table 1 .

Examples of strain modu lu s E and flexural strength f or FG-ice (b denotes

beam method and d s heet deflection method).

The uniaxial unconfined compress i ve strength is difficult to test, as it

is sens i ti ve to platen material, contact coefficient, strain rate and

testing rig stiffness. Fig. 4 shows a clear strain rate dependency,

which was not the case with traditional model ice, Timco/6/.

For snow-ice there are full-scale results in which the horizontal

strength is higher than the vertical one, but for columnar grain ice the

opposite is the rule. With soft foam-rubber platens the strength is

roughly doubled at high strain rates in relation to steel or hard rubber

platens.

0,1:0,
(kP.)
r'~[~
lO­ ----1--/ --+- ­ ,4- ­

e0 Fig. 3.
I
Ranges of bending
70 strength 6 uniaxial
f'
0

compressive strength
(;, and shear strength
60 ,(;"c for the main basin
::., with 2% sodium chloride
sa solution.

313
I
II I ,
2e
-­ I Ij
10

13

13 Ie 20 313 413 50 613

djj
713 Be 913 leJ

h [mmJ

220
 r---------.:-----------------------­ Fig. 4.

S trai n ra te depe nden cy

for the uniaxia l c om­

pressive str e ngth .

~~. .
.k= rubber platen

0= steel plate n

•• • • • r-­

IJ
-s -4 -3 -2 l og i -1

The uniaxial compressive s tre ngth apploars to be 1 0'•. Thus, one might
c .. p c t excessive edge crus hing at poin ts o f contact a long the mode l bow ,
e sp ecia ll y near th e stem. l nste ad, th e re st ill se e ms to be mOre cracking
in front of th e s tem than what ha s bee n observed in full sca l e. As an
in cleaned bow t e nds to crush the upper corner of the lce edge the
compre ssive strength tests are no t gen e rally ap plicab l e , as they concern
the whol e layer horizontally or ve rtical ly.

Fig . 5 shows the influence of sal t concentrati on in case of sod ium

c hl oride and corresponding val ues for urea , it sho ws that a 3%
concent rati on of urea roughly corresponds to a 2% sa line solu tion as to
bending streng th .

o [HPaJ
[ /0 1/13 Fig. 5.
3ea l_nf~ dence of sa ­
li nity and urea
". concentration
fro m s mall basin
2". t "c; t s .
, So
r--..
II--.--------j-'~~::---+--+--+----+-___l °
• =6 ; = E/6 the
low er curves are

'".
~ r­ ~ for sa line ice.
The E/ G ra tio s
are for beam
50 . tests I in case of
plate def lect i on
•
u ex)
tests they will
be doub l ed.

Ti lt fG -ice is produced by means of a 7-step process in volving seeded

ini tial layers , spraying a s l ush -laye r of near final thickness,
consol ida ting and tempering acco rding to a carefu lly programm ed
sche dule.

Th e mai n pi ece of new hardware is a light carr i age which t ravels

automatically along the full l e ngth of the basin, fig. 6.

During an exc ept ional 5-day period of uninterrupted freezing and testing
6 s heets were produced. Thei r thicknes ses were 40, 40, 60, 60, 75 and 40
mm. Even the thicke s t field was ten,p ered down to 18 kPa. Thus, the

221
 possibilities to produce and control the FG-ice are good, and
considerably increase the capacity of a model test facility compared to
traditional tempered model ice, made from a dopant solution of low
concentration.

Fin. 7 shows the distribution of nominal bending strength and strain

modulus during one of the pilot tests in the main basin. There is
potential for improvement in the uni for mi ty of the sheet. Table 2 shows
the thickness distribution during a production test.

In connection with routine model tests hardening by l ow temperature has

also been used. A sheet of 30 mm thickness and 20 kPa bending strength
may be harde ned to 30 kPa within a hour .

Fig. 6 . The light carriage used for producing FG-ice.

Posi­ h h
tion S8 P
(m) (mm) (mm)
2 35 38 16 36 35 30 34 32 44 33 33
4 34 33 18 35 34 32 33 33 46 34 34
6 33 35 20 34 35 34 34 32 48 35 32
8 34 33 22 35 36 36 33 32 50 33 32
10 35 33 24 35 36 38 33 32 52 33 32
12 35 35 26 36 35 40 33 32 54 32 22
14 37 35 28 34 35 42 33 32 56 31 30

Tabl e 2. Thickness distribution measured along edges of broken channel

after test May 24, 1984.

GENERAL 8EHAVIOR

According to field observations of sea ice cracking should occur

brittly, definitely and all through at once . Thin sheets of traditional
model ice are known to peel apart instead of cracking. No such adverse
behavior has been observed wi th the new ice. When breaking giant floes
wi th ships, cracks often s tart at the ship and rapidly proceed towards
the floe edge. Simi lar behavior is observed with the new ice, which must
be careful l y supported along the edges if pushed against a structure.

All secondary cracks result in complete separat ion of the pieces. Thus

222
6
the broken channel looks realistic, fig. 9 . The broken pieces under the
bottom of the model easily sl ip in disorder, fig. 10. This will
influence the way in which they tend to surface along the ship si de, and
consequen tly the interaction with the screw propell er .

60 '1,··,1, ~ ""r'T"""rr"il' j 'l'IO j"-'-'~-'....-r:

i
[m]
..
[ . 1.1.7
S!1.1 ....... . 15 . 4
11.1

50 316.' U.S

17 . !
11.5
U.,
" ..
..n.' S! .,
15. '7
4' .,
'lo'
-u.s
lI.1
41 . '
'4.!
II.'
:I~L ~
12 . ,
Ie .•
n.!:
'IS '' ',2 11 . 1
UI.7 IIIt . r

40 S".1 41 . 1
11 •• 17.1

35 4S.1 "8.S
11.7 II.'

30 "1 . 4 ..s .•
17.1
.... 1
4'." "'.1 .... 1
"'U.,...
....
15 . 1 111.4 ISD.I Cl2.7
n .' 41.1 J~L I 4S.' 14. , JI.r U .•
25 Il . r
,.,1
1t . 1

20 ali.' III,'
.".1 JZ."

15 41 .1 15 . !
15.1
31 . 4
".1 "1.~ 5 •. .,. :'Il.7 'S .l 4:! .1 41.1 SC:.1 .... 1:
n . l iii.' ILl n.' Jl.' ZI .1 11.1 11.1 til.'
Hl .. 5 . ' Gi"."
II .' l!l . ,

5 5!.1 ~4 . ,

n.?" n.1

0" .~l

3 2 0 2 3
DB CL [mJ 5B
Fig. 7 .
Bending strength a nd strain modulus distribution along an d across the
main basin summer-83.

The transition betwee n crushing and buck ling mode s for a vertical
cylinder is moved towards c rushing if comp ared t o tra diti onal ice . A
flexibly suppor t ed vert ical cylinder will proceed in intermitte nt motion
if t ow ed slo wly, and continu ousl y at a l ower force lev e l if towed at
higher speed . All this see ms to be in accordance with fi eld exper i enc e,
and is promising wi th regard t o tests wi th various offshore structures,
fig. 11.

From freeboard obser vations it was concluded, that the density does not
differ significantly from traditional model ice or field ice . The
friction coefficient was repeatedly measured with mode l surface s and it
does not either show differences.

223
 fig. 8. Bow cracking pattern. Fig. 9. Broken channel.

fig. 10. Underwater view during i cebreaklng.

CORRE LATI ON

The important question of corre lation with full scale tests and
comparison to results with traditional model ice has been in vestigated
by retesting Seven models for which full scale results exist . The

224
experience up to summer 1984 from this process, which will continue,
are:
Compared to old ice there is a significant increa se in the velocity
component, i.e. with the new ice the resistance curves rise moore
steeply , fig. 12.
The theoretical approach of correcting the component due to
mechani ca l breaking of the ice cover according to the 6 /E ratio /2/
is not applicable in practice. The improved ratio of 6 / E for the new
ice does not result in a general c hange of resistance le ve l for the
new ice. Resistance curves wi th o ld and new ice may cross each
other.
Friction is still a fundamental parameter, and the final result from
the correlation tests will be a model friction treatment producing
reasonable predictions. A friction coefficient of 0.16 is too high
and results in build-up of ice under a flat bottom.

It should be appreciated, that the coefficient .of friction varies in

practice for those ships for which full scale results exist. Thus, in
any case, the full scale correlation of model tests in ice requires
further efforts, especially in respect to the friction control of ships.
The behavior of broken ice sl iding along the hull of ships during
icebreaking must also be studied in full scale.

Fig. 11. Rubble formation against caisson structure.

CONCLUSIONS

The new WARC-fg model ice greatly improves ice model testing of ships
and structures. Its main features are:
Fine grained, homogenous and brittle
Crack ing without any remnant forces
Sma ll deflections, E/61000-2000
Compressive strength is strain-rate dependent
May be produced overnigh t up t o 70 mm
Relatively stable during severa l hours of testing
Strength control possible
Friction and density as for traditional saline ice.

As the new ma teri al has been in ac ti ve use for abou t a year .only, there
is still poten tial for fur ther improvemen ts in production hardware,

225
control and te s ti ng.

2ee .--·-------------l Fig. 12 .

Ccmpar ison between to­
wing test results with
Fi! I ce
(N]
I trad i ti onal
and
model ice
FG -ic e with
ISO model friction coeffi­
Full scale ci ent >,=0.03 and a full
scal result (recalcula­
ted to model scale) with
higher strength and real
ship hull r oughness.
I"~

,/
_ _ _ • , ".sc:: . ITST, -H.". 4h .. , Sl~ 1'loJ-o )
_ _ _ _ • • • ~ "CO-la:, Hie. !7_. &l~ V!o,P ..
_ -'.!i(IllCII la.:, HI~. 1<_, 1!1G..'fl' ~; ... ~

'--~-~--~ ,
.1 .Z ,3 . 41 .5 .6 .7 .8 .9 I

V Cm/:sJ

REFERENCES

1. Enkvist, E.: On the Ice Resistance Encountered by Ships Operat ing in

the Continu ous Mode of Icebreaking. The Swedish Academy of
Engineering Sciences in Finland, Report N:o 24, Hels inki 1972.

2. Enkvist,E.: A Survey of Experimental Indications of the Relation

between the Submersion- and Breaking Components of Leve l I ce
Resistance to Ships . POAC-83, Vo l 1.

3. Hirayama, K.: Properties of Urea-doped Ice in the CRREL Test Basin.

CRREL Report 83-4.

4. Timco, G.W.: A Comparison of Several Chemically-doped Types of Model

Ice, IAHR 81, Vol 2.

5. Timco, G.W.: Model Testing of Structures in I ce: Consideration of

Scale Effects. Proceedings 20th ATTC, Davids on Lab ora tory, Stevens
Institute of Technology, Hoboken, USA, 1983.

6. Timco, G.W. : Uniaxial and Plane-strain Compressive Strength of Model

I ce . Annals of Glacio l ogy 4, 1983.

7. Tserepanov, N.V.: The Separation of the Layers of Model I ce

Artifically Frozen in Model Basins, Trudy 379, AAI Leningrad 1983 .

226
8. Michel, B. and Toussaint, N.: I~echanisms and Theory of Indentation
of Ice Plates, Sy mposium On Applied Glaciol ogy, Ca mbridge, Se pte m­
ber-76.

9. Kashteljan, V.l. , Poznjak, 1.1., Riv lj in, A.R. : I ce Resistance to

Motion of a Sh ip. Leningrad 1968.

227
 wm Ice Symposium 1984
18
•
Hamburg

RECENT EXPER I EOCE I N CONDUCT I NG ICE MODEL TESTS

USING A SYNTHETIC ICE MODELING MATERIAL

lewrence A. Schultz, Vice President MCTEe, Incorporated

Albert P. Free, Consulting Engineer USA

Eleven Ice model test programs have been conducted In ZI synthetic Ice modeling mater­
I at at the allthors' company over the past two years, conSisting of tests of Ice worthy
drl r Ishlps, semlsubmerslbles, drIll barges, conical drilling structures, and supply bollitS.
Th I 5 paper presents the propert I as data obta I ned from the forty Ice sheets compr I 5 I n9 those
model test programs. The properties data obtained are compared to the avalllllble propertIes
data 8chleved from the use of sodIum chloride and carbamide (urea) doped refrigerated node I
Ice, and the re I at I VB advantages and dIsadvantages of the three Ice mode I I ng mater I a I s are
discussed. Particular attention Is given to the Impact of these available rrodel Ice pro­
perties on the selection of the scale factor, and to the effects that the SC8le factor and
the Ice modeling rnlIterlal will have on Ice roodel testing ClJpabllltles as the thrust of Ice
model test I ng changes In the next few yelJrs to meet the needs of the petro I eum rnd ustry for
exploration end production In broad regions of the Beaufort Sea, the Chukchi Sea, and the
norThern end southern reg Ions of the Ber I ng Sea.

229
 INTRODUCTI ON

The range of capabilities required of Ice model testing facilities Is currently under­
go I ng a broad expans I on as the act Ivl ty leve I Increases r n the dave I oprnent of of f shore
Arctic resources. In the past, the primary requirements for ice rode I tastIng have been
concerned with evaluations of general conceptual designs In 'WOrst case" ice conditions. As
exploration activities have gotten underway In the offshore .Arctic, the emphasis of Ice
model testing has changed to determining the design requirements for achieving various lev­
els of operating capabi I Ity. In addition, the Ice properties and Ice conditions required
to be modeled have broadened substantially due to variations In the geographic locations of
current Interest. While the early activities concentrated on the canadian and nearshore
Alaskan Beaufort Sea, current Interest Is advancing from that point to deeper water In the
Beaufort Sea, to the Chukchi Sea. and to the northern and southern regions of the Bering
Sea. This very broad coverage of geographical area which Includes all of the seasonally
Ice Infested waters of offshore Alaska has given rise to a great variety of operating sce­
narios, and further extends the requirements to be rret In Ice model testing of ships and
offshore structures. For example, variations In operating scenarios could consist of ex­
tended open water season, rather than year-round, ope rat Ions and the Ice management ap­
proach to operations In Ice Infested waters where support systems such as lcebreaklng sup­
ply boats are used to maintain a broken Ice field to reduce the Ice loads around an off­
shore drilling platform. At the other extreme, as the search for petroleum reserves extends
fur ther of f shore I nto deeper waters I n the kct I c, Ice cond I t Ions, I n terms of strength and
thickness, which are far more severe than have been of concern In the nearshore shal low
water areas must be addressed. The requirements for lee fl'K)del testing of ships and struc­
tures, therefore, are being extended both to fl'K)re severe Ice conditions and to less severe
Ice conditions. For the most part, extending Ice trodellng technology to trore severe Ice
conditions, characterized by thicker and stronger Ice and larger pressure ridges, Is well
with I n the cur rent capab I I I ties of the ice mode I test I ng commun I ty and presents no part I cu­
far problems. The extension of ice modeling capabilities to less severe Ice condItions,
characterized by thinner and weaker Ice and extensive operations in broken Ice cover, re­
quires an extension of ice model testing capability beyond that presently available at most
Ice model testing facilities If these tests are to be conducted economically and
efficiently at reasonable scale factors.

SCALI NG FOR ICE MODEL TESTS

The scaling laws applicable to Ice model testing are those commonly referred to as the
Froude Scaling Laws. These scaling laws aSSume that the trodel Is geometrically slmller to
the prototype and that this geometric simI! Itude can be expressed by the scale factor, A,
which Is the ratio of the characteristic dimenSion of the structure In fuJI scale to that
In model scale. This similitude law requires that all characteristic Ice dimensions also
be scaled by the geometric scale factor, along wIth the Ice fle)(ural strength, crushIng
strength, and elastic modulus. The practical limitations Imposed upon Ice model testing
wor k are thus assoc I ated wi th how wea k and how th I n the fOOde I Ice sheet can be made to
simulate full scale conditions for relatively thin and weak Ice.

The extensions In Ice modeling capabIlities outlined previously result In a requIre­

ment for either a larger test facility or a fOOdel Ice material which offers a troader range
of thickness and property characteristics. for example, given a limit of model Ice proper­
ties and characterIstics, the requirement for thinner and weaker Ice, such as might be the
case In the southern BerIng Sea, can only be addressed through the selection of a smaller
scale factor. which results In a requirement for larger models and larger model basins.
This Is a most unfavorable Situation, since the cost of ice model testing Increases sub­
stantially ~s the model scale factor Is reduced and the model size Is Increased. The most
economical solution to the problem is t o attempt to expand the range of capabilities of the
Ice rrodellng material so that the Ice rT()del tests can be performed at larger scale factors.
This eliminates the need for the extremely large Ice model basin facilities that would be

230
required If the limitations of the Ice rodellng material dictated a small scale factor In
order to achieve the required Ice properties and characteristics.

Most of the Ice rocKIel basins currently In operation or In various stages of planning
and construction, anploy either sodium chloride or carbamide solutions from which the rode I
Ice Is created. The limitations associated with the use of either sodium chloride rodel
Ice or carbamide model Ice were recently outlined by lewis (1982) and further documented by
Z8hn (1984). For Ice model tests of ships and conical structures, In which the primary Ice
failure mode Is that of fle)(ure, the most Important parameter to be properly scaled for the
Ice model tests Is the fle)(ural strength of the Ice. Most Ice roodel basins, therefore,
b8se their Ice growing procedures on targeting the properly scaled fle)(ural strength. The
elastic modulus and the crushing strength are, then, typically not scaled properly. It has
become common practice to discuss these two properties In terms of the ratio of the modul us
of elasticity to the fle)(ural strength and the ratio of the crushing strength to the fle)(­
ural strength. The first problem associated with roodel Ice created using either sodium
chloride or carbamide solutions Is that the ratio of the elastic roodulus to the fle)(ural
strength varies considerably with the thickness and fle)(ural strength of the Ice sheet.
Tlmco (1979,1981) has performed e)(tenslve research Into the eval uatlon of alternate dopants
for rodel Ice production and has obtained results whICh Indicate that an Improved scaling
of the mechanical properties of model ice can be obtained through the use of Ice formed
from freezing solutions of carbamide (urea), rather than solutions of sodium Chloride.
FIgure 1 shows the elastic modulus to iJe)(ural strength ratios obtained for sodium chloride
doped Ice sheets grown In the Ice rodel basins of MCTEC, Incorporated and MCTEe CANADA.
Limited over the past four years from Zahn (1984). and those obtained from a 0.95% solutIon
of urea at the U.S. Prmy Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (ffiREL) as re­
ported by HI rayama (1983). Th I s data cI ear I y shows that the range of elast I c modu I us to
f le)(ural strength ratio available from saline model Ice and carbamide rode I Ice Is virtual­
ly Identical. In order to obtain what has become the mlnlm!Jn acceptable value of the rrodu­
I us to flexural strength ratio of around 1,000, It is necessary to test In either saline
Ice or carbamide ice at a minImum Ice sheet thickness of 35 rrm. For Ice roodel testing work
associated with season e)(tenslon where tests are desired at Ice thicknesses ranging from 1
to 3 ft, the required scale factors would be 00 the order of 10 to 25, respectively. Such
scale ratIos obviously require very I~rge models and very large model testing fac! Iitles,
both of which significantly Increase the cost associated with Ice roodel testing programs.

The second maJ or dIsadvantage of beth sod I um ch lor I de and carbam Ide doped Ice Is that
the ratIo of the crushIng strength to flexural strength Is generally hIgher than It Is for
sea Ice by a factor ranging from 2 to 8 depending upon the specific geographic area of
Interest and the season of Interest (Forsman, 1983) .. As discussed by Lewis (1983), the
combination of too high a crushing strer.gth and too Iowan elastic roodulus can result In
Inducing unrealistic buckling failures of the rode I Ice during tests with vertically walled
or steeply Inclined structures. Tests with such structures In which mixed mode fal lures
occur must be gIven considerable attention In the Interpretation of test results.

The third major disadvantage of both sodium chloride and carbamide rodel Ice stems
f rom the great dependence of the mechan I ca I propert 18S of these mater I a Is 00 temperature,
and the freezing and tempering process required In order to achieve the target fle)(ural
strength with these materials. Typically, both saline and carbamide roodel Ice are frozen
at low tanperatures until the target Ice sheet thickness has been achieved, at which point
the fle)(ural strength of the Ice Is substantially greater than the target strength. The
a Ir temperature In the model basin Is then ralsed J causing the strength of the Ice sheet to
be reduced as a function of time. The tempering process Is oontinued untIl the target val­
ue for the strength of the model Ice sheet has been reached. At th I s pol nt, the bas I n
temperature Is generally lowered to some point margInally below freezing In an effort to
stabilize the model Ice sheet at the target fle)(ural strength. ~wever, In practice, It Is
difficult to hold the properties of the Ice sheet, and there Is a practical testing window,
t yp Ica II y rang I ng from one ha I f hour to t'wo hours, over wh I ch the strength of the Ice sheet

231
...~
«
~10,OOO 0 SalIne Ice Dala
... '" Urea Ice Dala
0
~ 6,000

.. ..
0
&IJ 0 0 .. 0
...a:
'" 2,000 0
0 ..
.. 00
~ 0
0
...J
~ 1,000
::;)
00 e' 0
0GJ
. 0
G\:;)
... 0 0·
0

><
w 600 0
0
~0 0
...
...J
LL 0 0
~ 200 0
0

'"
::;)
...J
::;)
100L-------~------~--------~------~------~------~~------...J
o 10 20 30 40 60 60 70
C
o ICE THICKNESS, h, mm
:::It
Figure 1. Plot of EtUf VS. Ice Thickness for Refrigerated Ice

Is reason8b Iy close to the tlllrget va I ue. Tests often fTl.lst be per formed on very short
notice and perfonned quIckly In order to complete the tests whIle the ice sheet Is "ready".
This time dependency of Ice sheet properties with refrigerated Ice rrodellng materials
severely limits Ice model testing capabt Iitles, flexibility, and procedures. Testing tn
broken lee cover, which Is of growing Importance to the Ice rrodel testing community, 15
simply not practical when using refrigerlllted model Ice due to the extremely rcpld deter­
Ioration of the material once the Ice sheet has been broken up.

SYNTHETIC MOOEL ICE DEVELOfMENT

Long recognizing the problems associated with refrigerated rrodel Ice, the authors'
company acqu I red the commerc i a I rl ghts In 1973 to a synthet Ie rrode I Ice materiel! deve loped
by MI Che I (1970). Th I s mater 101 appeared to possess severa I advantages oyer refr Igerated
model Ice. First, the rMterial Is a solid at normal room temperature J and therefore re­
quires no special cold rooms, and allows Ice model testing to be performed In a shirt
sleeve environment, with the accompanying advantages in terms of personnel efficiency and
effectiveness, and Instrunentatlon system reliability and accuracy. The rnI!Iterlal also ap­
peared to possess higher modul us to floxl.ral strength ratios at large scale factors, and
crUShing to flexural strength ratios closer to those of sea Ice, although perhaps a bit
undertarget. In addition, the mechanical properties of the material were quite stable over
extended periods of time. In contrast to these Significant advanteges, however, Initial
efforts In applying the material to Ice model test progroms revealed a m.rnber of problems.
The rnZIterlal was quite expensive and In order to achieve costs reasonably close to the
costs of conducting Ice model tests In refrIgerated basins It had to have the capabilIty
of some degree of reuse. !-tJwever, I t was found that after severa I uses, the chern I ca I com­
position of the materllli changed due to the presence, of a voilltile compound. Ps the chem­
Ical cOfY1}osltlon changed, obviously the mechanl Cll I properties of the I'I'0terlal also changed.
In addition to this problem, the materlor elso possessed a higher thon desirable structure­
I ce friction factor. For a model that was prepared to have II 0.10 Ice-ship or structure
friction factor corresponding to a low friction coated hull, the friction factor obtlltned
wIth the synthetic materIal generally ranged between 0.20 and 0,30. Several stages of re­
search have been completed related to both the reuse problem and the friction factor prob­
lem. Additional research also further Improved the spatial uniformity of the material,
which was already at leost equal to the spatial uniformity obtllined with any refrigerated
Ice modeling mlIterlal, and further refined the repeatability of Ice properties and the
eccuracy with wh 1ch the target Ice propert I es cou I d be ach leved. Ps the successes were

232
~chleved through this research and development program, a new synthetic Ice rrodel basin was
built at ARClEG, Incorporated which was designed to take full advant~ge of the favorable
characteristics of the material .. given the name MOO-ICE. The new synthetic Ice rrodel basin
measures 25.6 x 10.7 x 2.4 m length, width, end depth, respectively (85 x 35 x 8 ft) and
was designed primarily for testing I~rge force at relatively low speed systems, such as
wou I d be the case for of fshore str uctures and for maneuver I ng tes ts of lcebreak I ng vesse Is.
Since this new synthetic Ice model basin was placed In operation, eleven major Ice rrodel
testing programs have been performed In the Improved synthetic rrodel Ice. These tests
cover a very broad range of both vessel type and Ice cond It Ions. The rrodel Ice property
data obtained In these Ice model test programs are presented, and the advantages and dis­
advantages of the synthetic model Ice material In terms of achievable properties and com­
blnatl·ons of properties, and In terms of operat ional flexibility In the conduct of Ice
model tests Involving complex parametric variations are summarized In the following
sections of the paper.

RECENT MODEL TESTS IN SYNTHETIC ICE

Eleven Ice model tests programs which cover a wide range of structure and vessel oon­
figurations and various Ice oondltlons have been oonducted In the new synthetic Ice basin
using the synthetiC Ice mat erial. The rrodels tested Include Ico -=>rthy semlsubmerslbles,
Ice worthy drillshlps, conical drilling structures, drill barges, ZIInd IcebroZllklng supply
boats. Scale factors fa" these test programs ranged from 39.37 to 60. The test conditions
f or these mode I test programs inc I uded moored tests, bottom founded tosts, towed tosts,
fixed tests, and sel f-propelled tests. The Ice conditions that have beon rrodeled Include
level Ice, level Ice with various degrees of Icebreaker support, broken Ice fields and
channels of various Ice piece size and concentration, first year unconsolidated ZIInd rwltl­
year partially consolidated pressure ridges, multiyear Ice floes surrounded by first year
Ice , and discrete first year Ice floes. In addition, tests have been conducted In which
the direction of ice approach Is changed during t he test, and maneuvering tests h~ve been
conducted In wh I ch the head I ng of the vesse I Is changed dur I ng the test.

MECHAN ICAl PROPERT I ES Of SYNTHET IC ICE

The mechanical properties of the model Ice are measured prior to testing any Ice
sheet. These properties generally consist of the elastic rrodulus, flexural strength,
crUShing strength, and Ice-model coaff Iclent of friction. The procedures used for
measuring these properties for these Ice model test programs are Irlefly outlined below.

The elastic rrodulus of an Ice sheet Is measured using the center load, remote deflec­
tion method. The Ice sheet Is depressed In ooe location with a linear ITDtion actuator.
The force required to depress the Ice sheet and the deflection of the Ice sheet a kIlown
distance from the load application point are recorded oontlnuousl y throughout the test and
are output In the form of a force-deflection curve. The slope of this curve Is used to
calcul~te the characteristic length, and there~y. the elastic rrodulu s of the Ice sheet from
the equations for the deflection of ~n Infinite ellllstic plate 00 an elastic foundation pre­
sented by Wyman (1950), A typlc.1 force deflection curve from an elastic roodulus test Is
shown In Figure 2.

The flexural strength of the Ice Is measured by failing In situ cantilever beams which
a re cut In the Ice. The beams are broken us I ng a /I near rrot I on actuator equ I pped wi th a
load cell to record the force time history of the beam breaking process. The peak force
required to break the beam Is used to calculato the flexural strength of the Ice, based on
the measured dimensions of the beam and the standard cantilever beam OQuatlon. This
strength Is corrected for the buoyancy of the beam using the -=>rk of I-htenyl (1946). The
force time history from a typical flexural strength test Is shown In Figure 3.

233
 ' The crushing strength of the Ice sheet Is measured by floating a beam cut from tfle Ice
sheet between two paral lei plates. The plates are driven together at a constant speed and
the force exerted by the Ice on the plates and the dlspl'acement of the plates are recorded
over time.. The peak force Is used to determine the a-ushlng strength of the Ice, and the
displacement data are used to determine the strain rate at which tne ice was fal led.
Figure 4 i s the force-time history from a typical crushing strength test.

The Ice-model coeff.lclent of friction Is mea sured by pulling at constant velocity a

n ormally loaded sample o f Ice over a flat portion of the nxldel or over a frIctIon plank
which has had the same surface preparations as the model and which has been tested to have
the same coefficient of friction as the model. The normal load 15 varied by placing labor­
atory weights on a support platform mounted on top o f the ice sample. The force required
to pul I tho sample Is recorded continuously over time, and the kinetic coaff Ielent of fric­
tion Is determined by dividing the mean pulling force by the total normal force which Is
the sum of the weIghts of the Ice sample, the sup port platform, and the laboratory weights.
The Ice and model surfaces arc maintained in a wetted condition during the coefficient of
fricti on test s . A typical time history of the pul ling force from a coefficient of friction
test Is given In Figure 5.

Table 1 summarizes the mechanical properties obtained for 40 synthetic Ice sheets cast
over the pa s t two years. All parameters tabulated are presented In rodel scale units. The
range of Icc sheet thickness spanned from 10 to 60 mn. The minimum Ice sheet thickness of
10 mm tends to be the approximate lower li mit 00 Ice sheet thickness because of the prac­
t i ca 111m I tat Ions of operat I ng so as not to break up a very th I n Ice sheet due to wave ac­
tion while preparing for the tests, rather than any Inherent limitation In the capability
of the material !tsel f. The flexural strength for these Ice sheets spanned a range of 10
t? 80 Wa. Again, the approxlm<:lte lower limit of 10 kPa Is a practical limit due to tne
difficulty of operating with weaker Ice, ra ther than due to any Inherent limitation In the
material Itsel f. On the strong side, as Is the case with roost rodellng materials, any lim­
Itations that may exist are well above any practical values of flexural strength required
for Ice model testing. The crushing strength obtained with the synthetic Ice material also
s pans a range of 10 to 80 kPa. The range of the mod u I uS of el 21st I city extends from 10 to
70 MPa. The coefficient of friction between the synthetic Ice material and the model sur­
face spanned a range from 0.09 to 0.30. The data In the table demonstrates that a sub­
stantial nt.mber of synthetic model lee sheets successfully achieved a target Ice-surface
friction factor of 0.10, and demonstrates that the friction problems associated with the
earlier formulation of the material have been solved. The ratio of the rrodulus of elastlc­
I ty to the f I exura t strength ranges from 700 to 6,000 . The rat loaf the crush I ng strength
to the flexural strength ranges from 0.7 to 2.3. This range of the crUShing strength to
flexural strength ratio Is at or near target for spring breakup Ice conditions and some
winter Ico conditions, and Is somewhat low for dee p winter and multiyear Ice conditions.
However, In co nsideration of the lower than target roodul us of elasticity, the lower crush­
Ing strength value Is desirable because the likelihood of Inducin g erroneous buckling fail­
ures of the model Ice sheet due to having too Iowa roodulus of elasticity and too high a
crushing strength Is far less with the synthetic model Ice material than with the
refrigerated rrodel Ices.

Figure 6 shows plots of the flexural strength, crUShing strength, and rrodulus of elas­
ticity as a function of ice sheet thickness In roodel scale units. This figure shows clear­
ly that the strength and roodulus of the synthetic roodel Ice material are not functions of
the Ice sheet thIckness, as Is the case with either saline or carbamide Ice. The comblna­
t Ion of propert I es ava" ab I e through the use of th I s synthet Ie rode I Ice mater J a I as shown
by thIs figure consIsts of a woad rectangular area bounded by tile 10 kPa flex ural strength
line and the 10 rrm Ice thlcktles s line, and extending upward and to the rIght over the
entire remainder of the plot and beyond. This range of available test conditions is sub­
s tantially broader than that achievable with either saline or carbamide roodel Ice because
the synthetic roodel Ice material offers capabilities for high strength, thin Ice sheets and

234
 LOCAl I~ 1':1 C : S(a UE./'£E 'l

..
..

!~.
..
, ..
~
....
v
. ..
0
. . .
r 1I'll. I S.cond£" )
L.: ru:)(u~ STQ(NG1H lEST: LOCA1]ON 7 ~T; CELL:
a """"'83 aa : -4l
Figure 2. Elastic Modulus Load Figure 3. Flexural Strength
vs. Deflection Curve Force Time History

.. luAU C[LL vs. T IMl

~ "
~
,
:
n

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CRUSHING STR£HGTH T[:sr~ lOCFlll()\j P _ 1 7

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Figure 4. Crushing Strength Figure 5. Friction Test

Force Time History Force Time History

low strength. thick Ice sheets whi ch are not within the rllnge aval12lble for either saline
or carbamIde model Ice. In the case of the crUShing strength, as shown In Figure 6b.
crUShing strengths as low as 10 kPa cannot be achieved with eIther salIne CK carbamide Ice,
regardless of the Ice thickness. This substantial extension of the range of crUShing
strength available for model Ice Is very significant fCK conducting Ice node I test s which
are scaled on the basis of crUShing strength, such as test s performed with vertical cyl­
Inders or other flat faced surfaces. From Figure 6c, It can be seen that the modulus of
elasticity Is consIstently above 10 MPa tor the range of the Ice thicknesses tested. The
modulus Is Independent of the Ice thickness, Indicating that reasonable elastic rrodulus to
flexural strength ratio s can be achieved In thin Ice sheets, which Is not possible for
either salIne or carbamide model Ice.

Figure 7 Is a plot of the modulus of elasticity to flexural strength rntlo versus Ice
thickness for the forty synthetic model Ice sheets listed In Table I. This figure Is plot­
ted to the same scale and In the Same manner as wes Figure 1. A oomparison of Figure 7 and
Figure I reveals that for thin model Ice sheets the ratio ot elastic modulus to f l eXUral
strength Is better scaled with synthetic Ice than Is the case wIth refrigerated Ice. These
results are of great significance because they allow the testing of ships and structures at
economical, large scale factors, where the desired properties are not ach i evable with
either saline model Ice or carbamide model Ice.

CONCLUS IONS

In order to meet the worl dfs ice model testing requirements over the next decade, It
Is obvious thet the capabilities offered by 111e Ice roodel testing corMlunlty must be

235
 TABLE I. StMMAAY OF MECHANICAL FROPERTIES OF IMFROVEO SYNTHETIC ICE

I CE FLEXURAL ELASTIC CRUSH ING OOEF. OF

SHEET DATE THICKNESS STRENGTH MODULUS STRENGTH ffilCTION
NO. h. nm

6/82 23.6 19.6 14.2 35. I 0.113 723 403 1.79

6/82 28.2 20.7 18.2 46.9 0.123 877 387 2.27
7/82 46.0 27.2 30.2 44.1 0.130 1110 685 1.62
7/82 59.8 19.2 27.8 26.7 0.114 1445 1039 1.39
7/82 47.7 14.7 12.1 17.2 0.140 823 701 1.17
6 7/82 56.6 17.1 14.5 17.5 0.147 850 832 1.02
7 8/82 26.8 25.3 47.6 18.0 0.130 1883 2642 0.713
8 9/82 12.2 10.8 63.4 0.280 5870
9/82 20.1 13.1 39.1 2980
10 9/82 17.6 11.3 19.8 0.251 1750
II 10/82 20.2 14.5 44.6 0.241 3080
12 10/82 20.7 52.9 43.9 0.200 0.830
13 5/83 31.6 11.8 29.3 0.104 2478
14 6/83 32.9 14.0 21.0 0.183 1501
15 6/83 24.0 14.2 24.5 0.096 1726
16 7/83 17.4 16.5 17.1 0.098 1036
17 7/83 17.8 12.4 14.7 0.110 1187
18 7/83 24.6 77.2 69.0 82.0 0.111 894 688 1.062
19 7/83 20.4 14.8 25.3 0.114 1720
20 7/83 26.2 15.4 23.4 0.117 1520
21 7/83 14.9 16.7 23.3 13.5 0.111 1390 1726 0.811
22 7/83 17;6 18.1 15.9 0.117 880
23 7/83 18.6 16.1 20.3 15.4 0.105 1260 1318 0.952
24 7/83 23.4 14.9 19.5 15.6 0.102 1300 1250 1.044
25 7/83 25.3 13.4 15.9 13.5 0.101 1180 1178 1.006
26 7/83 27.7 14.3 19.3 15.3 0.100 1350 1261 0.956
27 8/83 21.6 18.9 20.2 19.8 0.109 1070 1020 1.050
28 8/83 18.8 15.0 18.0 0.096 1201
29 8/83 26.2 14.1 21.4 0.084 1521
30 8/83 25.9 14.5 21.2 19.7 0.079 1460 1076 1.359
31 8/83 20.5 15.1 23.0 29.8 0.098 1520 772 1.970
32 9/83 28.6 17.7 25.7 17.8 0.071 1453 1444 1.008
33 9/83 27.9 16.6 22.2 12.4 0.081 1336 1790 0.745
34 9/83 55.0 21.6 18.3 12.8 0.154 847 1430 0.592
35 10/83 26.0 18.0 14.7 15.2 0.111 816 967 0.845
36 10/83 Z7.3 18.1 13.0 12.9 0.121 720 1008 0.712
37 10/83 58.5 19.7 19.1 17.6 0.161 969 1085 0.893
38 1/84 25.4 15.7 11.6 25.1 0.194 739 462 1.60
39 1/84 38.0 16.5 18.9 18.8 0.277 1150 1005 1.14
40 1/84 19.9 16.3 12.6 19.9 0.233 773 633 1.21

expanded In several areas. These expanded requirements result from the extension of opera­
tions In Ice Infested waters from relllltively limited geographical regIons to encompass all
of the seasonally Ice Infested waters of the U.S and Canadian kct l c. In addition to the
broad range of Ice conditions whlcn must be ll"Odeled, there Is also a \Toad range of struc­
tures and vehicles tnat are likely to be used In these various geographic regions because
of the signIficant variations In other environmental conditions Including winds, WlIVBS,
currents. and water depths. Extending the range of conditions required to be rrodeled even
further, there are also alterni!ltlve operating scenarios which may Involve various degrees
of capability for operating Into the Ice se8son, but not necessarily for operating on a
year-round basis In each geographic region. Finally, there wIll be stili rrore variations

236
 60
C
Q,

~
50
~
...:I:c:I 40
Z
W
...
II:

1/1
30

...c
II:
=
>C
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20

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··.111
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00
. 1.: 00 0
o 0

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C 60
Q,
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...~
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.
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=
a
0 0
2 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
ICE THICKNESS, h, mm

Figure 6. Plots of Mechanical Ice Properties vs . Ice Thickness

for Recent Synthetic Ice Model Ice Sheets

237
-

0
....
e
a:
:z: 10,000
....
..
e"
Z
a:
5,000
,
....
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....
2,000 . . :,,., .
o 0

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Figure 7. Plot of Modulus of Elasticity to Flexural Strength Ratio vs.
Ice Thickness for Recent Mod-Ice Model Ice Sheets

I n the requl rements for IC9 mode I test Iog as the petro Ieum resources are discovered and de­
veloped, and the operating sceanrios advance from seasonal exploratory activities to year­
round production and transportation activities. The result of these conslder~tlons for the
Ice model testing community Is the requirement for lTKXiel Ice which oovers an extremely
broad range of mechanical properties, and the requirement for SUbstantial flexibility In
conducting the various types of tests In model Ice.

The data presented prey IOU5 I yin th Is paper demonstrates that a ref I ned, synthet I c
model I ce mater I a I has been deve loped wh I ch of tars a number of advantages over any other
model .Ice material currently available for use. These advantages are summarized as
follows:

1. The synthetic model Ice material offers a range of properties which are uniquely
I ndependent of the th I ckness of the mode I I ce sheet. The mater I a I of fers comb I nat Ions of
thin Ice and low flexural strengths which cannot be produced with any other roodel Ice
material. Based upon the data presented In this paper, any ccwnblnatlon of flexural
strength and Ice sheet thickness can be provided for thicknesses greater than about 10 rrrn
and f 1exura I strongths greater than about 10 kPa. These Ice sheets ~n be produced oon­
slstently, rollably, and uniformly with an acceptable combination of properties. There­
fore, the use of this materIal allows 1he use of smaller roodels with scale factors In the
range of 40 to 60, r~ther than larger models with scale factors In the range of 20 to 40,
which Is the typIcal range required for saline or carbamide roodel ice. The use of the syn­
thetic model Ice material keeps the size and oost of Ice nx>del testing facilities and
programs to a roore reasonable level.

2. While the synthetic roodel Ice material stili does not exactly scale all of the I~

portant mechanical properties simultaneously, the combination of properties obtained Is

preferable to the combinations obtained with either saline c.- carbamIde Ice. In the case
of the roodulus of elasticity, the data presented shows ttat a roodulus of elasticity to
flexural strength ratio In the range of 1,000 to 3,000 can be attained even for very thin
and very weak synthetic Ice sheets. In addition. the crushing strength obtainable with the
synthetic rodel Ice material ranges from being on target for some Ice oondltlons to being
somewhat low for other Ice conditions, whereas the a-ushlng strength obtained with saline
or carbamide Ice Is generally higher than target by a factor of 2 to 8. Since the roodulus

238
of elllstlcity Is low In comparison to the properly scaled VlIlue for all of the model Ice
materials, It Is more desirable to have the crushing strength on the low side rather than
on the high side so as not to Induce unrealistic buckling failures during Ice model testing
which would Invalidate the test results. In addition, It Is Important to stress that the
qUlllltatlve behavior of the synthetic Ice material while failing In the crushing roode ap­
pears exactly as has been observed In field operations. In constrast, the crushing mode
failure observed In rrodel testing with salIne or carbamide Ice Is substantially different
from that observed In the field. Finally, Ice-hull coeffIcients of friction of 0.1, cor­
responding to a low friction coating In good condItion, are readily attainable with the
synthetic Ice.

3. The size of the broken Ice pieces resu I t I ng from sh I p cr structure Interact Ion
with the synthetic rrodel Ice Is substantially smaller than that obtained when testing with
either saline or carbamIde Ice, and appears to compare very favorably with the correspond­
Ing piece size observed In field trials of icebreaklng vessels and structures. This fea­
ture Is Important In the conduct of sel f-propel led shIp testing In Ice where the Ice­
propeller Interaction Is much more accurately modeled with the synthetic fOOdel Ice materIal
not only due to the more properly scaled Ice piece size, but also due to the more properly
sca led crush I ng strength of the Ice.

4. 'The synthetic model Ice material Is used at normal room temperature which allows
for a far more eff Iclent Ice model test program, and IJ'Ore slmpll f led and reliable Instru­
mentlltlon systems. Because of this characterIstic of the synthetic IJ'Odel Ice materIal, It
Is particularly well suited to Ice hydraulics modeling work since It eliminates the need to
house such rrodels In 11Irge expensive cold room facilities.

5. The properties of the synthetic rode I Ice material are constant for days, In sharp
contrast to those of refrigerated model Ice which typically has an acceptable properties
test wIndow of only 1/2 to 2 hours. The properties of the synthotlc rrodel Ice materIal
can, therefore, be much more accurately and completely defined, and additional flexibility
Is available for desIgning a test program.

6. The mechan I ca I propert I es of the synthet' c rode I Ice mater I a I are constant over
long periods of time even In broken Ice conditions, a condition In which refrigerated Ice
deterloratos very rapidly. This allows the conduct of multiple broken Ice tests In the
synthetIc r.odel Ice, an especially Ir.)portant Ice condition In the marginal Ice areas,
a nd when operat Ions with support f cebreakers are under consl derat Ion.

REFERENCES

Forsman, 8., 1983, '~ode I Test I ng Techn I ques for the Jlrct I c", Goteburg.

Hetenyl, M. 1946, Beams 00 Elastic Foundation, The LK'dverslty Press, Ann Jlrbar, MI.

Hirayama, K., 1983, "Properties of the l..J-ea Doped Ice In the CRREL Test Basin", ffiREL

Report 1'<>. 83-8.

Lewis, J.W., 1982, "Recent Developments In PhysIcal Ice Modeling", Proceedings of the
1982 Offshore Technology Conference, t-buston, TX.
Michel, B., 1970, "Ice Modeling In Hydraulic Engineering", IAHR Symposium, Sept. 1970.
Tlmco, G., 1979, "The Mechanical and Morphological Properties of Doped Ice: A Search
for a Better Structurally Simulated Ice for Model Test Basins", Proceedings of the 1979
POAC Con ference.
Tlmea, G., 1981, "A Compllrlson of Several Olemlcally Cbped Types of Model Ice ll , IAHR
Symposium, July 1981.
Wyman, M., 1950, 1I00fiections of an Infinite PllIte", CanadIan Journal of Research, ~rt
A, Volume 28.
Zahn, P. B., 1984, "Ice Model Testing - A Ravlew of Current Procedures, Materials, and
Results", Presented to the O'Iesapeake Section, Society of feval Jlrchltects and MarIne
Eng I neers.

239
 IAHR Ice Symposium 1984

Hamburg

CRYSTALLINE STRUCTURE OF UREA ICE SHEETS USED IN

MODELING IN THE CRREL TEST BASIN

Anthony J. Gow U.S. ArmY Co ld Regions USA

Research Geologist Research and Engineering

Laboratory

ABSTRACT
Standard petrographic techniques were used for studying microstructure
in thin sect ions of urea ice sheets now being used extensively in the
CRREL Test Basin for modeling sea i ce . Depending mainly on the seed ing
techniques employed and partly on the thermal condition in the column
of urea-doped water two kinds of ice with radically different structural
and mechan ical properties have been identified. In the one exhibiting
vertical c-axis structure minimal urea is incorporated into the ice
crystals, and ice sheets with this kind of structure tend to remain "strong"
even after the temperature of the i ce is raised close to its melfing
point. I ce of the second type is characterized by a preponderance of
crys tals exhi biting horizontal c-axes. This kind of i ce, whi ch is only
produced when the test basin is seeded prior to freezing, also contains
a bundant inclusions of urea systemat1cally·incorporated into the crystals;
the overall co lumnar structure of this ice closely resembles that of
ord1nary sea ice and optimum test conditions for modeling purposes are
usually obtained with warm isothermal ice sheets of the latter type.

241
INTRODUCTION
New approaches to ice-related and glaciologically pertinent problems
have included the use of chemically-doped ice sheets to replace natural
ice in scaled down tests of engineering design, e.g., ice breaker modeling
and the modeling of ice forces on structures. For the past three years
the author has been routinely examining the crystalline structure of
urea (carbamide, (NH2)2 CO) ice sheets, formed by freezing aqueous solutions
of urea, and now being used extensively in ship modeling, ice pile up
and related experiments in the CRREL test basin .
The substituting of aqueous solutions of urea in place of salt water
in test basins was first advocated by Timco (1979a and 1979b) who found
that ice sheets made from 1.3% urea solution (by weight) consistently
yielded strain modulus (E) to flexural strength (Of) ratios in excess
of 2000 for flexural strength as low as 20 KPa. This represented a major
advantage over NaCl ice, used extensively by Schwarz (1975 and 1977 ),
but which becomes much "too rubbery" at scale factors exceeding 20 or
so.
OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this report are to (1) familiarize the engineer
with the d i fferent kinds o f crystal li ne textures encountered in urea
ice sheets (2) demonstrate how these variations in the structural make-up
of urea ice sheets can drastically effect the mechanical properties of
model ice and (3) furnish guidelines on seeding and other factors affecting
the freezing characteristics of urea-doped water that will allow experimenters
to fabricate, at will, ice sheets with prescribed structural and mechanical
properties.
ANALYTICAL PROCEDURES
1. Growing Urea Ice Sheets
The test basin used for ice modeling experiments at CRREL measures
9 m x 36 m x 2 .4 m deep and is cooled by refrigeration coils located
in the ceiling approximately 5 m above the top of the tank . Ice is usually
formed by fir st lowering the temperature of the urea-doped water uniformly
to within O.lDC of its freezing point and then spray seeding the surface
to initiate crystal growth. Best results are obtained if the seeding
is done at an ambient air temperature of -lODC, followed by further cooling
to -15 DC, or lower, to promote rapid freezing of the urea-doped water
directly beneath the layer of seed crystals. After the ice sheet has
reached the desired thic kness tank temperatures are usually raised to

242
a llow the ice to "soften" in readiness for testing. The flexural strength
(of) and strai n modulus (E ) ar e usual ly meas ured at this stage to ensure
that the mechanical properti es of the ice, as expre ssed in the E/ of rat i o
are correctly scaled for the tests i n question .
2. Crystal Structur e Ana lys is
Samples for structural exami na i on wer e obtai ned from s mall blocks
cut from the ice s heet, usually at the end of testi ng . Occasionall y ,
samples were taken at interva l s during the growth of an ice sheet i n
order to monitor changes in the structure wit h t ime. Gross structural
features of the ice, s uch as compositional layeri ng, crys tal boundary
candling , and urea brine draina ge pat t erns '.ere examined both in f r esbly
cut blocks of ic e , and in thi ck (I cm) vert ic al slabs viewed in t ransmitt ed
and reflected li ght . The crystalline struc tur e of the i ce was exami ned
in thin sec ti ons t hat were photogra phed between cross ed polariods at
two scales o f magnification, 1 x and 8 x natural s ize. Photo graphs taken
at 1:1 scale were used primaril y to document overall crystalline textures
wi thin an ice s heet. To study i ndi vidual components of structur e, espec i al ly
substruc ture within the crys t a ls , sections were r ephot ogra pbed at approximately
8 x magnification . C-axis orientati ons in lar ger crys tals of thicker
ice were measured on a Rigs by s tage . However, direct examination of
the crys tals in t he re flex mi rror of the C8J!lera used f or producing 8x
magnification photographs often su~fic ed to r eveal t he ove rall patter n
of crystallo gra phic c-axl s or ient ati on in an ic e sh eet .
STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF UREA I CE
The free zing charact eristic s of urea-doped water a r e essent i ally
analogous. to those of s alt water and both poss es s the same crys t a l symmetry
(hexagonal ) as that of ord inary fr es h water i ce. This occurs r egard less
of the chemic al nat ure of the s ubstanc e with whic h the wa t er is doped .
Initially , the free zing o f urea-doped wat er induces the for mati on
of a planar ice- l i quid interfa ce identica l t o that produced when fresh
water freezes. The durat i on of growth of this planar inter face is controlled
partly by the initial urea conc entration and partly by b e free zing veloc i t y ,
which governs t he rate at which urea is re jected or conc entrated at the
free zing interface . Ultimately , a s tage 11 be rea ched when the buildup
of urea becomes too larse t o sustain a stable planar interface which
then transforms into one with a c elluJ~r or dendr iti c mor pho lo gy . Such
a transformation is intri ns i cally linked to the process known as constitut ional
supercooling which in this case resu lt s in the f ormat i on of urea-enri ched

243
 Groove

Figure 1. Sketch o f i nt erface geomet ry s hoWing d endrite and groove struc­

t ure in tvo a djac ent crystals 0 urea ic e . Ur ea entr apment is confined to
grooves. Large arrow to left of diagram i ndica t es d i rection o f grovth.

liquid at the ic e/urea s olution interfa c e.

The conc ept of c onsti tutional (composi t ional ) super cooling vas first
desc ribed by Rutter and Cha lmers (1953 ) a nd Tiller et al. (1953) in con­
nection vith the s olid i f i cat i on from the melt of alloys and i mpure metals.
The concept has sinc e been extended to the fr eezing of salt (NaCl) vater
by Harris on and Till er (1963 ) and Lo fgre n and Weeks (1969) and mor e recently
by Timc o ( 1981) to exp l ai n the fr ee zing c harac t eristic s of urea-doped
vater. A s ke tch showi ng the interface geometry as sociated with dendritic
plate grovth i n tvo ad j acent crystals of urea ice i s given in Figure 1.
Folloving the for mati on of a s t able dendr i t i c interface fur t her fr e ezing
now takes place by grovth of t he dendrite ti ps prot ruding dovn into t he
urea solut i on. Simultaneously, urea-enriched liquid bec omes trapped
i n the grooves betveen the dendrites. This mechanical entrapment of
urea "brine" i s systero9.tic in the s ense t hat the entrapped urea is c onfined
s ubs tantia l ly to the grooves betveen t he dent rites vhich themselves are
elongated par a lle l to the cr ystallographic bas al plane (oool) that is,
nor mal to the c-axis ( Fig. 1). ~ni s kind of grovth yields columnar type
cr y stals vith each crys tal composed of several platelike dendrites. The
dendrites themselves contain very little included urea. The resultant
ice plat e / urea lamellae subs tructure of crys t als is in every vay analogous
vith the ice plate/brine poc ket s ubstruc t ure of sea i c e.

244
Figure 2. Crystal structure of a seeded urea ice sheet as observed in
vertical and horizontal thin sections photographed between crossed polaroids.
Arrows in top horizontal section point to lines of urea inclusions at an
early stage of entrapment in d c type ice. Scale subdivisions measure lmrn.
Optimum conditions for modeling purposes are only achieved with
seeded ice sheets composed sub~tantially of dendritric type crystals.
Departures from this ideal condition are usually linked to the occurrence
of layers of "hard" ice formed during the earliest (planar interface)
stages of freezing of a seeded ice sheet.
Seeded urea ice sheets characteristically possess a multi-layered
structure of the kind illustrated in Fig. 2, and consisting in order
from the top, of:
1. A layer of seed crystals (designated S in Figure 2) generally
less than 1 mm in diameter and up to three grains thick, underlain by :
2. one or more layers of columnar crystals in whic h the c-axes
are oriented either vertically or horizontally. Layers of mixed orientation

245
are not uncorrunon though i ndi v"i dual l ayer s tend to be domina ted by crystals
of one orientat io n or the other. Layers in t hi s zone, here referred
to as the incuba ti on layer and designa t e d i c in Fi gur e 2 represent crystal
growth contr oll ed by p lanar interface geometry. Individual crysta l s
in t he ic l ayers of ur ea ice sheets contain only a few liquid or gaseous
inc l usions; the r esultant structure i s optically trans parent , i n striking
cont r ast to the milky , semi - opaque appearance of the underlying ice composed
of :
3. e longat ed col~· shaped crys tals of dendritic origin that
fo r m the dendr itic columnar layer, des i gna ted d c in Figure 2 and which
consis t s mai nly of crys tals wi th hor izontal c-axes . Crystals with c- axi s
ori entations other than hor i zontal are us ually elimi nated by the process
known as geometr i c se lection ( Perey and Pounder 1958 , Weeks and Lee 1958).
Crystals of d c ice contain s ubstantial amount s of urea, systematically
incorporated as lay er s of inc l usions between the ice plates i n individual
crys tals . An examinati on of the vertic a l thin section in Fi~ure 2 also
sho1offi that · ndivi dua1. crys tals in t he dc lay er frequently e xtend through
the entir e thickness of" the layer. Phot omicrographs of horizontal thin
sec tions taken from near the top and the bottom of the dc layer, illustrate
bot h t he ons et of ur~a entrapment within crystals (arrowed) at the top
of the d c layer and f ull deve lopment of t he ice plate/urea lamellae substructures
at the bott om . A very substanti a l i nc r ease in the cross - s ectional diameter
of crystals with inc r easIng ice thickness is als o evident. In ice from
near the top of the dc layer the crys t als r a rely exceed 2 rom in diameter.
In bottom ice the longest cross -sectiona l dimens i ons of crystals average
5 rom but they occ asi onal~v exceed 10 rom in l ength . A ten-fold increase
in the mean cro s s-sectional diamete r of crys tals between the top and
the bottom of the d c layer was not uncommon in seeded ice sheets grown
in the CRREL t e s t basi n.
A s eri es of s eeded ic e s heets grown by Dr . J. C. Tatinclaux dur in g
October and November 1982 included one ice sheet that represented the
best simulatio n of sea ice yet pr oduced at CRREL . Thin section photographs
are reproduced here in ( Figure 3) to illustrat e the s ali ent features
of structure in thi s ice sheet which was grown f r om 0 . 9% urea s olut ion,
cooled to -0.05°C and then '.,ret-seeded a t - J5 °C. The s heet grew to a
maximum thi ckn ess of 8.2 em and contai ned less tha n 10% ic type i ce.
The vertical sec ti on i ncluded a number of crystals extending through
t h e entir e thickness of the dc layer . The ic layer consis t ed of columnar

246
Figure 3. A seeded urea ice sheet exhibiting crystalline structure that
is near-to-ideal for sea ice modeling. Scale subdivisions measure 1 rom.

crystals that merged almost imper ceptibly with crystals in the d c layer .
Horizontal sections clearly show how d c type crystal s evolve, beginn ing
with the onset of interplate urea entrapment at the top of the layer
and proceeding to a multi plate/urea lamellae substructure of crystals
at the bottom. Note also the ce llular texture of the plates within ind ividual
crystals that may contain as many as 10 plates spaced on the order of
0. 5 mm apart. Average crystal diameter increased from 1 mm near the

247
top of the d c layer to about 6 rnm at the bottom. tljobil1zation of urea
i nto discrete bubble-like inclusions along the interplate erooves is
also evident in all three horizontal thin sections.
If the urea solution in the test bas in is not seeded prior to freezing
then ice sheets with totally unacceptable modeling characteristics generally
result. This important fact of ice growth was first observed during
tests conducted by Sandell (1981) who found that unseeded ice sheets
were four to five times stronger in flexure than seeded ice sheets tested
at the same temperatures. Only after examini ng structure sections of
both kinds of ice did the reasons for the enhanced strength of the unseeded
ice sheets become readily apparent. Structure sections of an ice sheet
grown from a 1.2% urea solution at -20°C that was not seeded prior t o
freezing are presented in Figure 4. Initial ice growth consisted of
a mixture of c-axis vertical and horizontal crystals which soon transformed
into a very coarse-grained c-axis vertical crystal texture that persisted
without further change to the end of ice growth. The bottom ice consisted
of crystals several centimeters in diameter. This ice also exhibited
a peculiar "chip-board" structure of crystals, complete with plate- like
elements that superficially resembled the plate/ lamellae substructure
of d c type ice. In this ice, however, the plate/ lamellae substructure
was found to be oriented parallel to the c-axis of crystals, not normal
to them, as is the case with normal d c type ice. Urea inclusions are
typically arranged in broad bands, up to a millimeter wide, but total
urea concentration is only about 25% of that found in d c type ice.
Significant differences in the mechanical properties oJ seeded and
unseeded ice sheets can now be explained in terms of both the structure
of the crystals and the nature of entrapment of the urea " brine". Seeded
ice entraps very substantial amounts of urea. Mobilization of the urea
during the warm-up phase and its subsequent drainage results in significant
increases in porosity, a major cause of strength loss in thermally conditioned
ice sheets. An example of such drainage in a section of d c ice from
the middle of a tempered ice sheet is shown in Figure 5. The overall
process of drainage is a nalogous with natural desalination of sea ice.
In unseeded ice sheets drainage is minimized because of intrinsically
low concentrations of urea. Mainly for these reas ons unseeded ice is
able to maintain a relatively large flexural strength of ~ 400 KPa at
the same elevated temperature that the strength of seeded ice is deteriorating
to less than 80 KPa.

248
Figure 4. Crystalline structure of an uns e eded urea ice s heet exh ibi t i ng
massi ve crystal size and unusual urea "brine" entrapme nt featur es. Scale
subdivisions meas ure 1 mm.
--------------------~---
This petrogra phic examination of Sandell's ic e s heets was important
in that it documented f or the first ti me the fact that seeding ( or the
lack of it) exercises a critical effect on he orientat i on te xtures of
urea ice sheets, and that such variations in orientat ion texture, leading
to significant changes in the amount of ur ea trapped in the ice, also
profoundly affect the mechani cal porperties of t he ice.
The thermal regime of the urea-doped~water column in the basi n seems
important to the extent that best resUlts wi t h gr o.'ing dc t ype ic e ar e
achieved only i f the entire urea solution co l umn is homogeneously cooled

249
Figur e 5. Vertical drainage channels (D) in d c type ice from the middle
of a t hermally conditioned ur ea ice s heet .
to a temper at ure very cl ose to i t s free zing po i nt before the surface
is seeded . However, it now seems t hat i n addi t i on to cooling the urea
s ol uti on homogeneous ly to t emperatures close to its f reezing point, the
surf ace of the solution must be seeded pr i or to freezing in order to
pro.ote t he growth of dendri t i c columnar crystal (d c type ) i c e sheets
t h optimum modeling properties .
UREA CONCENTRATIONS
In ice the concentration of ur ea commonly exceeds 50% of that in
the test basin . It was a ls o determined that large volumes of urea solution,
if mai ntained at temperatures close to its fre e zing point, undergo negligible
hydrolyt i c di ssocia t i on to NH4 +, even after standing for many weeks in
the test oo.sin .

250
CONCLUSIONS
Both the structure and mechanical properties of urea ice sheets
are close ly linked to the freezing characteristics of urea-doped water,.
From the modeling aspect best results are obtained with thermally conditioned,
"soft" ice sheets composed principally of dendritic columnar (d c type)
crystals and in which urea has been systematically incorporated between
the plates comprising the individual crystals. Crystalline and subgrain
structures c losely sinrulate those observed in natural sea ice.
Thermal regime is important to the extent that optimum results with
the growing of d c type ice structure are achieved if the urea solution
is cooled uniformly to temperatures close to its freezing point prior
to seeding.
According to current engineering practice the E/of ratio should
exceed 2000 over the normal range of workable scale factors of 25 to
40. Unacceptable values of E/of are invariably linked to deviations
in the crystalline texture of the urea ice and the structure-controlled
nature of urea inclusion entrapment. Thi s i s especially true of unseeded
(spontaneous l y nucleated) ice sheets in which very large, c-axis vertical
crystals tend to form in place of horizontal c -axis d c type ice crystals.
Unseeded ice sheets retain relatively high flexural strength, even at
elevated temperatures, partly because of the massive nature of the crystals
and partly because of the minimal amounts of urea i ncorporated in crystals
exhibiting c -axis vertical orientation . The dendritic mode of growth
in seeded ice sheets ensures substantial , crystallographically-controlled
entrapment of urea inclusion in the ice. Mobilization of the urea during
the warm-up phase and its subsequent drainage, leading to significant
increases in porosity, is a major cause of the strength reduction needed
to satisfy mode ling criteria, such as the E/of ratio, . at the higher scaling
factors. Average urea concentrations of 40-50% of the test basin solution
are not uncommon in seeded ice sheets.
Departures from the ideal mode ling medium in seeded ice sheets usually
occur if the incubation layer (i c ice) exceeds 20% of the total ice thickness,
even after protracted tempering. In seeded ice sheets the ic layer cannot
be eliminated entirely. However, its thickness can be limited to 10%
(0 .5 to 0.6 rum) in ice sheets 5 to 6 cm thick if, immediately following
seeding at -10°C, the air temperature in the test basin is lowered to
-15°C or colder to promote a rapid transition from incubation ice type
growth to the preferred dendritic crystal struc ture. Increasing the

251
urea concentration in the test basin might also minimize incubation ice
growth but this possibility remains to be validated experimentally. PhYSically
removing the ic layer by shaving the surface of the ice sheet with a
sharp blade or knife is another possibility. This would need to be done
before tempering the ice .
A word of warning needs to be sounded in regard to ice where extended
tempering, prior to testing, can lead to overall loss of structural integrity.
It might be argued that while such drastic conditioning of the urea ice
might satisfy the modeling cr iterion E/of, its value obviously must depend
on how well the parameters E and Of can be determined. This applies
especially to measurements of flexural strength in the range of 20 kPa
(0.2 bars) or less. As Timco (1983) has observed "for ice o( less than
20 kPa flexural strength, there is no apparent break or fracture of ice
- it just peels apart when a load is applied". Ultimately the question
must be asked: does urea ice degraded to the point of losing its structural
integrity fairly represent the medium it is supposed to model? If it
does n't, what steps must be taken to improve the structural competence
of the ice without compromising acceptable scale model criteria?
REFERENCES
Harrison, J.D. and Tiller, W.A. (1963) Controlled freezing of water. In
Ice and Snow-Processes, Properties and Applications (W.D. Kingery,

ed.) .

Cambridge, Mass. MIT Press, pp. 8-27.

Lofgren, G. and Weeks, W.F. (1969) Effect of growth parameters on sub­

structure spacing in NaCl ice crystals. CRREL Research Report 195,
17 pp.
Perey, F. G. and Ponder, E. R. (1958) Crystal orientation in ice sheets.
Canadian Journal of Physics, 36, pp. 494-502.
Rutter, J.W. and Chalmers, B. (1953) A prismatic substructure formed
during solidification of metals. Canadian Journal of Physics,
31, pp. 15-29.
Sandell, D.A. (1981) Carbamide ice growth in a large test basin.
Proceedings, IAHR 6th International Symposium on Ice Problems,
Quebec, pp. 367-378.
Schwarz, J. (1975) On the flexural strength and elasticity of saline
ice. Proceedings, IAHR 3rd International Symposium on Ice Problems,
Hanover, USA, pp. 373-386.

252
Schwarz, J. (1977) New developments in modelling ice problems, Proceedings,
4th International POAC Conference, St. Johns, Canada, pp 45-61.
Tiller, W.A., Jackson, K.A., Rutter, J.W. and Chalmers, B. (1953) The
redistribution of solute atoms during the solidification of metals.
Acta Metallurgica, 1, pp. 428-437.
Timco, G.W. (1979a) A chemical survey to determine potential dopants
for a model ice test basin. National Research Council Division
of Mechanical Engineering, Report LTR-LT-95, Ottawa.
Timco, G.W. (1979b) Mechanical strength of ice grown from an impure melt.
National Research Council Division of Mechanical Engineering, Report
LTR-LT-113, Ottawa.
Timco, G.W. (1981) A comparison of several chemically-doped types of
model ice. Proceedings, IAHR 6th International SympOSium on Ice
Problems, Quebec, pp. 356-366.
Timco, G.W. (1983) Model testing of structure in ice consideration of
scale effects. Proceedings 20th American Towing Tank Conference,
Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey, pp. 1-13.
Weeks, W. F. and Lee, O. S. (1958) Observations on the physical properties
of sea ice at Hopedale, Labrador. Arctic, 11, pp. 134-155.

253
NAVIGATION IN ICE

 lAHR Ice Symposium 1984

Hamburg

PROBLEMS OF RIVER SHIPPING IN ICE-BOUND

CONDITIONS

V.A. Tronin
Head of the Department Institute USSR
V.A.Malinovsky of Water Transport
Head of the Laboratory Engineers
Yu.A. Sandakov Gorkyi
As.Professor

ABSTRACT
Replenishment of the river fleet with powerful
icebreakers, icebreaking-iceremoving devices and icetransit­
ing ships, inStallation on waterways and locks of special
equipment contribute to the development of shipping under
ice conditions. At the same time these factors bring about
an increase in the number of problems to be solved, among
them: study of the ice cover as a medium of shipping,
estimation of ice-breaking qualities of icebreakers and
icetransiting ships, search for optimum icebreaking
techniques, organization of icesailing and determination
of efficient terms of shipping in ice-bound conditions.
The above-mentioned problems are discussed in the present
paper.

255
 These decades the USSR inland waterways have been
witnessing a steady build up of ice navigation. Cargo
traffic starts before rivers and water basins' waterways
are free from ice and ends some time after a freeze up,
being effected in some reaches of the waterways in winter
period. The experience gained, the results obtained in
research and basic problems of navigation season extension
are being briefed in the present paper.
Ice regime of waterways is a primary consideration to
determine possibility, advantages and limits of ice naviga­
tion. Ice conditions on rivers, lakes and water basins of
the USSR are of an extreme complexity. The rivers of the
North and the Central European part of the country have a
maximum ice thickness O. 9-I.2m and rivers of Southern
latitudes 0.5-O.7m. In estuaries of the Syberian rivers the
• thickness of ice reaches by spring I.3-I.6m. The height of
snow cover on ice is within 0 . 2-'0 .6m.,
Spring is characterized by heavy ice jams in narrows,
shallow waters of rivers and along windward coasts of water
basins and lakes. In autumn ice navigation is characterized
by an intensive ice formation, heavy snowfalls, ice jams
and frazil accumulation usually in transient regions of
storage basins. Getting through hummocky stretches, liquida­
tion of jams and measures to prevent jam formation are the
most important problems to be solved.
Icebreaking vessels are the principal craft providing
for ice navigation. Ice breaking fleet has mainly icebreake~
of "Captain Chechkin" type, 1105 design, and "Captain Ev­
dOkimov", II91 design built by Wartsila shipyard, Finland.
These vessels meet the requirements of latest achievements
in shipbuilding as to their power, auxiliaries, mechanisms
and systems, involving those to protect environment against
pollution, electroradionavigational instruments, remote
control electronics, as well as to their comfort of their
cabins and srvice rooms. These vessels are equipped with
an air-bubbling system to enhance the efficiency of their
operation under hard ice conditions.

256
 Icebreakers of' "Captain Chechkin" type can move
continiously in smooth solid ice 0.75-0 .80m thick and over­
come in a ramming mode ice of bigger thickness, hummocky
stretches and frazil accumulation areas, as well as
manouevre on a restricted water area. High ice breaking
qualities of vessels "Captain Chechkin" type enable them
to cope with all kinds of operations in ice. Yet their use
on river routes is limited due to their draft.
Icebreakers type "Captain Evdokimov" are characterized
by a shallow (2.5m) draft. It is accomplished due to the
spoon-shaped bow and a quadruple-screw propulsion system.
Preliminary analysis of test results of the icebreaker in
autumnal and winter ice showed that ice transiting efficien­
cy is similar to that of icebreakers type "Captain Chechkin~'
These years in a number of river basins of the USSR
ice breaking-ice removing dev:j..ces of LPS and LLP type have
shown good results in operation. They are of' simple deSign,
having no power plants and mechanisms, but stringers-knives
and a bottom shoulder to separate ice and keep it apart.
These devices and series pusher tugs together enable to make
an ice channel with smooth edges and little brash ice in it.
These ice breaking trains are capable to cut and make wider
ice channels in level solid ice, move through hummocky
areas of a storage basin and up a river, assist transport
vessels or take them out when they are tra,pped in ice. Some
experience has been gained to maintain an ice channel in a
storage basin throug hout the whole winter period.
Full-scale trials and field tests were carried out in
March 1982-1983 involving trains of LLP-I8 and icebreakers
type "Captain Chec hkin", II 05 design (Fig. I).
The results of speed measurements of' an icebreaking
train are given in Fig. 2 being compared with icetransiting
ef'ficienc,Y 01' other icebreaking means. Af3 it is seen from
the figure, icebreaking train moving through an ice cover
0.5m thick has far better advantages than a single
icebreaker, design II 0 5. This is explained by the fact that

257
 Fig. I Icebreaking train composed of an icebreaker
"Captain Chechkin" type and an icebreaking­
iceremoving device LLP-I8

258
 2Q

(8 \ .,.
'6
\ "I­

~ IZ
-tV

\ "I­

\
El
..Id

..; 10

".\.
Q)
Q)
P-
Ol

P­
B
·rl

~.
.Q
CZl

6
"-.. .
'f
O~ ¢~ " ""
2
~
0.2 O.!! o. ~ 0.6 0,7 0.8
Relative ice thickness, m

- .- LLP-I8 + rr05

-x- rr05

- ¢- LLP-I8 + OT 2000

Fig. 2 Icetransiting efficiency of icebreaking

means

259
a regular breaking ice of a considerable thickness by an
icebreaking-ice removing device is carried out using less
power.
The state of a channel cut by the train bas been
considerably improved. Fig.3 shows a view of a channel cut
(a) by an icebreaker, and (b) by a train. !ill shown here, the
train cuts a channel of a steady lane I 3 .5m having even
edges with only 20-40% ice pieces of I-3m across and brash
within it, whereas the channel cut through by an icebreaker
alone bas a variable from 17 to 22m lane, sharp edges and
blocked with broken ice.
The trials also have shown that an ice removing device
denies broken ice choking up propulsion enabling its smooth
run. Vibration and noise have been lessened, improving thus
comfort in cabins and service rooms.
River cargo fleet has a large number of vessels to
operate under ice conditions. Vessels. "Sybirsky", "Ladoga",
"Containerovoz", "Sormovsky" , "Nefterudovoz", "Volgo-Balt"
and other types make regularly ice sailings. Table One gives
the particulars of the vessels mentioned, "Sybirsky" type
being of higher ice sailing characteristics.
The "Sybirsky " has ice strengthened hull and propul­
s ion-rudder s ystem as to class L-2 of the Register of the
USSR. Bow ice plating is 16= thick, amidships - IImm,
bottom - 9. 0-9.5mm. Bow streamlines are those of a conventi­
onal icebreaker, stem rake-25°. Propulsion system has two
exposed ice screws of I.7m diameter and suspended strengthen­
ed rudders behind protected by ice teeth from aft. The
equipment and systems are fit to operate the vessel in
winter period.
The vessel can move continiously at speed 2 km/h in
level solid ice 0 .35m thick, in ice 0 .2-0 .25m the speed is
8-1 0 km/h, in broken ice 0 .25m thick with ice compaction
8-1 0 the speed is 15 km/ h. The design strength of the vessel
enables her to move and manoeuvre in solid ice O.3-0.35m
thick fearing no damage to hull elements when there are no
ice twitches or ice jamming. The lane of a channel made in

260
 Fig • .3 Toe view of a channel

a) cut by an icebreaker

b) cut by an icebreaker togetoer wito

an icebreaking-iceremoving device
LLP-I8

261
f\:l
Ol
f\:l

Tabl e One
- - ---
DesiTn No., o.a.dim~n~lonaL-moyld~d Power PrOaU.lSiOn
Vesee Type ru - ..er Speed ~n
Length Breadth Draft, kW system Cl<.ia.c w&.ter
loaded loadea

kmdl

292 Expozed
"Sybirsky" 124.0 15.4 2.5 1323 screws,ruddere 20.1
613 Expozed
"Baltiysky_100" 95.0 13.22 3.6 1280 screws,ruddere 23.1
289 Expozed
"Ladoga" 81 .11 11 .95 3.5 1279 screws,rudders 22.5
326 Expozed
"Containerovoz" 82.0 11. 8 2.97 882 screws, Enkel 19.6
rudders
1557
"Sormovsky" 110.5 13.0 3.5 970 Nozzle screws, 19.8
middle rudders
--
1570 Nozzle screws,
"Nefterudovoz" 115.41 13.0 3.54 970 middle rudder 20.3
solid ice O.35m thick is I6-I8m. 'l'he greater mass of ice
broken up is pushed under channel edges thus providing for
broken ice compaction not more than six.
,essels "Baltijsky", 613 design and "SybirslG''' types
have high ice breaking qualities, increased power and
stronger hull as well as exposed screws. All this makes it
possible to operate them in ice O.4~O.5m thick and at -25°C
air temperature. Other cargo vessels of higher ice breaking
performance are "Ladoga" and "Containerovoz" types. botor­
vessels 781, 791, 1557, 1 553 design can be in service with
ice O.3-0 .4m thick provided that there is icebreaker's help
and air temperature not less than down to I2 oC. High ice
performance is shown by loaded vessels having exposed screws
and rudders. ~et nozzles are often choked up with brash and
broken icelets resulting in less frequency of revolution and
propeller thrust.
Ship mechanisms and machinery reveal low performance
in ice conditions and under negative air temperatures. Ice
damages often occur, every second case of repair being to
hull, every third case - to propulSion rudder system. 'l'here
are also troubles in operating hatch cover gear, stearing,
anchoring and mooring gear too. '/later freezes in pipelines
laid on deck or through no warmed up rooms, in fireman and
ballast~pumping systems; ballast tanks freeze and their air

lines are ice choked. Outside water boxes are often ice
blocked caUSing troubles in engine cooling system.#ith air
temperatures -I2 oC and down living conditions in cabins and
service rooms become harder.
To make ice performance of cargo fleet higher
the planned work is in progress to strengthen and re-equip
vessels in operation and add ice class vessels ("Sybirsky"
type etc.) to the existing fleet.
To integrate cargo movement measures have been taken
to ensure ports' running under ice conditions and negative
air temperatures. Land vehicles most fit for this work are
in wide use for handling cargo. Portal and gantry cranes,

263
overhanging reloaders can handle cargo under air temperature
down to -35 0 -~OoC with minor changes in mode of operation.
'r he cargoes mostly handled are those of river bed recovery:
gravel and sand mL~ure, sand. This entails improving port
recovery facilities: installation of heaters and heat-blow­
ers to feed hot air onto conveyors, heat insulation of
engine rooms and parts of pipelines etc. Shore stores keep
desiccated gravel and gravel-sand mixtures in stock promot­
ing better use of transport fleet in late autumn period.
Icebreakers and icebreaking tugs help cargo vessels in
mooring operations. The research is in progress and designs
are being developed to keep port water areas at quays ice
free, to fight ice formation on quay walls, to improve ship
maintenance in ports (bunkering and cleaning service, stores
and supply depots etc.).
Ice navigation through locks necessitates measures to
ensure trouble free operation of locks under negative air
temperatures and ice in lock areas. Lock eqUipment has been
fit with air-bubblers to remove ice from upper and lower
gates, to warm up (using induction and oil systems) gate
sealings, surfaces, chains etc. Measures have been also
taken with the view to varying lock filling cycle, dead­
water level in a lock chamber, taking ice through etc. Such
work in all lock systems of major waterways has resulted in
an experience gained so that since 1975 we have been able to
predict the start and the end of hydrostructures' operation
period. The Volga-Baltic waterway locks, for instance, are
in the run for forty-forty five days under ice conditions.
Improvement of navigational aids involves bettering
the existing beacons and adding more fairway beacons,
errecting stonebased lightstructures in storage basins,
making special buoys. Icebreaking vessels and cargo vessels
have up-to-date navigational instruments, radars with video
map plates, good flare up flashes etc.
Ice navigation management has a number of particulars
due to hydrometeorological factors and is effected by
special Traffic Control bodies. All work is coordinated by

264
a Central Control Group of the Ministry of River Fleet on
extending navigation, in water basins this is done by Water
Basin Control Groups on extending navigation.
Cargo traffic scheme is worked out with reference to
special programmes of Central Control Group approved of by
the latter tb.ree-four months before ice navigation. These
programmes envisage measures to get ice breaking, cargo and
auxiliary fleet, as well as ports, ice routes, locks ready
for service. Steamship Lines on account of the approved
programmes with special reference to ice phenomena forecast­
ing start to detail them with the view to their realization.
Ice breaking assistance has found its due considera­
tion in the programmes and plans mentioned here. Icebreaker~
icebreaking vessels and trains are assigned their route
areas to operate within them, providing seasonal ice break­
ing assistance. In autumn and winter their primary task is
to deny ice difficulties and to maintain cargo vessel
traffic, its convoying through ice jams and frazil accumula­
tion areas, taking transport fleet to its planned anchorages
in winter period. In sprmng ice breaking assistance involves
breaking up of ice in the river reaches and storage basins'
areas, getting waterways ready for transport vessels and
cargo movement, towing convoys and vessels, re-grouping
icebreaking means to assist in adjacent areas, if required.
During ice navigation the Traffic Control System is
reinforced by appointing a head to supervise cargo fleet
traffic in complicated reaches of a waterway, and a head to
supervise ice breaking operations, proper fleet movement,
its safety, and to provide ships and Water Basin Traffic
Control Groups with hydrometeorological information.
Due to efforts on extending navigation the cargo
traffic period and its volume has been growing from year
to year. For the five years of 1976-1980 the service period
of self-propelled cargo fleet was twelve-thirteen days
extended and in the Volga basin it was 230 days. As for the
annual cargo volume, it exceeded 15 mln tons owing to the

265
extended navigation.
Together with the above-mentioned ice navigation
provides for absolute extension of clear water period, being
fourteen days in some reaches of waterways, as well as
better use of clear water period for cargo traffic by the
whole of a fleet under ice service in spring and in autumn.
In addition, powerful icebreakers are a good guarantee that
transport fleet can be taken to their winter anchorages
even in hard ice conditions and this enables us to be
positive in planning cargo traffic in late autumn.
The experience gained and the researches have shown
tnat the trend in ice navigation outlook is cargo traffic
within technically justified terms of an early spring and
late autumn periods. Determining and providing for guarante­
ed terms of ice navigation still remains an important
problem. Together with this winter cargo traffic will be
effected to gain more experience on some service lines of
limited distance that have a considerable throughput and
better hydrometeorological conditions.

2~
 lAHR Ice Symposium 1984
Hamhurg

GREAT LAKES LIMITED SEASON EXTENSION OPERATION

OF SAULT STE. MARIE LOCKS, MICHIGAN, U.S.A.

Colonel Raymond T. Beurket, Jr. Corps of Engineers U.S.A.

District Engineer Detroit District
Department of the Army

Carl Argiroff Corps of Engineers U.S.A.

Chief, Planning Division Detroit District
Department of the Army

ARSTRACT
The 2,000 km Great Lakes and 1,700 km St. Lawrence River navigation
corridor is the world's largest freshwater system. The U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers has implemented a winter season extension operation program
for vessels passing through its upper Great Lakes locks at Sault Ste.
Marie, Michigan, to meet the needs of commerce.

A 1979 environmental decision document supports the current

operation of the locks to 8 January.:!:. 1 week, an extension of the
historic closing on 15 December. Studies are now underway to determine
the environmental impact of further extension of lock operations to 31
January.:!:. 2 weeks.

This paper details the criteria used in establishing operations to

8 January.:!:. 1 week, and the criteria for closing of the locks dependent
upon ice and weather conditions. The closing criteria were used in 1984
for early closing of the locks.

In addition, this paper presents discussions on field monitoring

and data collection, studies and model testing (mathematical) to predict
impacts on the environment. Also presented is a discussion on efforts
to identify closing criteria which - may apply to a 31 January closing
date. These activities are underway prior to making a decision to
operate to 31 January.:!:. 2 weeks.

201
I\)

8l
GREAT LAKES - ST. LAWRENCE SEAWAY
"~~ "J)
' ~O~l dtfY --"---~
~.,.,., .~~ ""
' < '---'--"

Lake
supenOr " =
" ~
- N-
p ~~c
_ Ocean

'~7 ~ Q"••• , f~r

CANADA

Q/
"'t
IIJ
-.J 8t. Clair BI...r
i Lake 8t. Clair

Chicago
Detroit River

Scale (km)

UNITED STATES o 160

Figure 1
 TEXT

BACKGROUND

The Great Lakes-S t. Lawrence Seaway commercial navigation system

has traditionally operated on an 8-1/2 month season. Navigation is
restricted in the winter by adverse ice and weather conditions. This
restriction results in the closing of the U.S. Soo Locks at Sault Ste.
Marie, MiChigan, prohibiting shipments to and from Lake Superior, and
the closing of the St. Lawrence Seaway Locks. Ocean-going vessels are
thereby precluded direct access to mid-continent North America markets
(Figure 1). The Soo locks are located in the St. Marys River and are
operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Figure 2). The Seaway
Locks are operated by the Canadian St. Lawrence Seaway Authority and the
U. S. St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation. A multi-agency winter
navigation program, from 1967 through 1979, investigated the feasibility
of extending the navigation season and was discussed in papers published
for the 1974, 1975 and 1981 IAHR Ice Symposiums.
LIMITED SEASON EXTENSION TO 8 JANUARY + 1 WEEK
The Corps of Engineers has extended the navigation season under its
operation and maintenance authority. A Corps staff study on navigation
through the St. Marys River beyond 15 December was completed in May
1979. It used as its foundation the studies, demonstrations, and
information compiled during the 12-year winter navigation program. The
study concluded that economically feasible solutions had been found to
mitigate observed and measurable adverse effects. The study recommended
season extension to 8 January with possible adjustments of ~ 1 week to
meet the reasonable needs of U.S. and Canadian commerce.

The decision document addressing limited extension of operations at

the Soo was prepared in October 1979. This document supplements the
operation and maintenance environmental impact statement for the Soo
Locks. 1 The supplement indicates that the Corps of Engineers is
obligated by Federal regulations to respond to the reasonable demands of
cOlllDerce to operate the locks to the extent that ice and weather
conditions permit.

Alternatives evaluated in the supplement for limited season

extension included 1) remaining with 15 December closing, 2) extension
to 25 December, 3) extension to 30 December, 4) extension to 8 January ~

1 week, and 5) extension to 31 January ~ 2 weeks.

269
 I
' 4' ,

I
CANADA

MICHIGAN . ~": ONTARIO

270
 During the last decade, navigation season extension has become a
controversial issue. Because of the lack of information, some impacts
from the limited extension proposed could not be quantified. Thus, the
limited season extension plan selected was environmentally assessed
utilizing a conservative evaluation. The most feasible plan was
extension to 8 January.:!. 1 week. It calls for mitigation, early tock
closure criteria dependent upon ice and weather conditions, and an
environmental monitoring program.
MITIGATION I'EASURES
The mitigative measures (shown at Fig. 2) which are employed in the
plan selected consist of: 1) installation of the Little Rapids Cut ice
boom to retain ice outside of the Cut; 2) placement of man-made rock
islands upstream of the ice boom to prevent rotation and movement of the
ice field; 3) provision of an alternative mode of transportation for
the residents of Lime Island; and 4) utilization of a bubbler-flusher
at the Sugar Island Ferry dock to provide for ease of docking by the
ferry. The ice boom is designed with an opening within the navigation
channel. The ice boom and man-made islands have been very effective in
the reduction of ice jams in the St. Marys River "cut" thereby
minimizing the possibility of flooding, power generation loss, and
inability of the Sugar Island Ferry to operate.
EARLY CLOSING CRITERIA
Using a conservative (worst case) assessment, the objective in
selection of closure criteria is to minimize any impacts on the natural
environment by limiting impacts to the measurable physical
environment. The assumption is that environmental impacts result from
physical impacts due to ships encountering difficulty in navigation.

The guidelines used for selecting lock closing factors include:

(a) the use of parameters that are generally recognizable, universally
available, and approach real time availability; (b) development of a
forecasting approach that allows vessels to complete a trip once
started; and (c) correlation of (a) and (b) to actual physical
conditions. As a result, closure of navigation before 15 January would
be after consideration of the factors stated below:

(1) Insufficient U.S. and Canadian traffic, and

(2) Development of navigationally significant ice (ships

encountering difficul ty in navigation) and hence environmentally

271

.
----.------------­
_.
 detrimental ice, evidenced by the simultaneous occurrence of:

i-Mature ice shore to shore on Lake Nicolet;

ii - The observed accumulation of Freezing Degree Days (FDD)

at 550 or greater as measured at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan; and

iii - The seveh day forecast of accumulation of FDD at an

additional 100 or more.

Lake Nicolet was selected by the Corps of Engineers in conjunction

with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as representative of the entire
St. Marys River system to equate significant environmental adverse
effects resulting from physical impacts due to ships encountering
difficulty in navigation. The ice in Lake Nicolet was used as the
physical standard for mature ice. Mature ice is a subjective term at
best. From a visual perspective, mature ice occurs when there is a
total and continuous fixed ice field for three consecutive days with no
obvious areas or pools of open water.

The factors cited for (2)11 were arrived at upon reviewing ice
forecasting techniques developed for the Great Lakes. As stated in a
Technical Memorandum, by C. Robert Snider 2 "There is a useful
correlation between the accumulation of freezing degree days (FDD) and
the formation of ice...... The typical FDD accumulation for the
appearance of navigationally significant ice in the St. Marys River is
noted in the memorandum as 650 FDD accumulated at Sault Ste. Marie,
Michigan. A freezing degree day is defined as a negative departure of
mean daily air temperature of one degree from 32 degrees Fahrenheit.

Next, investigations of winter vessel transit times indicate that

six to seven days are required for a vessel to leave a port in Lake Erie
and travel to an upper Lake Superior port, load, and travel to DeTour,
the downstream end of the St. Marys River. Thus, a seven-day forecast
was selected to provide vessel operators sufficient time to stop
scheduled trips through the Soo Locks. In late December and through
mid-January, the FDD normally accumulates at the rate of 10 to 20 per
day. Thus, values of 550 FDD minimum and a forecast of 100 FDD within
seven days was adopted for the closure announcement, so that navigation
can stop at approximately 650 FDD.

272
 Finally, an analysis of actual ice conditions in the St. Marys
River system was undertaken for the 11 winter seasons, 1968-1979. The
record of these observations consist of: aerial photographs, time-lapse
movies of ice conditions, water level hydrographs, ice thickness
measurements, and satellite imagery. Data from the most severe and
least severe winter were deleted from the data base. Conditions from
the remaining nine winters were averaged to obtain "typical winter"
data. For the "typical winter," 650 FDD is reached on 8 January. The
standard deviation was calculated to be ~ 7 days, resulting in a closure
date of 8 January ~ 1 week, dependent upon ice and weather conditions.
MONITORING AND DATA COLLECTION
Extended operations to 8 January ~ 1 week would have no known
direct, long-term, significant adverse environmental effect. However,
sufficient information does not exist to provide confidence that subtle
cumulative impacts will not occur, resulting in long-term, major adverse
effects. For this reason, the studies and monitoring efforts,
references 3 through 9, have been completed or are underway, and are
presently being reviewed prior to the Corps evaluation of total impacts.
APPLICATION OF CLOSING CRITERIA
The Corps of Engineers announced Soo Lock closing dates beyond 15
December for the last five years under normal operating authority.
During the first four seasons, the Soo Locks were closed to traffic on
15 January 1980,31 December 1980,31 December 1981, and 27 December
1982. The closures before 15 January were driven by lack of vessel
traffic. This season the U.S. and Canadian shippers requested the locks
remain open through 15 January 1984. In 1983, the upper Great Lakes
experienced the third coldest December since 1900. On 25 December 550
FDD was reached. Mature ice was observed on 26 December. A notice to
mariners was issued on 26 December and the Soo Locks were closed to
traffic on 1 January 1984, at 2400 hOurs. Industry still had a need to
continue shipping, but concern over potential impacts prompted the
decision to close the locks. There were no observed adverse
environmental impacts.
LIMITED SEASON EXTENSION TO 31 JANUARY ~ 2 WEEKS

U.S. and Canadian shippers have requested that the Soo Locks remain
open annually to 31 January ~ 2 weeks dependent upon weather and ice
conditions. This request was based on a 1977 report prepared by the

273
 Corps of Engineers under the multi-agency program mentioned earlier in
this text. This report addresses keeping the Soo Locks open until 31
January.:!. 2 weeks. To extend the season beyond 8 January.:!. 1 week,
however, requires additional environmental documentation.
ENVIRON~NTAL STUDIES
Potential impacts of winter navigation are due to physical
disturbances created by vessels traveling in ice. They range from
negligible in the lakes to potentially major impacts in restricted
channels. Potential impacts are physical (ice scour, erosion, etc.).
biological (fish spawning, etc.), and social (recreation, etc.).

Each environmental study is designed to provide baseline

information to be used to identify both surmised and actual impacts of
an extended navigation season. Surmised impacts will be identified
using data obtained during each study and relating these data to changes
in the environment resulting from wintertime vessel movements.
Environmental studies on the St. Marys River System and the St. Clair ­
Detroit Rivers System which are underway to identify the potential
impact of navigation to 31 January.:!. 2 weeks, include: 1) under ice
current monitoring; 2) baseline data collection including
physical/chemical parameters dissolved oxygen, - pH, temperature,
turbidity, dissolved solids, alkalinity, sedimentation rates and
sediment quality -- and biological parameters - macroyphytes (plants),
macroinvertebrates (mussels, worms, etc.), ichthyoplankton (larval
fish) , and juvenile and adul t fish (populations, movements, and
distribution); 3) oil spill probability studies; and 4) an oil spill
distribution model. The last two items mentioned are essential to
answer critical questions on potential impacts of oil and hazardous
substance spills.

The study objective of the oil spill probability study was to

obtain estimates of: (1) the numerical probability of a spill
occurring on the subject rivers, and (2) the probable type and
magnitude (volume or weight) of any such spill which may occur. The
studies concluded that the prObability of a spill resulting from a
vessel accident in either the St. Clair-Detroit Rivers System or the St.
Marys River/Whitefish Bay area is low.

The next step is the development of a two-dimensional mathematical

model to predict the dispersal pattern and rate for a potential

274
oil/hazardous substance spill under any condition that may exist during
navigation from 1 April to 15 February on the St. Marys River and the
St. Clair-Detroit Rivers System.
NEED FOR a..OSING CRITERIA
An important question also currently being analyzed is the
establishment of closing criteria for season extension to 31 January ~ 2
weeks. The closing criteria for 8 January ~ 1 week; Le., freezing
degree days and ice formation, implicitly equate navigation difficulty
with unacceptable and unmitigable environmental damage. The reason for
extensive environmental analysis on potential impacts for all early
winter situations in which vessels can operate, is to determine if this
relationship does in fact exist for any periods of time prior to 31
January. Once monitoring of the operation to 8 January ~ 1 week is
carried on for a sufficient time, say 4-6 years, to be able to
comprehensively assess that no negative cumulation impacts are
occurring, the closing criteria can be revised and an average winter
target date accepted based on reasonable operating capability.
Reasonable is defined as shipping operations with minimal icebreaking
assistance, not using excess propeller and bow thruster power, and
limiting vessel speed to that which minimizes shore erosion and ice
cover disturbance. Whether this approach can be proven scientifically
remains to be answered. Even if the scientific assessment is favorable,
social and insti tutional acceptance must also be met. If, however,
environmental effects are shown to be damaging, and assuming ice and
weather conditions are not sufficient to prohibit navigation, closing
criteria must be establiShed. Establishment of these criteria will be a
major challenge in the next few years.

In summary, the Corps of Engineers is proceeding with environmental

data collection and review necessary to extend the season to 31 January
~ 2 weeks. The completion of the work is scheduled for 1987 to allow
for a possible extension of the season in 1988.

275

- -
 REFERENCES
1. Final Supplement to the Operation and Maintenance Environmental
Impact Statement for the Federal Facilities at Sault Ste. Marie,
Michigan, Addressing Limited Season Extension of Operation, U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit, Michigan, October 1979.

2. Snider, C.R., July 1974. "Great Lakes Ice Forecasting." National

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Technical Memorandum
Nifl OSD 1.

3. Fish and Wildlife Coordination.

Greenwood, R.H. 1983. Survey of macrobenthos of the upper St. Marys
River. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Ecological
Services, East Lansing, MI. 32 pp.

4. WIN Effects-Raptors & Waterfowl - St. Marys R.

Robinson, W.L. and T.W. Jensen, 1980. Effects of winter navigation
on waterfowl and raptors in the St. Marys River area. Northern
Michigan University, Department of Biology, Marquette, MI. 102 pp.

5. WIN Effects - Mammals - St. Marys River.

RObinson W.L., and M.L. Amacher, 1982. 1981-82 Supplemental Report
- Potential effects of winter navigation on movements of large land
mammals in eastern Lake Superior and St. Marys River area. Northern
Michigan University, Department of Biology, Marquette, MI. FWS/OBS
- 80/61.2. 60 pp.

6. Whitefish & Herring Spawning GroundS.

Behmer, D.J., G.R. Gleason, and T. Gorenflo. Identification and
evaluation of lake whitefish and herring spawning grounds in the St.
Marys River area. Lake Superior State College, Department of
Biology and Chemistry, Sault Ste. Marie, MI. 29 pp. .

7. Open Water Current Study.

a. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, Great Lakes
Hydraulics and Hydrology Branch. Detroit River aerial drogue survey
and mean velocity distribution study. 20 pp.

b. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, Great Lakes

Hydraulics and Hydrology Branch. St. Clair River aerial drogue
survey - surface velocities and directions, spring of 1982. 36 pp.'

8. Oil Spill Distribution Study - St. Clair/Detroit River.

Schulze, R.H., and M. Horne. 1982. Probability of hazardous
substance spills on St. Clair/Detroit Rivers system. ARCTEC, Inc.,
Columbia, Maryland. 128 pp.

9. Oil Spill PrObability Study - St. Marys River.

Schulze, R.H., G. Wohl, and L. Wallendorf. 1982. Probability of
hazardous substance spills on St. Marys River. ARCTEC, Inc.,
Columbia, Maryland. 95 pp.

276
 IAHR Ice Symposium 1984

Hamburg

SHIP-HULL MOTION THROUGH BRASH ICE

Takamune Kitazawa Hitachi losen Japan

Research Engineer Co rpo rat ion

Robert Ettema Iowa Institute of USA

Research Engineer Hydraulic Research
The University of Iowa

Abstract
A three-meter long, model hull of a tanker ship with simpl ified bow
shapes was towed through a s i mu 1ated brash ice channel in the mode l-i ce
towing tank of the Iowa Institute of Hydraulic Research (IIHR). The study
was di rected to invest i gate res i stance forces encountered by commerc i a 1
ships, with hulls characterized by a long parallel part, transitting brash
ice channels. The model hull was structurally divided into a bow portion
and an aft portion, which were coupled and instrumented so that resistance
forces exerted on the bow as well as the total towing force could be
measured. Two bow forms were used; a wedge bow and a simplified
icebreaker bow. From the · results of the experiments it is shown that
resi stance to hu 11 mot i on through brash ice may cons i st of the fo 11 owi ng
components: bow resistance due to internal friction and accumUlation of
brash ice; bow resistance due to submergence of brash ice; bow resistance
due to momentum exchange between hull and brash ice; parallel-part
resistance due to friction between hull and brash ice; stern thrust due to
ascension of brash ice at the hull's stern; and open-water resistance.
The ratio of each component to the total resistance depends on bow shape,
hull speed, brash-ice characteristics and channel dimensions.

277
Introduction
Frequently transitted navigation channels and ship berthing areas 1n
ice-bound waterways may often become filled with brash ice, which is
primarily composed of ice rubble broken and accumulated from ice covers
intermittently grown between ship transits. Brash ice is usually defined
(e.g., Mellor 1980) as ice rubble with a maximum length dimension less
than about 2m. Hull motion through brash ice is a major concern to
designers and operators of commercial ships with limited ice breaking
capability that must routinely transit ice-bound waterways.
The character of resistance to motion encountered by a hull moving
through brash ice significantly differs from that encountered by a hull
moving through either open-water or a level ice sheet. Scant attention
has, however, been given to studying resistance to hull motion through
brash ice with only a few studies (e.g., Levine et al. 1974, Mellor 1980,
Greisman 1981) having been undertaken.
Presented here are the results of an experimental study of ship hull
mot i on through brash ice. The obj ect i ves of the study were: to relate
brash-ice resistance to hull sp·e ed, bow form and the geometry of a brash­
ice channel, and to examine the effect of hull transit on the disposition
of brash ice within a channel.

Experiments
Experiments were conducted using I1HR's 20 m x 5 m x 1.3-m deep
model-ice towing tank, with urea ice, grown from a 1% by weight urea
solution, as the model ice. A 1:40-scale model of a small oil tanker
vessel, 116 m long, 18 m in beam and 6.8 m in draft, with two inter­
changeable bow forms was used as the test hull.
The two bow forms, a simple wedge and an ideal ized icebreaker bow,
enabled some effects of bow form on resistance to hull motion to be
examined. The water-line entrance angle of both bows was 30 degrees and
the stem inclination angle of the icebreaker bow was 30 degrees. Each
bow, separated at square station 7, was coupled via two moderately
flexible plates to two beams cantilevered from the hull's after body,
hereafter called the aft portion. A load cell was positioned between the
bow and aft portions of the hull to facil itate bow force measurement.
Towi ng force was determi ned us i ng the dynamometer coup 1 i ng between the
hull and the tank's motorized carriage. Two linear displacement
potentiometers were mounted on the hull to record its pitch and heave

278
 displacements. The model hull with the idealized icebreaker bow is
depicted in Fig. 1. All the transducers were data logged using a
computer.
The 1ayout of
the brash ice chan­
nel is shown in
Fig. 2. The chan­
nel was formed by
two sidewalls sus­
pended from float­
ing wooden panels,
which simulated ice
sheet. The brash
ice was prepared by
Fig. 1. Icebreaker-bow hull in the brash ice
channel dicing a 0.03-m
thick urea ice
sheet (1.2 m proto­
type thickness)
grown prior to each
test series. The
urea ice fragments
were mustered in
the channel and
Fig. 2. Layout of the brash ice channel groomed into a
layer having a uni­
form, prototype thickness of either 0.30, 0.45, 0.60 or 0.90 times the
hull's draft. The brash ice fragments were not frozen to one another.
Ten test series were conducted; four using the wedge-bow hull and six
using the icebreaker-bow hull. For each test series, channel width and
brash ice layer thickness were kept constant and several transits were
made with the hull moving with a constant prototype speed in the range of
1 to 13 knots. After each hull transit, the dimensions of the open-water
track left by the hull were measured, then the brash ice layer was re­
. groomed to its original condition. The porosity of the brash ice layer
was typically about 0.46, and the average prototype diameter of the ice
fragments was slightly less than about 2 m.

279
Presentation of Results
The tempora 1 mean values of the res i stance forces act i ng on the whole
hull and its bow portion alone are presented in Figs 3a,b and 4a,b for the
wedge-bow hull and the icebreaker-bow hull, respectively. For both
figures, channel width to hull beam ratio (W/B) was 3.0.

70
TOTAL RE SISTANCE

60 60
TOTAL RESISTANCE
BRASH ICE
Z 50 50
ICE

'"ua:: 40
~
40
...0 '"ua:
'"uz 0
"­
<t 30 30
>­
~
'"uz
V> <t
W >­
V>
a: 20 20
Vi
/
/ '"
a::
0.0"."
10
10 OPEN WATER
~'" "" '" OPEN WATER
~------
---
0 .00

0
0.0 0 .2 0.4
---
0.6
-~~

0.8 1.0 1.2

0
0.0 0.2 0.4
----
0 .6 0.8 1.0 1.2
MODEL SPEED (m I .) MODEL SPEED (m/o)
(a) Total resistance (a) Total resistance

60
BOW RES ISTANCE

50

z
40 40
'"ua:: BOW RESISTANCE

...0 30
~
30
'"uz '"ua::
<t 0
>­ u.
V>
Vi 20 20
'"u
'"
II:
Z
<t
>­
~ 10
10 0 .0 ~
V>
,'"
--- --- --
OPEN WATER
" '"a: 0 .00
0 0
-----------
00 0.2 04 0.6 0 .8 1.0 1.2 0 .0 0.2 0.4 0 .6 O.B 1.0 1.2
MODEL SPEED (m/o) MODEL SPEED (mI.)
(b) Bow resistance (b) Bow resistance
Fig. 3. Brash ice resistance Fig. 4. Brash i ce resistance
(wedge-bow hull) (icebreaker-bow hull)

280
 The tempo.ra 1 mean values o.f the resistance fo.rces experi enced by the
wedge-bo.w hull and the icebreaker-bo.w hull are plo.tted in Figs 5 and 6,
respectively, as functio.ns o.f HId and hull speed V, fo.r WIB = 3.0. The
wi dth o.f each o.pen-water track 1eft in the wake o.f the wedge-bow hu 11 is
plo.tted in Fig. 7. Open-water tracks were o.bserved no.t to.o.ccur during
transits o.f the icebreaker bow thro.ugh the channel.

To.TAL RESISTANCE
50.
60. Mo.DEL SPEED. v' 1.0. mi. To.TAL RESISTANCE

40.
~
/0..7
<oJ
U
Q:
'"ua:
0
IL
3D /~
o
'"z
'~O'
IL
u

/~o,
'"
U <! 20.
Z
~
If)
>-­
If)
iii

iii '" I,'

, ,', .
Q:
10.
'"
Q:
1/

,,~

1/

0..~L-L-L-~L-~~~~L-L-~
0..0. 0..2 0..4 0..6 0..6 1.0. 1.2
BRASH ICE THICKNESS (Hid)

Fig. 6. Brash ice resistance

(icebreaker-bo.w hull )
0..0. 0..2 0..4 0..6 0.. 6 1.0. 1.2
BRASH ICE THICKNESS (Hid)

Fig. 5. Brash ice resistance

(wedge-bo.w hull) To.TAL RESI STANCE

50.

~
'" 40.
u
~ 0.9 Q:
o
I IL
~ '" 3D
u
! 0..8 ...z>-­
I
ti ~ 20.
~
'" 0..7
u
'"a:
<!
a: 10.
>-­
0..6
0.~~__~~~~L-L-~~~
0..0. 0..2 0..4 0..6 0..8 1.0. 1.2 0..0. 0..2 0..4 0..6 0.8 1.0. 1.2
Mo.DEL SPEED (mi.) Mo.DEL SPEED (mi.)

Fig. 7. Width o.f o.pen-water track Fig. 8. Brash ice resistance

(wedge-bo.w hull) (Hid = 0.45)

281
Discussion of Results
Brash ice resistance is approximately proportional to the thickness
of the brash ice layer for hull speeds above a certain critical speed as
shown in Figs. 5 and 6. This critical speed depends on bow form and char­
acteristics and dimensions of the brash ice layer. Below this critical
speed, the relationship between brash ice resistance and brash ice
thickness is complex, especially for the wedge bow.
Depicted in Fig. 8 are the characteristic relationships between resi­
stance force and hull speed for the model hull with both the wedge and the
icebreaker bow forms. It is apparent from Fig. 8 that a marked difference
exists in the velocity resistance relationship for the two bow forms.
This difference can be explained in terms of dO
ifferences in brash ice
movement around each bow form and, consequently, differences in the en­
semble of resistance components for each bow form, particularly for rela­
tively low speeds. For the higher speeds, the brash ice behaved more as a
viscous fluid when transitted by the hull with either bow form.
It was observed that the wedge bow pushed brash ice sideways and left
an open-water track in its wake. Additionally, for low speeds, brash ice
accumulated intermittently ahead of the wedge bow. The icebreaker bow, on
the other hand, submerged brash ice beneath the hull without otherwise
greatly disturbing its disposition in the channel, and did not leave an
open-water track in its wake. Furthermore, no significant accumulation of
brash ice was observed to form ahead of the icebreaker bow.

Resistance Components for the Wedge-Bow Hull

The total resistance to motion of the wedge-bow hull through brash
ice can be divided into the following four components:

1. Bow resistance due to internal friction and accumUlation of

brash ice.
2. Bow res i stance due to momentum exchange between hull and brash
ice.
3. Parallel-part resistance due to friction between hull and brash
ice.
4. Open-water resistance.

282
 ~ ~o
w
li! 40
o
II. 30
w
u
~ 20
l­
II)
II) 10
w
« 0~+-~-+--~~-+~--+-~-+--+-4--+--~
-10 '-_'_--'-___'___
'--~___'_.......J _ _'___'____'___+___'______'__ _'----..J

o 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

ELAPSED TIME (sec)
Fig. 9. Time history of resistance forces
(wedge-bow hull, Hid = 0.45, V = 0.085 m/s)

The resistance due to internal friction and accumulation of brash ice

decreases as the hull speed increases. This can be attributed to both the
ve I oc i ty-dependent strength character of brash ice (Meri no 1974), and the
interact i on of the brash ice I ayer and the bow wave. In some cases, as
shown in Fig. 9, records of resistance forces experienced by the hull show
regular, cyclic loading of the hull due to repetitive accumulation and
collapse of brash ice around the bow. Further analysis is required to
more fully explain the unsteady nature of brash ice loading.
Another bow resistance component is the resistance due to momentum
exchange between the hull and displaced brash ice. This resistance compo­
nent increases with hull speed and is the dominant resistance component
for high speed hull motion during which the brash ice layer acts like a
fluid. As shown in Fig. 10, bow resistance due to the presence of brash
ice can be divided into components (1) and (2) of the above list by
assuming that the component (2) is proportional to v3/2 • The resistance
associated with brash ice was determined by subtracting open-water
resistance component from the total resistance to hull motion.
The aft resistance is primarily due to friction between the hull and
brash ice along the hull's long parallel part. This resistance is only
mildly velocity-dependent, as illustrated in Fig. 11. Therefore, the
friction seems coulombic in nature.
Open-water resistance to hull motion is not discussed here, except to
note that at the higher speeds it is of comparable magnitude to the other
components, as depicted in the plot of resistance components, Fig. 12.

283
 - 30.~~~~~~-.-.-.-.-.-r~
!O AFT RES ISTANCE
'"ua::
~ ...
o 20.

'"a:
u ~ Hid: 0. 90 0 .45
...o ~Io.~
'"uz ~ o.LL-.L-J--'--'-....I.......I...--'----'---'----'---''-­
:!
III

0..0. 0..2 0..4 0..6 0..8 1.0. 1.2

III
Mo.DEL SPEED (m/s)
'"a: 10. Fig . 11. Bra s h ice resi s tance

( wedge-bo.w hull)

0.0.0. 0..2 0..4 0..6 0..8

Mo.DEL SPEED (m / s)
10. 1.2
'"uz
« 0..8
1.0 ,
­ --
f-
Fi g. 10. Brash ice resi s tan c e III
iii
(wedge-baw hull ) Bo.W
'"
a:: 0..6
.J

g 0..4
f­
o
~ 0..2 AFT PARALLEL-PART FRICTlo.N
25 ~
~ a:: o·~.o 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1. 2
MaDEL SPEED (m/sl
'"a:u 20. I I I ' I , I I

...
0 0..0.0. 0..0.4 0..0.8
FRo.UDE NUMBER,
o.J 2 o. J 6
vl.j9 LWL
0..20. 0..24

'"uz
«
f-
Fig. 12. Rati o a f r es ista n c e co.mponents
III
iii
( wedge-b aw hull ,Hid 0.45) =
'"
a::
10.
~ o.PEN-W4TER
0.. 8 o~~
0.0..0. 0..2 0..4 0..6 0..8 1.0. 1.2 '"uz __ ~~u'"
« 0..6 -­ ~.f'('
Fi g.
Mo.DEL SPEED (m/ s)
13. Brash
f-
III
iii
'"zU ICE S(;BI./
-,
'-__---­"'.q~___G"
i c e resi s tance «
(icebreaker-bO\~ hull ) '"
a: f­
!!'
ERGENCE -­
.J
III
4T Bo.w
:!
0 '"a: 0.2
AFT
~ 15
AFT RESISTANCE
Hid' 0..90. ~+
..
a: f-
III
0..0.

-0..2
ICE ASCENSlo.N
AT STERN
-+­

:l
a::
'"uz "
f­ -0..4
0..8 1.0. 1.2
« 0..0. 0..2 0..4 0..6
f­
III Mo.DEL SPEED (mil)
iii I I I
,
'"a:: 'b.o 0..2 0..4 0..6 0..8 1.0. 1.2
0..0.0. 0..0.4 0..0.8 0..12 0..16 0.20. 0..24
FRo.UDE NUMBER , V/fiL;L
Mo.DEL SPEED (mi.)
Fig. 14. Brash ice resistance Fig. 15. Ratio. o.f resistance co.mpanents
(icebreaker-bo.w hull) (icebreaker-bo.w hull, Hid = 0.45)

284
Resistance Components for the Icebreaker-Bow Hull
The total resistance to motion of the icebreaker-bow through brash
ice can be divided into the following five components:

1. Bow resistance due to submergence of brash ice.

2. Bow resistance due to momentum exchange between hull and brash
ice.
3. Parallel-part resistance due to friction between hull and brash
ice.
4. Stern thrust (resistance reduction) due to ascension of sub­
merged brash ice from beneath hull.
5. Open-water resistance.

The resistance attributable to brash ice submergence beneath the hull

is not velocity-dependent, as indicated in Fig. 13, because it results
from the buoyancy of ice. The resi stance component due to momentum ex­
change, the velocity-dependent part of brash ice resistance at the bow.
was found to be approximately proportional to V3 / 2 • and largely indepen­
dent of brash ice layer thickness.
The aft resistance is more complicated for a hull with an icebreaker
bow than for a hull with a wedge bow because. for the former. brash ice is
submerged beneath the hull and subsequent ly ascends at the hull's stern,
thereby imparting a thrust to the hull. Aft resistance is therefore a
composite of velocity-independent, frictional resistance from which a
thrust due to brash ice ascension at the stern is subtracted. The magni­
tude of the thrust generally decreases with increasing hull speed when it
begi ns to exceed the ri se vel oc i ty of ascendi ng, buoyant brash ice. Con­
sequently. as shown in Fig. 14, aft resistance gradually increases with
hull speed until it attains an asymptotic value. An example of the
relative magnitudes of the resistance components is shown in Fig. 15.

Conclusions
The following principal conclusions were drawn from the study:

1. Brash ice resistance is approximately proportional to thickness of

brash ice layer for ship-hull speeds above a certain critical speed.
which depends on a hull's bow form and the characteristics and
dimensions of the brash ice layer. Below this critical speed. the

285
 relationship between resistance and hull speed, as well as that
between resistance and brash ice layer thickness, are both more
complex and strongly influenced by bow form.

2. Res i stance encountered by a hull movi ng through brash ice can be

descri bed in terms of the fo 11 owi ng components: bow res i stance due
to internal friction and accumulation of brash ice; bow resistance
due to brash ice submergence; bow resistance due to momentum exchange
between hull and brash ice; parallel-part resistance due to friction
between hull and brash ice; stern thrust due to brash ice ascension;
and open-water res i stance. The rat i 0 of each component to the tota I
resistance depends on bow shape, hull speed, channel dimensions; or,
simply stated, on the manner of ice movement around the hull,
especially at its bow.

For the wedge-bow hull, when brash ice layer thickness is less than
hull draft, little brash ice is submerged beneath the hull and a
thrust due to ascension of brash ice at the stern does not appear to
occur. Consequently, resistance to motion can be described in terms
of four resistance components as indicated in Fig. 12.

For the icebreaker-bow hull, no significant accumulation of brash ice

was observed ahead of the bow. Therefore, the resistance to motion
can be described in terms of five resistance components as indicated
in Fig. 15.

References

Greisman, P., 1981, "Brash Ice Behavior", Report No. CGRDC-9/81 , U.S.
Coast Guard Research and Development Center, Groton, Cn., USA.

Levine, G.H., Voelker, R.P., and Mentz, P.B., 1974, "Advances in the Deve­
lopment of COl11llerc i a I Ice-Trans it i ng Shi ps", The Soc i ety of Na va I
Architects and Marine Engineers, Annual Meeting, New York.

Mellor, M., 1980, "Ship Resistance in Thick Brash Ice", Cold Regions
Science and Technology, Vol. 3, p. 305-321, Elsevier, Netherlands.

Merino, M. 1974, "Internal Shear Strength of Floating Fragmented Ice

Covers", M.S. Thesis, The University of Iowa, Iowa City. Iowa, USA.

286
 wm Ice Symposium 1984
Hamburg

IJYNAI(IC ~ OF .AN I<EfiEAKm BtIlL

Andreas Mueller Swiss Federal Institute Switzerland

Research Scientist of Technology, Zurich

Robert Ettena Iowa Institute USA

Research Engineer of Hydraulic Research,
The University of Iowa

Abstract

The kinetic equations of !lX)tion of a 1 : 48-scale rrodel hull of the

USCGC icebreaker ship "Polar Star" were used to infer : the vertical
canponents of ice forces exerted against the hull; the hull's vertical
inertia force canponents; and, the hUll's buoyancy and pitching manents.
As a Simplified but reasonable approximation, it was found that the
dynamic behavior of an icebreaker hull moving at constant speed Va through
a level ice sheet, of characteristic length i c' can be considered as a
forced oscUlation of frequency Vo/i c' This was the principal frequency
of the ice force cycle experienced by the hull. When Vo/i c is related to
a hull's natural frequencies of pitching and heaving, which for the rrodel
hull were found to be approximately the same value, fa, the resulting
parameter can be used to categorize the hull's mode of ice breaking. For
relatively low speeds, Vo/foi c« 1, the force tenus related to a hull's
buoyancy are largely in equilibrium with ice forces against an exerted
hull, and the vertical inertia forces are negligible. If Vo/foi c = 1,
the hull is in a state of resonance and the buoyancy force components are
l80-degrees out of phase with the inertia force canponents, and the two
sets of forces partly canpensate for each other. At relatively high
speeds, Vo/fJc» 1, a superposition of two conditions occurs; the
vertical inertia forces canpensate the high-frequency canponents of the
ice forces against the hull, buoyancy forces are negligible, and transient
motions of the hull are stimulated at the frequency f o '

287
Introduction

An icebreaker hull lJX)ving through a level ice sheet primarily breaks

ice by applying a vertical force to the ice sheet. This force increases
until the i~ sheet fails in flexure, subsequently relaxes, then increases
until the ice sheet fails once again. The cyclic, or time-dependent,
character of ice-breaking forces interacts wi th the hull's pitch
oscillation. Therefore, in order to properly understand the dynamic
behavior of an icebreaker hull while ice breaking, it is necessary to
conSider, in addition to the horizontal forces, also the vertical forces
that the hull experiences, as well as its pitch mcment due to ice
breaking, and the changes in buoyancy and inertia that it undergoes. A
nlJllber of studies (e.g., White 1965, Enkvist 1972 and Milano 1975) have
considered these implications of hull dynamics on ice-breaking.

In the present study a 1:48-scale =del of the icebreaker ship USCGC

"Polar Star" (WAG8IO) was instrumented so that its vertical, horiwntal
and pitching motions could be monitored. This was accanplished by
recording the horizontal force imparted to the hull, the heave and pitch
motions of the hull, and the hull's vertical and angular accelerations.
Fran these data, the behavior of the vertical forces imparted to ice
sheets by a =del icebreaker hull were estimated for different hull
speeds.

Analysis of Forces and IbDents

The following simplified analysis of forces and moments exerted on an

icebreaker hull outlines the baSis for interpretation of the experimental
results. A more detailed discussion of the analySiS is given by Mueller
and Ettema (1984).

The equation for hull lJX)tion at constant velocity in the x-direction

(See Fig. 1) can be written as

(1)

When the hull is lJX)ving at constant speed, the inertia force vanishes and
the horizontal canponent Fx( t) of the ice force F( t) is in equilibrilJll
with the towing force Tx(t).

The equation for heaving motion of a hull can be written as

288
 mv z + cli. + PJ!>\,z + llBz = Fz(t) (2)
(i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v)

where ffiv = virtual mass for vertical motion; cl = damping coefficient;

P J!>A~ = the reduction of buoyancy due to the lifting of the hull a mean
elevation z above the mean water level; II Bz = a reduction in buoyancy due
to the depression of water level , and ice sheet, at the bow; Aw = the
area of the hull's water-plane; P
w
= the density of water ; and g = gravity
acceleration. The inertia term (i), the damping term (11), and the
buoyancy terms (iii) and (iv) are in equilibrium with the vertical ice
force Fz(t) , (v). The linearized equation for pitching of a hull can be
written as

(1) (11) (iii) (iv) (v)

where e = pitch angle ; Iv = virtual mass manent of inertia; Iyy = area

manent of inertia of the water-plane about the y-axis; c 2 = damping
coefficient; P v/oI yy0 and II MB = the manents attributable to buoyancy
forces , with 11MB being the manent due to water level depression at the bow
region; and, My(t) is the manent of the ice forces relative to the hull's
center of gravity.

The heaving and pitching rrotions of a hull can be analyzed as forced

oscillations with natural frequencies fh and fp ' respectively; where

1 P~\, 0.5
f =­ (--) (4)
h 211 mv
and
1 pJ!>I yy 0.5
fp = fi (-1--) (5)
v

For the "Polar Star" model, it was determined that fh and fp were both
approximately 1 Hz, and are both hereinafter referred to as f o ' The
parameters ffiv ' Iv' Aw, and Iyy are properties of the hull and were
estimated in accordance with their open-water values. The damping
coefficients, cl and c2' for ice are 4S yet unknown.

The temporal behaviors of Fz(t) and My(t) are governed by the

breaking pattern of the ice sheet. During impact with the ice sheet, the

289
hull rides onto the ice sheet until the sheet fails in flexure , and the
vertical ice force acting through the hull relaxes. The radius of the
resulting approximately circular crack through the ice sheet in the
vicinity of the hull's bow , scales with the ice sheet's characteristic
length, t c; where

E~3 0.25
( 2 1 (6)
12 pg(l-v )

and Ef : elastic modulus for flexure of the ice sheet; v : Poisson's ratio
for ice; and, h : ice sheet thickness. The term tcfVo is thus a measure
of the travel period between consecutive circular cracks. Consequently,
the time-dependent part of the forcing functions Fz(t) and My(t) can be
considered as a series of impacts of different intensities at the
preferred frequency Vo/i c. The dynamic response of the hull to ice
breaking can therefore be modeled as a superposition of a quasi-steady­
state solution oscillating at a frequency of Volt c and transient solutions
starting at strong impacts and oscillating at a frequency
of ((f2 _ c 2 )/16 n~2)0.5.
a 1 v

DYNAMOMETER

ST EM

Fig. 1: Forces and nunents acting on a towed model icebreaker hull

moving relatively rapidly through a level ice sheet.

Experiments v.ere conducted using IIHR' s 20 m x 5 m x 1.3-meter deep

model-ice towing tank and a 2.5-m long, 1 :48-scale model of the USCGC
"Polar Star". Ice sheets v.ere grown frcm a 1.3%, by v.eight, urea
solution. The area of the model hull's water plane Aw was determined to
be 0.81 m2. The area lOCfIIent of inertia, I yy ' for pitching of the hull
about the y-axis (Fig. 1) was determined to be Iyy: 0.25 ± 0.02 m4, which
corresponds to a metacentric height GM : 2.4 m. The added-mass coeffi­
cient for vertical motions of the hull was estimated using the method
formulated by 1Andweber and Macagno (1957), to be a : 1.38. The virtual

290
mass moment of inertia, Iv, was estllnated by measuring the pitch frequency
of the hull. The resonant frequency, fp' was detennined to be 1.09 Hz,
which 1s associated with a virtual mass mament of inertia, Iv = 51.5 kg
uf2., or an added-mass mcment of inertia coefficient, A = 0.55. The
coefficients, a and A, were estllnated for hull motion in open water and
are therefore, at best, lower limits for the coefficients of tbe hull when
it is moving through a level ice sheet.

The model hull was connected to a dynamcmeter supported fran the

tank's motorized carriage. Friction, in the dynamcmeter' s ball bushing
guides mildly affected the vertical motion of the model hull. A
measurement of the hysteresis of the vertical position of the hull under
zero load resulted in an uncertainty = ± 0.65 rrm in its vertical dis­
placement. This value corresponded to a vertical resistance force of
about 5N. Once static friction in the ball bushing was overcane, the
vertical resistance was much reduced to a lower value COOIJ1ensurate with
dynamic friction.

Angular and vertical accelerations of the hull were measured · using

acceleraneters mounted on its bow and stern. The resolution of each
acceleraneter W!l.S of the order of 0.01 m/sec2 • Resonant frequencies of
the accelerometers were well beyond the bandwidth of the data acquisition
system that was used for the experiments. Heave and pitch displacanents
of the hull were measured by recording, with linear vol Ulge displacEment
transducers (LVDT) , the vertical position of the hull at two positions.
The six voltages fran the dynamcmeter, the tllQ acceleraneters, the two
LVDTs and the carriage veloci ty, were scanned and logged USing a digital
voltmeter and a computer.

For each ice sheet, data were taken for an initial run of about two
hull lengths, with the hull moving at a relatively low speed of 0·.03
m/sec. Subsequently, a second run was made with hull speed set as is
indicated in the list of parameters given in Table 1. At the completion
of each run, the dimensions of the ice fragments in the channel behind the
hull were measured.

Details of the experimentation, and also of the preparation of the

ice sheets, are given by Mueller and Ettema (1984).

291
Discussion of Resu1ts
Time histories of the parameters Fx ' z, z, e and e , each mul tipl1ed
with the corresponding factors given in Eqs. 2 and 3, are shown in Figs.
2a,b, and c. It is evident fran Fig. 2 that the ratio of the frequency
Vo/i c to the natural frequency fo can be used to charact~rize the dynamic
response of the hull to ice breaking. If Vo/fotc equals unity , the
pi tching of the hull is in resonance with the frequency of ice breaking
and the inertia tenn is approximately equal to the fluctuations of the
buoyancy term, but with a lBO-degree phase shift. If Vo/fotc is
significantly less than unity--1.e., for low speeds---buoyancy forces are
in equilibrium with ice forces and inertia terms can be largely
neglected. If Vo/fot c is much greater than unity--1.e., for high speeds-­
-inertia forces becane daninant and are chiefly responsible for ice
breaking. Heave and pitch of the hull adjust to the mean forces only,
provided that there are no strong impacts which would induce a
superimposed transient solution at the resonant frequency.

The foregoing analysiS of the dynamic response of an icebreaker hull

to ice breaking does not account for a likely feedback of the hull's
motion on the ice forces, because the z-axis canponents of the ice force
and the pitching manent, FzCt) and MyCt), are both asslllled to be inde­
pendent of z(t) and aCt), respectively. However, Eqs. 1, 2 and 3 were
asslll1ed to adequately relate the tEll1poral mean values of the ice forces to
the towing forces and the two buoyancy terms. Additionally, the foregoing ·
analysis provides no information on the possible reduction in buoyancy
force A Sz and manent A MS due to the depression of an ice sheet and water
surface by a hull's bow.

At low speeds, flooding of the depressed ice sheet at the bow

caused '" Sz and", MS to be zero. At higher speeds , this was no longer true
and, as an approximation, the ship and the depressed ice sheet were
regarded as one "hull". The hydrostatic pressure exerted against the
depressed ice sheet was increased and part of this buoyancy was trans-­
mi tted by ice forces on the ship hull. The mean vertical canponent,
Fz ' of this additional ice force was interpreted as canpensating for the
reduction'" Sz of the ship's buoyancy.

The buoyancy force increment ASz can be estimated by assuming that

the ratio of the orthogonal canponents of the ice force, a = FztFx' to be
constant. Because both canponents depend on the same distribution of ice

292
 ,
• :"\
i\ I \ -
,.....
I \ ,\ ,
II
r,,' \ ,. . "'. . \
J'\
I \,! \
- 200L----L-...J.---'-----:,.L--'--__:_:',5 2 4\~~\1'0
5 0 "I 6
t (sec) \1 t ( sec)

- 20 L-___L_...l-_L-~_-'--__:_:'

o 5 '0 150 2 4 60 2 4 6
t (sec) t (sec) t (sec)
v
(0) ~ =0.13
loi c

Fig. 2: furtions of temporal records of force and moment

components experienced by the hull

)0 r....~3 0
~
I!
II<.'"
..;
u
1~
~ ~ 20 + +D' ­_ _ _ +F
0:
+c
...
0 ! ct:
~ . (~'~
UJ

'" ~ I O ~+ E

OL-~~---L~L-~--'---~
0.0 0. 2 0.4 0. 6 0.2 0 .4 0.6
HULL S PEED, Vo ' Im/ seel HULL SPEED, Vo ' 1m/ se c! HUL L S PEED, V ' Im/ secl
o

101 HORIZONTAL FORCE, F, Ibl VERTI CAL FP RCE, ~, Icl MOMENT, My' APPR OX IM ATE D
APP ROXI MATE D BY PwQ Aw,lI1
BY p"gAw1 yy fl

Fig. 3 : Temporal mean values of measured forces and moments

acting against the hull

293
pressure against the same surface area of the hull, they · can be assuned to
have the same scale. Therefore, a may be assuned to be approximately
constant. This assumption is valid provided that both the distribution of
ice pressure and the directions of ice-rubble movanent around the hull are
similar fran test to test.

Tanporal mean values of the measured forces Fx and Pvf>~z, and the
manent I yy pvf>8, are presented in Fig. 3. Values of the ratio
a ~
P vf>~z/ Fx are given in Fig. 4. For relatively low speeds, values
of a show little scatter, and have a mean value of

a(Vo = 0.03 m/sec) 1.5 ± 0.3 (7)

It is evident fran Fig. 4 that a decreased with increasing hull speed for
all the ice sheets that were tested, although it ranained wi thin the range
of values given in Eq. 7; except for the speed V = 0.6 m/sec, when the
value of a dropped to about an half (sheet F) and a third (sheet E) of the
value given in Eq. 7.

If it is assuned that a = 1.5 when Vo = 0.6 m/sec and, further, that

the characteristic plan area Al of the depressed water level is of the
order of 10 percent of Aw, it is possible to estimate the magnitudes of
the depression 11 z and the buoyancy force increnent 11 B • It follows fran
z
Eq. 7that i f F z = 1.5 Fx ' with I1B z = F z
- Pvf>Awz, = P~ Al I1Z, then the
depression 11 z of the ice sheet can be estimated as

1.5 Fx - P~~z
(8)
0.1 Awgpw

Estimated values of 11 z and 11 B are listed in Table 2. For ice sheets E

z
and F, the estimate 11 z is 0.025 m, which is in agreenent with observed
values of 11 z.

CboclusiOllB

The following principal conclusions were drawn fran the study :

1. The dynamic response of an icebreaker hull moving at constant

speed can be considered as a forced oscillation which is
characterized by the ratio Vo/fo ! c; where Vol t c is a measure of
the daninant ice force frequency, and fo is the frequency of

294
 '­

pitching and heaving of the hull. The pitching and heaving

frequencies were fO\U1d to be about the same for the 1 :48-scale
model of the "Polar Star".

2. For relatively high hull speeds, when a depressed ice sheet is

not flooded, the vertical canponent of the ice force exerted
against a hull may be partially canpensated by a decrease in the
buoyancy force experienced by the hull. For the model hull
moving at 0.6 mis, the decrease in buoyancy force was interpreted
to be approximately equivalent to half the vertical canponent of
the ice force that IIDuld have occured i f the ice sheet had
flooded.

0.00'-.0----J'--0-'..,-2-'---:0:'-.4-'---::'0.-:-6-'-~0.8
HULL SPEED, V ' (m/secl
o

Fig. 4: Ratio, Q, of ice force canponents versus hull speed

List of References

Enkvist, E., (1972), "On the Ice Resistance Encountered by Ships Operating
in the Continuous Mode of Icebreaking", Report No. 24, The Swedish
Academy of Science in Finland.

Landweber, L., Macagno, M.e., (1957), "Added Masses of Two Dimensional

Form Oscillating in a Free Surface", Journal of Ship Research.

Lecourt, E.Y., Deslaurien, p.e. (1976), "Icebreaking Model Tests of the

USCGC Polar Star", Arctec Inc., Report No. 278C-2, Arctec Inc.
Columbia, Md., USA.

Milano, V.R., (1975), "Variation of Ship/Ice Parameters on Ship Resistance

to Continuous Motion in Ice", Proc. Ice Tech 75, Paper 81, Montreal
canada.

295
Mueller, A. and Ettema, R. , (1984), "Dynamics Response of an Icebreaker
Hull to Ice Breaking" , Report No. 273, Iowa. Institute of Hydraulic
Research, The University of Iowa., Iowa City, Ia., USA.

White, R.M. , (1969) , "Prediction of Ice Breaker Capability" , Royal

Institution of Naval Architects, Britain.

Table 1. Parameters of Ice Sheets and Test Runs

Yo
Sheet h Et .I. Yo
(m) (~a) (MPa) (m') (m/sec)
T i
o c

A 0.025 23 11 0.20 0.03 0.15

0.22 1.1
B 0.021 29 6.5 0.15 0.03 0.20
0.22 1.4
C 0.023 10 4.2 0.15 0.03 0.20
0.30 2.0
D 0.023 25 6.0 0.16 0.03 0.19
0.30 1.9
E 0.022 19 3.8 0.14 0.03 0.21
0.59 4.2
F 0.023 29 8.5 0.18 0.03 0.17
0.60 3.4
G 0.032 18 8.3 0.22 0.03 0.13
0.22 1.0

Table 2. Effect of the Depression of the Water Level at the Bow

Sheet Yo Fx pAz Cl ~Bz ~z

(m/sec) (N) (N) (N) (m)

E 0.59 18.6 8.74 0.47 19.2 0.024

F 0.60 26.5 19.9 0.75 19.9 0.025

296
 WIR Ice Symposium 1984

Hamburg

ICE-M[LLING LOAD ENCOUNTERES BY

A CONTROLLABLE PITCH PROPELLER

Sa sajim a, T. Nagasaki Experimental Tank

Project Manag er Mit s ubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. Jap an

Mustamaki, E. Wart s ila Arctic research Ce ntre

Naval Architect Oy Wartsila Ab, Helsinki Shipyard Finland

Abstract

Ice-milling tests on a controllable pitch propeller, d esigned

for a large Arctic tanker were conducted by use of saline ice. Thrust
and torque fluctuation, blade bending moment and blade stress were mea­
sure d at variou s ice speed - propeller shaft speed combinations by
chnaging propeller pitch.
It was shown that the ice-mil ling loads were severer for smaller
propeller pitch than those for standard pitch. Examination was mad e on
usefulness of existing methods for estimating ice-milling torque and
blade bending moment.
Also theoretical model to explaine the ice-milling process more
in detail was proposed.

297

= --'--;-.
1. Introduction
In view of future demand of energy resources, exploration of natural
resources has been conducted in the Arctic regions during the last two
decades. These activities will be continued in future also, and in its
production stage, transportation of the products from the Arctic to indus­
trialized areas will ~e a matter of concern. A high powered large ice­
capable oil and gas carriers will be one of the powerful candidates. But,
since there are many aspects, which are beyond our experiences and predic­
tions, in designing such an ice-capable tanker, extensive basic researches
are necessary(l). Among them, design of propeller and propulsion plant
are considered to be one of the most important items to be studied, since
severe propeller - ice floe interaction can not be avoided during naviga­
tion in ice-covered water ways in Arctic. Diesel- or turbo-electric motor
driven system has been applied to most of ice breakers to avoid severe
"damage to propeller blades caused by propeller - ice floe interaction.
Recently, controllable pitch propellers (epp) were installed to some
ice-capable ships, taking into account the merit of reducing fluctu­
ating torque caused by propeller - ice floe interaction by adjustment of
propeller pitch together with controlling engine output(2). Thus, epps
are considered to be powerful candidates of propulsion system for a high
powered large Arctic tanker. Through the ice-m i lling tests of the prope­
ller with different settings of pitch, capability of epps for such an
ice-capable tanker was discussed, together with examination of useful­
ness of existing methods for estimating ice-milling torque and blade
bending moment.
In order to explaine the ice-milling process encountered by the
propeller in detail, a method, based on the upper-bound theorem with
assumption of elastic-plastic behaviour of the ice and two ice breaking
mechanisms by shearing were proposed. This method, in which acrtual blade
form with its rotational position in ice is included, was found to be
useful in understanding propeller ice-milling process.

2. Design of propeller
A epp was designed for an Arctic tanker, the principal particulars of
which are shown in Table 1. The propeller geometry was designed following
the flow chart shown in Fig.1(3).

Table 2 summarizes the results of propeller design. At strength

design stage, ice-milling torque was checked by both ASPPR(4) and

298
 Table 1. Principal particulars and dimensions of a
candidate 200 KDWT tanker

Ship Length 350.0 (m)

Width 52.0 (m)
Draft 20 .0 (m)
Engine Electric motor
Total output 78 x 3 MW
Shaf t speed 80 r:£m
Speed Cruising 15 kn
LR, ASPPR Class 10
Ice conditi o n Ice-capability at Thickness 8'
continious breaking Ship speed 3 kn

Table 2. Principal particulars of the propeller

Items Ce nter Propel ler Wi ng propellers

Diameter 10.300 m -
Pitch ratio 0. 02 0 0.640
Expanded area ratio 0.0000
Boss ratio 0.4155
Thick chord ratio 0.05322
Number of blades 4

Desiq" condition Design Remarks Jagodkin's method(5) and blade

Cruising speed. stress was calculated by use of
ice bteaking speoed
Ignatjev's method(6), assuming
lee breaking
capability both strength of the propeller
Ice resistance mater ial and sea ice as fOllows.
Main prooulsion
power unit Propeller:

Ship resistance in
MCRS (Mitsubishi Corrosion
ope" sea.
self propulsion foclors
Resistance Steel) (7)
a = 882 MN/m, a y = 392 MN / m
B
Sea ice

0c = 3.0 MPa , as = 0.75 MPa

Fig .2 and Fig.3 show the
results of ca lculation. Ogival
blade section was used for this
propeller.

3. Ice-milling test
A model propeller with pitch
Fig.1 Propeller design procedure changing mechani s m was made from
stainless steel. The sac Ie ratio

is 41.2. Fig.4 shows the photograph of the model. All the tests were
conducted in the low temperature room at Wartsila Arctic Research Center.

299
 2000 ~? esrimaTed from
'®model lesl resulT
"

o
1000

Pig.4 Model propeller

°°L-------~2~0--------4~0~------6~0L-------e~0
Strain gouges
N (rpm)
Pig.2 Ice-milling torque

600 ESTimated by Ignalje v's formulo

E
S Thickness disrribulion
adopTed
400

Polor STor
EstimOTed
Y
200 b A: 7\ Assumed
10 be eOmm
j

o 0 0.4 0,6 0,8 1.0

r/ R
Fig.3 Blade thickness distribution Fig.5 Block diagram of
measurement

Block diagram of the measurements is shown in Pig.5. To measure the

blade stress and blade bending mome nt, 6 single strain gauges were put
near the midchord point at 0.45 and 0.5 radius on both face and back side
of the blade No.1. Thrust and torque fluctuation were measured by using
strain-gauge type Sensors arranged on the propeller shafting system,
while shaft speed and ice speed were measured by counting pulse signals
from the generators installed on each shaft. Propeller shaft speed was
changed, keeping the ice carriage speed constant at each test run. The
ice block of about 50 cm 40 em 10 cm was set under the model propeller
so that milling depth is two-third of the blade length.
Saline ice was used in these tests(S). Crushing strength of the
model ice in horizontal direction was changed ' between 0e = 50 - 250 KPa,
in order to get suitable output from the strain gauges, even though 72 KPa

300
 Table 3. Test Condition

case pitch rat.io propeller speed spe ed of ice block

n(rps) Vice(m/ s)

A-1 0.64 16.1. 9 .0. 4.9 , 2 .8 O.Q 5

A-2· 0. 32 16.1, 9 .0, 4. 9 , 2 .8 0 .4 5
0. 32 16 .1, ~ .9 -0 . ~5
B 1 0 .00 4.9 0.45
0.00 3.8 -0.4 5
C 1 0 . 32 16 .1, 4. 9 , 3.8 0.4 5
0.32 ~.1, 9. 0 , 3. 8, 3 . 0 0 . 45

was the target value.

Test conditions are continuous ice br e aking ahead and astern with
positi ve, neutral and negative pitch, as shown in Table 3. At least 4
runs were conducted at one test condition to check the scatter of data.
All the data were analy z ed for the mean value (m.v.) and average peak
value (a.p.v.) and corrected for the standard condition,i.e. a = 72KPa.
c

4. Test result s and di s cussion

4.1. Ice-milling loads at the design pitch
The analy z ed data are plotted against propeller shaft speed (n) and
shown in Pig.6. Ice-milling thrust (T) and torque (Q) are plotted for
both m.v. and a.p.v . • while only a.p.v. was plotted for blade bending
moment (M ) and stress (0). In Fig.6(1), the preliminary test results
b
for ice-milling torque were also included for reference.
Jagodkin's model consists of three kinds of ice-milling torque.
i.e. Q due to shearing of the ice by blade edge. Q due to crushing
s c
of the ice by projected area of the blade, and Q due to pure crushing
pc
of the ice by the mean thickness of the blade. The calculated results by
Jagodkin's and Ignatjev's method ar e shown also in the figures.
The ratio of the crushing strength to the shearing strength was chosen
to be 1.8 based on the test results in this calculation, even though
it is assumed to be 4 in Jagodkin's original method. It was shown that:
(1) The m.V. of the ice torque are almost the same order as that pre­
dicted by Jagodkin's formula at the d e Sign pitch with normal pro­
ceeding condition. The a.p.v. is very high due to dynamic effect of
ice loadings and also due to some unavoidable noise from thru s t and
torque sensors.
(2) Blade bending moment and blade stress increase with decrease of
shaft speed. Ignatjev's method gives good approxi.mation for the
a.p.v of both blade bending moment and blade stress.

301
 m.v. P.o.v.
0 5 10 15
o " 0
[l ~
'E d Preliminary lesl 0
n [rps)

20 3 Jogod kin -200

0 "
o .1
-400 ~ 0 m .v.
I >­
\ a .p.V.
I
- 600
"
\\ " Fig.6(2) Ice-milling thrust
\
\
10 \
\
, 20
'0
0', Measured
t CalculaTed from Mb (a.p.v.)
o
en CalculaTed from 0 (m .v.)
Ope n [rps) ;....\ - ---- Ignoljev
°0~--~~5~------10~----~15~- [0 ~ \ •
~ \
Fig.6(1) Ice-milling torque b ,

0°r-------5r-----~1~0-------'~5~--
a n [rps] a
~ a Os a

-------. °O~------J----,~~------~~
,,
5 10 n (rps) 15
0, O r-----~----~~~----~-
o

-5
~--~'---.-
~

Oc

I
7' •

('; I
Oc
-10
~ / a Measured

~I a

-10 Measured ( a p.II.)

~
0
Colculored Irom
- 19noljev
°I
Cal culaTed from Mb (o.p. v.)
m.v.)
Esrimoled from 0 (o .p..... )
b
ESTimaTed trom Q (m .II .)
Ignotjev
-20
Fig.6(3) Blade bending moment Fig.6(4) Blade stress at O.5R
at O.5R

(3) Based on the Jagodkin's method, full scale ice-milling torque at

design point was estimated from model test data. The result is
sho wn in Pig.2. The ice-milling torque estimated from model test
results is 1.7 ti mes larger than that by Jagodkin's meth o d.

4. 2 . Effect of prop e ller pitch o n ice-milling loads

Fig.7 shows the effect of propeller pitch o n ice-milling torque (
m.v.), thrust (m.v.) and blade bending moment (a.p.v.), plo tted on ice
advance ratio (Vice/nO). It was shown that:
(1) Due to the limit ted number of data, it is difficult to draw general
conclusion, but there is a possibility to reduce ice-milling torque
by adjusting propeller pitch in normal operating condition.
(2) But with decrease of propeller pitch, ice-milling thrust and

302
 -

-0.6 0.4 02 o 0.2 0.4 06 08

Vice/nD

Pig.7(1) Change of ice-milling torque

with propeller pitch
p
P
500~ 0 0.64 2:.­ o 0.64
" • f- • 0.32
• 40~
• 0.32
• " 0.0
•
" 0.0

.. .. .. -0.32
20
... -0.32

.. .. o 0 .2 0.4
Vice/no
0.6
...
---!'----4. o 02 0.4
Vice/no
0.6
-0.6 -0.4 -0.2 o 0 -0.6 -0.4 -02
o
.
• .. 0 -20
I o

I­ • - p, 0 .32 -40 • •
-500 • - - P' -0.32

!-1I65 -60 ~-96.0

Fig.7(2) Change o f ice-milling Pig.7(3) Change of blade bending
thrust with propeller pitch moment with propeller pitch

blade bending moment incresed considerably. Thus the operation

mode of the propeller should be chosen carefully, taking into
account the ice-milling torque and blade strength.
(3) Ice-milling loads become very large when direction of the ship
motion and propeller thrust is opposite.
(4) Estimated ice-milling torque by Jagodkin's method does not differ
too much from the test results, even though the method is original­
ly based on the normal proceeding condition. Blade bending moment
estimated by Ignatjev's method was good appr o ximation for p = -0,32
but not for p = 0.32. Purther study is necessary including
improvement of existing ice-milling model.

303
 5. THEORETICAL METHOD FOR CALCULATING ICE-MILLING FORCE

5.1 EARLIER THEORY

In the early sixthees V.Ya.Jagodkin (5) created hi s model
co ncerning the ice-milling phenomenon. At the same time M.A.Ignatev (6)
formulated an calculation mode l for the determination of for ces on the
propeller. Both mentioned models are based on a mos t simplified blade
fo r m and do no t take in to accoun t the ro ta t i on of the propeller. On the
other hand the models are easy to use. An icetorque prediction for some
condition may be cal cu lated in a few seconds.

5.2 BASE FOR NEW THEORY

Since the bladeform surely is an important factor when pre­
dicting iceforces acting on propellers, and a continuous value during
the propeller rotation is needed for e.g. calculation of power
consumtion, a new model has to be developed if useful predictions for
shaft torque, blade bending moment etc. induced by i ce are wanted.

The two requirements, bladeform and rotation, can be

fulfilled if the i ce forc es are calculated separately for c ircular
sections of the blade, Fig. 8. The separate sections of the blade may be
taken as two-dimensional, a good accuracy is achieved when the number of
sections is increased enough.

'I -'-----If-- 0 o

i
-, ,/ n

''Y.'---..\
Fig. 8. The blade is devided into sections:"

Induced for ces on each section may be calculated using

various ca lculation me thods. By combining Korzavin' s formula for ice
pressure (9) and the upper-bound theorem, explained e.g. by Croa s dale
(10 ) the i ce for c e f or each section may be calculated usi ng following

f o rmulas:

Shearing in direction to earlier cutted groove:

F = 'I ds (---------!--- + _~L£ __ ) (1)

cos~sinOcose 2sin0

Shearing in direction to ice surface:

F ='i"ds (_£L~ __ + ---!----) (2)

s100 sine cosO

Definitions according to fig. 9.

Following factors are then effective on the iceforce:

Blade profile

Blade sec tion

304
 Pitch at each section
Friction coefficient
Angle of attack at each section.

Fig. 9. Sh earing in di rection to earlierly cutted groove.

The total forces acting on the blade are easily obtained when
the f orces on each section are known. Following formulas for shaft
thrust, shaft torque, blade bending moment and blade spindle torque may
be derived:

(3)

n
Gice ~i~l(Firi cosB i + F~ri rsinB i )

MB 7~1.-Fi (ricos W i - r hub ) si n (B i - "'root) +

F.l ai ( ricos 'JI i - r hub ) cos (B i - <l>root)) (5)

MS 7~Firi si n'jJi sin (4)i - Bi ) +

(6)

Definitione s according to fig. 10.

The method was shortly compared to test results and '.as found to gi ve
values for thrust and torque of correct magnitude.

rs;~n~le,
~to.!=-que
Bend i ng momen t . .. - ...
F
F .l.r
\
F r ,- ...... . F

v
Sha ft n
torque, ;

Thrust

Fig. 10. For ces in different projections. F and Fl are forces normal
to F , and may be derived when ~ is~nown. r

305
5. Concluding remarks
Ice-milling characteristics of a CPP for a high po wered Arctic tanker
were studied by model tests using saline ice. Ice-milling thrust and
torque fluctuation, blade bending moment and stress were measured at
different ice speed - propeller shaft speed combinations for different
propeller pitch. Followings are conclusion o btained .
(1) At the design pitch, ice-milling torque estimated by Jagodkin's
method is considered to be almost the same order as that by the
model tests. Ignatjev's method for es timating blade bending moment
and blade stress was also found to be useful.
(2) There is a possibility to reduce ice-milling torqe by adjusting
propeller pitch. But according to the test results, blade bending
increased with de cr ease of propeller pitch. Thus selection of the
propeller operation mode will be important. Further accumulation
of the data is necessary. Even though the existing methods give
rough estimation of ice-milling l o ad, further study is necessary
to simulate the milling process in general.
(3) The new method, based on the upper bound theory with assumption of
elastic-plastic behaviour of ice was found to explain the ice-milling
process more in detail.

The authors wish to express their appreciation to Dr. E. Enkvist,

Director of WARC and Dr. H. Tanibayashi, Project Manager of Nagasaki
Technical Institute, MHI, for their encouragement in conducting model
tests. Thanks are due all the staffs of both Nagasaki Experimental Tank
and WARC for their cooperation in conducting model tests.

Reference

1. Takekuma, K., 1984, Technical and Economic Aspects of Arctic Marine

Transportation, Proceedings of POAC '83, Helsinki.
2. Wind, J., 1983, The Dimens ioning of High Power Propeller System for
Arctic Icebreakers and Icebreaking Ve sse ls, proceedings of the 5th
Lips Propeller Symposium, Drunen.
3. Sasajima, T., Bulat, V. and Glen, I., 1981, An Experimental

Investigation of Two Candidate Propeller Designs for Ice Capable

Ves se ls, Proceedings of POAC' 81, Quebec.

306
 .-­

4. Arctic Shipping Pollution Preventions Regulations, 1979, Schedue VII,

Machinery Requirements for Arctic Class Ships.
5. Jagodkin, V.Ya., 1963, Analytic Determination of the Resistance

Moment of a Propeller during its Interaction with Ice (in Russian),

Problems of the Arctic and Antarctic, Vol.13.

6. Ignatev, M.A., 1966, Propellers for Ships Navigating in Ice (in

Russian), Sudostroenie Leningrad.

7. Veda, S., Daikoku, T. and Matsuo, S . , 1978, Development of High

Strength Steel for Propeller, Mitsubishi Juko Giho, Vol.1, No.5.

8. Enkvist, E and Makinnen, S., 1984, Experience with a New Type of Model
Ice, Proceedings of SNAME ICETECH '84, Calgary.
9. Korzhavin, K.N., 1962, Action of Ice on Engineering Structures, V. S.
Army Cold Regions Researcch and Engineering Laboratory, Draft Trans­
lation No. 260.
10. Croasdale, K.R., 1980, U. S. Ice Forces on Fixed Rigid Structures,
V.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Special
Report 80-26.

307
 IAHR lee Symposium 1984

Hamburg

SOME NOTES ON PROPULSION

MACHINERY SYSTEMS

FORA

LARGE HIGH POWERED POLAR ICEBREAKER

J.G. German, Pres. GERMAN lie MILNE INC. Canada

C.J. Klop, V.P.

ABSTRACT
Ever larger and more powerful icebreakers are being designed and built by
a number of nations around the world involved in polar exploration and transport
through ice infested waters.
This paper looks at the type of propulsion proposed for these vessels and
discusses in detail the design process which devolved in the final selection of a
75,000 kW propulsion system for a triple screw Polar Icebreaker.
Obviously the type of propulsion system to be selected for a given vessel
does not depend only upon vessel size and power requirements, but also very much
on the operational and mission profiles.
Prime examples of the operational requirements being the major design
parameter are the icebreaking vessels at present being considered for use in the
Canadian High Arctic and it is felt appropriate to discuss some power plants being
considered for these vessels.
Much has been said and written recently on the yet to come full scale
commercial development of remote regions in the Canadian North and the
necessity of preparing ourselves for the future by designing and building large, high
powered icebreakers and icebreaking commercial vessels, be they tankers for oil or
L.N.G., or bulkcarriers.
In these studies and preliminary designs, major emphasis is placed upon
the importance in any ship design of having a reliable and efficient propulsion
plant. Reliable because these vessels must work alone in remote regions and
efficient because fuel consumption and fuel carrying capacity of these high
powered vessels must be closely watched.

309

-
 INTRODUCTION
It is rather surprising to read how divergent the thoughts of various
designers are on the subject of propulsion systems for icebreakers and how
(
different the results are of their studies into what is considered a reliable and
efficient propulsion system. The propulsion plants resulting from the various
studies cover the complete range from a reversing gearbox with fixed pitch
propeller system, through systems with controllable pitch propeller, to AC and DC
electric motor drives.
From this, the assumption might be made that the subject of icebreaker
design and design of propulsion plants for such vessels is a completely new field and
that no previous practical experience in this area is available to the designer, or
perhaps that these new vessels are so different in concept from our past designs,
that our experience in this field is not considered valid.
Obviously neither of these assumptions can be true. In Canada we have
vast knowledge and experience in transportation through ice covered waters.
Moreover, the propulsion plants of our own icebreakers, as well of those in the U.S.
and U.S.S.R., have increased in power such that this experience can be used in the
design of even higher powered icebreaker propulsion systems.
What does our experience teach us? This experience should indicate that
for a full icebreaking vessel which relies totally on the availability of the
propulsion plant, the reliability of this plant must be first on the list of design
objectives. A reliability such that even in the worst condition, such as with stalled
propellers, the plant is still operational, thrust can be reversed and that high torque
is available in either direction without serious damage to the propeller, the
shafting system or the propulsion plant.
I would like to quote here from a paper written in the early days of higher
powered icebreaker development. (Ref. J)
"When considering the latest findings on the most severe ice conditions in
the Arctic, multi-year ice averaging four meters thick and the incidence
of many ridges extending well below the keel line of any possible vessel,
far more attention must be paid to the strength and protection of
propellers, tail-shafts, thrust blocks and rudders, if the vessel is to
operate effectively and reliably for long periods."
"The propulsive efficiency of the vessel must be the best possible within
the prime requirements of icebreaking capability, extraction capability
and the capability of reacting in a safe manner to the extreme ice
pressures to be encountered.

310
 -

From the above it is considered that for a propulsion system to be suitable

for a polar icebreaker it must be capable of exerting a very high stalled torque, of
accepting a stalled propeller condition for reasonable periods of time and be
capable of developing maximum power astern for relatively long periods. Allied to
this it must respond quickly to major manoeuvring requirements and be able to
accept sudden large overloads without loss of power.
All this of course does not mean that we should never look at any new
type of propulsion as is proven by looking at the list of systems used over the years.
In Canada we progressed from triple expansion reciprocating steam engines, to DC­
DC electric drive, then to the AC rectified DC motor system which is being used
by the Canadian Coastguard on their latest built vessels as well as by the USSR on
their nuclear icebreakers and now to the frequency controlled AC-AC power plant
design for the types lIDO and 1200 of the CCG, and also more recently in the
Finnish Icebreaker KARHU II Class.
Experience must be the foundation of design improvements.
Propulsion System Alternatives Investigated
During the design spiral for the Polar Icebreaker a number of systems
were investigated resulting in a choice of two principal systems which were
developed in more depth and eventually carried through the Contract Definition
stage.
Systems using CP Propellers
o Geared gas turbine/diesel system
o Geared all diesel drive system
o Geared AC synchronous motor system
Systems using fixed pitch propeller
o AC-DC electric motor system
o AC-AC variable frequency system
o Reversing Geared Systems
It is not the intention in this paper to go into a detailed analysis or why
these particular systems were investigated. Suffice to say that it was decided upon
completion of the preliminary investigation of these various alternatives to
proceed with the Contract Definition design of the Icebreaker using:
o All diesel geared system using CP propellers
o Gas turbine and diesel driven AC power generation with AC
variable frequency synchronous electric propulsion motors.

311
 Both of these systems are outlined in this paper together with the impact
these systems had on the final design of the vessel.
Power Requirement
The power requirements for the vessel were determined as follows:
Propulsion power (normal continuous rating) 75,000 kW
Propulsion power per shaft (Propeller) 25,000 kW
Bubbler System power required 2,400 kW
Ship's service power required 3,000 kW
Mechanical Drive System General Description
The geared system using diesel prime movers was developed for a triple
screw arrangement using three (3) medium speed Marine diesel engines per shaft
driving a controllable pitch propeller through a triple input, single output non­
reversing reduction gearbox.
Each diesel engine must be connected to the input shaft of the gearbox
through a disconnect clutch.
The system was designed when operating at 90% of its maxium continuous
rating to provide maximum thrust with the propeller absorbing 25 MW power on
each shaft and the vessel proceeding at 3 knots in heavy ice. In addition the
system was designed to obtain an open water speed of 18 knots when absorbing 10
MW of propulsion power.
In order to prevent each main prime mover stalling when operating in
heavy ice, means are provided to automatically limit torque to 104% of rated
engine torque at full power by means of a slipping clutch capable of operating at
80% slip for short periods of time. In conjunction with the slipping mode the
propeller pitch will be reduced until ice torque equals maximum available power
torque.
The triple input, single output reduction gear is designed for 200% power
torque continuous, based on the total maximum input power of three diesel engines.
The center gearbox is also provided with two power take-offs to drive two
2000 kW AC generators. These generators are designed to supply power for a
bubbler system when icebreaking. In the medium and heavy ice breaking modes the
center shaft will be running at near constant speed.
Ship's service and auxiliary electric power is provided by four diesel
driven generators rated at 1500 kW each.

312
 An integrated control system is designed to control three main propulsion
diesels per shaft together ....ith all their ancillaries, the main disconnect clutches
and the controllable pitch propeller. Three identical control sections reflecting the
three separate shaft systems, are provided for the control of the propulsion plant.
A load control algoritham will be developed to set the optimum
combination of pitch and engine RPM for the vessel in all modes of operation. The
control system also provides automatic load sharing between shafts when the
center shaft PTa generators are required. In this mode the center shaft is running
at constant speed.
The propulsion control system has been designed for two modes of
operation:
I. Open Water Light Icebreaking Mode, using a combination type
control capable of effecting changes of both pitch and engine speed
to optimum settings with respect to propeller efficiency and engine
fuel consumption.
2. Heavy Icebreaking Mode which is a constant RPM mode permitting
smooth and gradual changes of both engine power and propeller
pitch setting in each direction of thrust and power sharing between
three shafts.
Electrical Drive System - Genera! Description
The electrical drive system was designed around the central power plant
concept where the electric power generation plant provides power to all users
including propulsion, ship's services and ancillaries.
Because of the high power requirements the power plant was arranged for
up to four diesel driven generator sets to supply power for propulsion and ship's
services during open water and light or medium icebreaking operations while the
additional high propulsion power required for heavy icebreaking is provided by two
gas turbine driven generator sets.
In the diesel mode the power available to the propellers is 42 MW less the
power required by the ship's services and other electric power consumers.
In the gas turbine plus diesel generator mode a total of 82 MW is
available. This could all be used for propulsion, in which case the ancilliary and
ship's service power requirements are provided for by a 3 MW gas turbine driven
generator set.
A power system one line diagram for this variant is shown in Figure I.

313
 POLAR 8 ICEBREAKER ~OO EMERG .

POWER SYSTEM SINGLE KW DIESEL GEN .

LINE DIAGRAM

r-- - -0> - ' -I ,

-J0 r=-;)- Tt-ll

GAS .!
TURBINE I J,- ____ ~EMERG . SWBD.

BUBBLER GEN . ,_

c~~ MF..9_~_S_....I- _____....c~ _ ......' __ 9

_~. ~. 1 ! 460/3/60 HZ 230V/3/60HZ 120V/ 3/60HZ

I ) ) i L - - -- . SHIPS SERVICE SWBD.J
,

rl
~CK MACHY
tAND HEATING
. ) ' BUS COUPLER

SHIPS SERVICE BUS 6600V/3/60HZ

... ~fiO\
~
GAS

D
1
I
-f~~J T n~:
L L­
..J
~ ~~:::
~ - ;:; - DYNAMIC
E
S o UJ CONTROL SYSTEM BUS CD ~ BAEAKING
E ~~ 120 V/3/60 HZ ~ > RESISTOR
L I") 0 .... g HARMONIC
G
E > . .----I-----I-~--'----~-~_t ~~~
N.

FIELD SUPPLIES ») ,)
AFT. MOTORS . ~ ~L u.L.J

::;:O~::::::::R55 ~ @F$ ~ CCV ~~~~~E5

• 3 X TANDEM
VARIABLE
FREQUE NCY
(~25
Mill

2.
) P (~5 ) C
FWD
P
'IV FWD
12. C
(l5)
MW

2)
S MOTORS
FWD
S

5YNCRONOUS MV'I AFT "-AW AFT M AFT

MOTORS

314
 The propulsion system uses the AC electric power generated by the
various generator sets and transforms the constant frequency AC power to variable
frequency power via a 6600 V AC switchboard through drive transformers and cyclo
converters. Each cyclo conv.erter is rated to supply adjustable frequency to a 12.5
MW 3 phase 6600 volts propulsion motor, two in tandem per shaft line.
Redundancy is provided by rating each cyclo-converter to be capable of
supplying 180% of the rated current continuously while each leg of each thyristor
bridge is rated to withstand a minimum of twice the peak value AC line to line
voltage if one cell fails.
Normal Power supply to the ship's services switchboard is provided by two
motor generator sets, each rated at 3000 kW.
A total of six AC synchronous propulsion motors are specified, two motors
in tandem per shaft line, each motor capable of handling without limitation
frequently repeated torques of 200% at 180% current in either direction of
rotation.
Propellers are fixed pitch designed for high ice impact on the wings and
for running inside a nozzle for the center propeller.
The centralized control system incorporates control and power
management of all major systems such as:
Gas turbine generator sets
Diesel generator sets
Motor generator sets
Ship's service gas turbine generator set
Propulsion system
Auxiliary systems
Bubbler system
The system allows automatic start-up of additional generator sets on
demand up to the total power level of the diesel engine generators. Start-up of the
gas turbine sets will be remote manual on demand, but once started these will be
controlled by the total power management system.
Under normal operational conditions the diesel generator power is used by
one motor on each shaft while the gas turbine generator power is used by the
second motor on each shaft. Thus no parellelling between gas turbine driven
generators and diesel driven generators is required. Breakers between the two bus
bars are normally open and closed only if either gas turbine or diesel driven
generators are on line and power to an alternate motor or shaft line is necessary.

315
System Selection
Much has been said about the pros andd cons of mechanical versus
electrical systems over the past years and much has been done in the development
of both systems. In particular interesting development has taken place of
mechanical systems for icebreaking and ice strengthened vessels.
The early mechanical drive system did provide for a significant decrease
in fuel consumption as compared with the electric propulsion systems available at
that time which were all DC - DC system with notoriously poor fuel consumption
characteristics. At 82 to 85 percent efficiency as compared with 92 to 95 percent
for a mechanical drive the use of the latter has been pursued more vigorously since
the oil prices skyrocketed. It was unfortunate that one of the first designs of a
high powered full icebreaker, the 'POLAR STAR', had such a disastrous
performance which prompted the opponents of mechanical drive systems to say 'I
told you so', maybe unfairly but understandably.
The one design and vessel built which promoted the advance of
mechanical drive was the Canadian icebreaker 'KIGORIAK'. Although not all
reports of this vessel in service are as posi ti ve as all the published reports would
lead us to believe, the design and building of the KIGORIAK stimulated the
propulsion systems designers and the industry into advancing various systems of
higher fuel efficiency and lower cost.
By that time the electrical system had advanced from the DC - DC
system into the AC - DC system design which provided for lower first cost and
higher efficiency at approximately 90%. Lately the variable frequency ACt AC
system has gained acceptance and icebreaking vessels are now being built with this
advanced system. This system approaches the mechanical system efficiency more
closely depending on total power output.
In addition, mechanical system designers have learned from the problems
encountered on the 'POLAR STAR' and KIGORIAK to overcome some of the short­
comings of that system.
It is ironic that in the process of improving the mechanical system some
designers are trying to make the system behave like an electrical propulsion plant
by including torque converters to increase stalled torque capabili ties.
Obviously the mechanical drive when coupled with controllable pitch
propeller fitted in a nozzle do not need the high torque at low RPM capabilities
since propeller stall is unlikely. There are however, other operational

316
requirements for CP propellers such as fast reversing times or more important fast
reduction in pitch requirements to prevent prime mover stall when milling ice when
no nozzles are fitted, or fast thrust reversal to "Blow Out" clogged nozzles.
On recent icebreaker designs with geared diesel propulsion systems the
necessity of fast pitch reduction and reversal was considered essential as an
operational parameter even if the propellers were protected in nozzles. For open
propellers, fast pitch reduction is required to reduce the ice torque during ice
milling and to prevent engine stall. For propellers in nozzles the fast pitch change
is required to reverse thrust in the event the nozzle becomes clogged with ice.
This occurrence has been reported to happen fairly frequently, depending on ice
conditions, and recent designs incorporate elaborate features and appendages to
the ship's Hull in an attempt to keep ice from blocking the nozzles, particularly
with the vessel going astern or under astern thrust.
CP propeller manufactures for obvious reasons favor having their
propellers protected by nozzles and offer the increased available thrust as a strong
argument in their favor while down playing the negative aspects such as the high
propeller suction effect. The KIGORIAK when operating in shallow water actually
sucked a steel beam off the bottom with its propeller causing considerable damage.
This high suction effect also causes ice to pass through the propeller. If the size of
the ice fragments are small enough to pass through they are cut by the propeller
with no ill effect. If the block of ice is not small enough to pass through and blocks
part of the water intake to the propeller, drastic reduction in thrust follows. This
will necessitate thrust reversal in order to clear the nozzle intake.
Clogging of the nozzles in ice is termed by some a discomfort. Others
consider it an unacceptable operational mode. Open propellers may stall in heavy
ice under milling conditions but do not clog. A propeller in a nozzle when
encountering ice of such a size that open propellers would mill, would probably be
clogging under the same conditions.
Open propellers do not have the added thrust advantage but do not clog
and need not be cleared. They must however be built much stronger then the
propeller in a nozzle in order to withstand high impact forces caused by ice milling.

Nozzles or Open Screws

In the large Polar icebreaker one of the questions to be answered at an
early stage of the design cycle was the question if the propellers should be
shrouded or not. Everyone was aware of the thrust enhancement nozzles provided.

317
 However, the total power demand for the icebreaker was chosen to be
75,000 kW at the propellers. This is less then the required power for a class 8
icebreaker as stipulated in the Canadian ASPP Rules, thus fitting nozzles would not
allow reduction in power installed although the extra thrust would be beneficial to
bring the total available thrust closer to the required power.
It was further decided that if nozzles were fitted, a maximum of two
nozzles could be accommodated. This decision was based mainly on the structural
practicability of the aft end design. We could not see a way to support three
nozzles either side by side or separated. The stuctural problems involved made this
highly undesirable.
Fitting two nozzles side by side would be possible although still would
involve a massive structure at the aft end.
Two nozzles however means 75,000 kW on two propellers or 37,500 kW per
propeller.
A study of possible propeller diameters to absorb this power showed that
the vessels draft would have to be increased in order to accommodate the required
diameter of the propeller and still have sufficient clearance under maximum ice
thickness.
Preliminary propeller design calculations indicate that for a 25,000 kW
propeller the diameter would be 7.05 m. The maximum diameter for wing
propellers is 7.25 m within the lines developed for this vessel while the maximum
diameter of the center propeller in a nozzle should not exceed 8 m in order to fit
within the after structure.

DESIGN PROPELLER PARTICULARS 25000 kW Each

WING CENTRE
(DUCTED)
Diameter 7,050 mm 8,000 mm
Pitch (at 0.7 R) 4,630 mm 7,745 mm
2 2
Blade Surface Area 29.6 m 31.7 m
No. of Blades 4L+4R 4
Hub Dia. 2,800 mm 2,300 mm
Hub Length 2,200 mm 1,900 mm

318
 During the design development of the hull form and in particular the aft
end configuration, a considerable amount of time was spent on tank testing to
develop and prove the hull form. Various studies were performed to analize the
vessels performance, propulsion system trade-off and ship manoeuvrability.
A multi-rudder versus single rudder study was done which resulted in the
decision to stay with the single rudder concept. The conslusion of this study can be
summarized as follows:
Wing rudders are particularly vulnerable to ice impact in both the ahead
and the astern modes. They appear to be only partly effective as steering devices
although their combined contribution to the total turning moment is significant.
However, the corresponding gain in performance does not seem to offset the risk or
justify the complexity of a triple rudder system.
Underwater filming during the tank testing in ice indicates that in the
ahead mode the broken ice is upended but not cleared by the bow form. A large
amount of ice does flow along the bilge area and into the wing propellers thus
clearing the center area and aJlowing the center propeller to operate in relatively
clear open water.
In the astern mode the stern form tends to reflect the edge of broken ice
pieces upward to a moderate extent and the ice horn deflects the ice pieces away
from the center rudder and the nozzle although the high suction effect from the
nozzle will cause some of the ice to flow into the centre propeller.

319
CONCLUDING REMARKS

Even at this stage in the "State of the Art" developmnent of propulsion

systems for icebreakers, no single rule is available to be used by designers in the
decision process leading to a final choice of a power plant for such a vessel.
It could be stated that the AC frequency controlled AC central power
plant concept, as applied to icebreakers, can be considered "State of the Art".
However, it is a fact that sometimes too many conflicting requirements are
imposed on the designer either by the client directly such as dictating the system
they want or by introducing operational and or/mission profiles or construction
schedules which by itself dictate the type of system required.
The overriding factor to the choice of system on one of our recent
Canadian Icebreaker designs was the consideration that this particular vessel would
be operating in remote areas alone and maybe more than 1000 miles away from the
nearest harbour. Total system reliability was in this particular case the No. I
factor in the decision to accept an AC frequency controlled electric power plant
and in our opinion this was the correct choice.

REFERENCES

1. Design and Construction of Icebreakers, J.G. German.

2. Hullform of Icebreaker Ships, J.G. German et aI, CCSRA 84 Mtl.
3. Dimensioning of High Power Propeller Systems for Arctic Icebreakers and
Icebreaking Vessels, J. Wind, Lips Propeller Symposium 83.
4. Factors Influencing the Design of a Geared Diesel Propulsion System for a
Polar Class Icebreaker, E. Radloff et aI, SNAME STAR Symposium 84.
5. 85,000 kW Central Power Generating Station for The Canadian Coast
Guard Polar 8 Icebreaker, W.A. McCloy - W.A. Wyeth - D. Anderson,
Mari-Tech 84 Ottawa.
6. The Impact of Changine Technology on Ship Design, J. G. German, K.P.
Farrell, CSSRA 83 Mtl.

320
321
 JJJ.
:'
-~­
I:
~~1-~
'-~-~

6",-ELINE

OUTLINE OF STERN AOERTURE

322
 POLAR 8 ICEBREAKER

PRED ICTED TURN ING PERFORHANCE

UO
I NICE AT FULL Po\lER AND FULL RUDDER

-:§.
«'<'
~,",,(;)
<f:~/ . - - LEVEL ICE 3 K~If)rS
100
20 1~\-r~.-~rT-r~~~~~~~~~-r~~rT-,
6 DIL
~ L

~ 80
ICE DEPTH (")
3 .C 15
9il;
""
~
10
.....:j
li!
60
10
C>.
2.0
/-2GT • GEN. POWER

~
4~_-------(!tao
40 20
IGT.4D __ __ 5

IGT+3D-- ------­

20
4D---------~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~: ::
1.0 50
100

t20 ICE THICKNESS (m)

a 20 40 60 80 100 120
~L = CHANGE OF HEADING PER SHIP LENGTH OF TRAVEL
SHAFT POWER (/1\/) D = DIAMETER OF TUR~ING CIRCLE
w
I\.) L = LENGTH, B,P,
w
INSTRUMENTATION IN ICE ENGINEERING

 IAHR Ice Symposium 1984

Hamburg

APPLICATIO~ OF SUBSURFACE
"'ADAR FOR !·lEASUREt-i:SNT OF ICE THICI(NESS

11ayer, I. !'iech. Eng. Institute for Hydraulic

research associate Engineering, ~esearch
and Centre for Water Hungary
Dr. Eng.O.Starosolszky Resources, /VITVKI/
ciirector Budapest

ABSTRACT

Problems of the traditional measurement of ice thickness

on rivers and lakes may cause inaccurate estimation of ice cov­
er characteristics, including surface roughness of ice bottom.
The subsurface radar may increase the accuracy by continuous
profiling of ice cover in cross sections and longitudinal pro­
files. The principle of the instrUF.ent is the reflections of
the electromagnetic pulses fro~ interfaces of different mate­
rials.

Subsurface radar was useci under different conditions and

two applications for measurement of ice jar.s on Hungarian riv­
ers are introduced.

Reproducibility of the measurement was studied on a lake

and from several profile a ~uite satisfactory data could be
derived, the values are within I cm ranse. It is therefore
suggested that instrUh.ent can be applied when electror.agnetic
constant of ice anci water can be determined by local testing
by manual measurement through one borehole drilled in the ice.
The constant depencis on the structure of the ice and rather
variable in ice jams.

325
Measurement of ice thickness

Ice thickness is the basic parameter of river and lake

ice besides the ice coverage. The thickness influences all of
the ice phenomena, its value plays major roll in the equations
for calculations in connexion to ice, like flow under ice cov­
er, ice cover stability, ice forces on banks and structures,
load bearing capacity, thermal balance etc.

It is, therefore, of a great importance to measure ice

thickness correctly. Traditional method of ice thickness mea­
surement, includinS the methods of the hydrological observa­
tion networks [1] is based on a simple distance measurement
between ice surface and bottom in boreholes or in artificial
cracks. The accuracy of this method is characterized by an un­
certainty of 1 cm considering so-called point sampling. In
most cases it is assumed that such a "single" sample may char­
acterize the ice cover, however, it is known that ice thick­
ness r,lay vary widely in a cross-section, or in particular alonq
the river. ~he second drawback of this sampling is the de~­

tive nature of the rrethcd, observer should !1'a)<e a hole on the cover at
every observation, e.s. on every day. If ice thickness measure­
ment is necessary for a stream gausing by current metering,it
is available, that boreholes are necessary at the verticals
o"f the velocity measurement. No data on bed and ice cover for­
mation between two verticals can be gained and usually a line­
ar variation /linear inte rpolation/ is considered satisfacto­
ry.
These facts may underline the importance of the develop­
ment of an instrument and method of observation for detecting
ice thickness non destructively, and to measure ice cover
cross- and longitudinal sections with a sufficient speed.

Effect of uncertainty of ice cover on discharge capacity

;Vithout any attempt to completeness only one example is

given how the uncertainty of ice cover may influence the es­
timation of one hydraulic parameter.
Discharge capacity of a river bed under ice cover depends
on the estimation of the cross-sectional area reduced by ice

326
cover and of the roughness of ice cover [2]. Both ice cover
ana its roughness depend on the variation of ice thickness.
For the rough estimation of the Q discharge under ice cover
the following formula can be applied
Hh 2/3 1 1 2/3
1
Q (--) I l / 2 (H_h)B = _(_) (H_h)5/3 Il/2B
n 4 n 4

where H is the water depth, h is the ice thickness, I is

the slope of energy line, B is the width of the cross-section
at the water level and n is the resultant roughness coeffi­
cient of the river and ice bottoms.
When consider ins only the effect of the ~ uncertainty
of the ice thickness, the 6Q error of the calculated dischar­
ge is estimated

aQ

an

aQ 5 1 1 2/3 5 1
_ ( H_h ) 2/ 3 . ( -1 ) (_) Il/2B
ah 3 n 4 3 (H-h)

6Q 5 -1
- ( H-h )
Q 3

The relative error of the discharge due to 6h uncertainty is

6Q 5 6h
if H » h
Q 3 H-h Q 3 H

It is thus, inevitable that the error of the discharge

is linearly proportional to the error in the ice thickness,
if uncertainty of thickness is positiv e than discharge is re­
duced, and if the depth is qreat relative to the error in
thickness, also the discharge error can be neglected.
It can be concluded that errors in hanging dams or ice
jams can seriously effect discharge accuracy or the evidence

327
of any backwater calculation. It is, therefore, of great irr.­
portance that an instru8ent capable to measure ice thickness
along the cross-section may be available after the invention
of the subsurface radar.

Principle of subsurface radar

For the subsurface radar system an electrow~gnetic pulse

is generated on the surface of the material and the reflec­
tions from the subsurface interfaces are displayed on a con­
tinuous strip-chart recorder [3]. Travel times of th e reflec­
ted pulses can be converted to depth to various interfaces if
the velocity of propagation is known. Knowledge of the effec­
tive relative dielectric constant of the material le.g.in our
case the icel is necessary. These electromagnetic constants
are dependent to varying degrees on different parameters le. g .
temperature, pressure, impurities etc.l. Constants on water,
ice and bed bottom are, however, basically different, like

fresh water dielectric constant, £r 81

fresh water ice 4
soil under water 8-30.
The system is composed of II I a radar set, 121 prerecordl
playback unit which can also be used with 13 1 a magneti c tape
recorder and a graphic recorder and converter for DC operation.
An antenna transmitter unit is mo v able on the surface.Fig. 1.
illustrates the systerr. block dia g ram and functional form.
In order to calibrate subsurface radar for depth sound­
ing in ice and water, it is usually necessary to obtain the
measured echo travel time of a pulse from a detectable subsur­
face interface and then drilling down in the ice, measuring
the ice thickness and the water depth in one point. From this
information, the effective propagation velocity of the ice and
water can be derived.
A homogeneous "black" ice can be characterized by a di­
electric constant of 4 and a conductivity of about 10- 4 _10- 2
Qho / m. It was found that in the ice jams and in the slush ice
the dielectric constant may vary up to 12 due to the presence
of the water amons the ice blocks or frazils.

328
 Graphic Recorder

Power Supply Tope Recorder

Pulse Transmitter Receiver

Transmit Receive
Selector

Antenna

Fig 1.

329
Case studies

Subsurface radar was applied under different ice condi­

tions of Hungarian rivers and lakes in 1981-84.
It is worthwhile to mention that the radar was success­
fully used also to measure silt and sludge layer thickne s s
over lake bottoms las sedimentation/ in order to design dredg­
ing, and to detect weak pOints under flood dykes /leeves/ in
order to desisn reinforcement.
'~wo examples of Eastern Hungary are introduced hereby.
Field measurements of an ice jam and velocity distribution
thereunder were performed on the Tisza ~iver, where in Janu­
ary of 1981 a hanging dam was observed /Fig. 2/. The cross-

Fig. 2.

-section of tne jam was measured by the radar /Fig. 3/.It was
concluded that the jam composed by ice floes also accumulated
several frazils and slush and ice blocks built up the jam. On
the basis of this radar picture the verticals for the under ice
velocity measurement were selected. Boreholes were drilled at
the selected points and current rretering was carried out /Fig. 4./.

330
 ------~

-­ .... ----~ 'i -­

@
<"d

bD
~
- - - 'M
bD - --- -- -~===
~
al
..<:

-~--- -- -- - -

-----.---­

331
 v v/.

~~~~~~~~0'i~'i/7,7,~~~~2z~2rn2~Z6~~~~J.g

,. 0,1,1, m/s
...
.... - - - 0, ]8 m/s
- - o'J2m/s

,
/
A c JOJ,'! cm 2
/
/ " A, - 122,2 cm z
/
/
/ Al= 62,5 em'
I
I
A] = g6,5 cm 1
I A. = 21,5 cm z

fOm

K". Fig. 4 .

332
 Similar freld Il'oeasurements were perforp.\ed on the Keres
River /Fig. 5/ where for checking the accuracy of the ice
measured ice thickness in the ice jap.\ holes were blasted /Fig.
6/. The ice thickness measurements in the juxtapositioned ice
blocks justified the data gained by the radar.

Investigation of reproducibility of the measurements

In order to investigate the reproducibility and reliabi­

lity of the ice thickness data obtained by subsurface radar
repeated profiles have been p.\easured /Fig. 7/ over the shallow
lake Velence of Transdanubia /Western Hungary/ on 22 February
1984 3 boreholes have been drilled in 20 m distances to check
0

ice thickness by traditional manual - visual observations,where

an ice thickness measuring rod was used. Two types of antannas
were deployed. Standard deviations in the checked points and
along the verticals, as well as allover pOints were calcula­
ted both for output data in nano seconds and in converted ice
th~ckness values. Radar profile is shown on Fig. 8. Table I
represents the measured ice thickness values measured by seven
profiling.
As it is demonstrated average calculated ice thickness
along the profile was 74,99 mm which is characterized by a
standard deviation of 27.9 mm which shows an excellently uni­
form ice cbver. The variation of the data measured in the same
vertical, however, shows a larger deviation, ice thickness
between 70 and 73 Il'ID. Reproducibility can, thus, be estimated
in this very thin ice layer, within 10 % of the thickness. It
is foreseen that the absolute value of the reproducibility can
be alIT.ost the same for a thick ice cover also, that means
about 1 cm, which is equivalent to the uncertainty of the ma­
nual ice measurement.

Conclusions

Experiences of the application of subsurface radar for

the measurep.\ent of ice thickness were rather promising under
different conditions on shallow lakes and rivers. The instru­
ment offers a nondestructive method for continuous profiling

333

·
;
$ £

It

II

I
I'
hanging dam
, "
'" I

hangill8 dam

I'

II

water III

II:

II

river bed

II

in
IU
Fig. 5. -~
I'
1­
334
 4 2 3 4 S 6 7 8 8 7 6 G 3
I I I 1 1 I I I 1 I I 1- -1
~ number of boles

~ / .---'------""­
L'
, 1

336 Fig. 8.
 2
Nurrber of runs h 0 St&­
ice thickness in ron Average Variance dard
Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
devi­
ation ~

rT
ro
p.
1 75,4 74,5 78,0 76,2 77,1
70,9 70,9 74,71 6,9012 2,6270 '1
~
2 75,4 75,4 78,0 73,6 79,8
70,9 74,5 75,37 7,2020 2,6836 p.
~
76,2 75,4 76,2 74,5 78,0
70,0 75,4 75,10 5,3400 2,3108 '1
3
4 77,1 73,6 77,1 74,5 77,1
69,2 74,5 74,73 6,9735 2,6407 '1
0
..."

5 78,0 76,2 78,9 75,4 77,1

69,2 74,5 75,61 8,7812 2,9633 ",.

~
6 76,2 76,2 77,1 74,5 77,1
68,3 72,7 74,58 8,7041 2,9503 ro
p.
7 76,2 75,4 77,1 74,5 76,2
69,2 73,6 74,60 6,0257 2,4547 ~
rT
8 78,0 77,1 77,1 73,6 78,0
70,0 72,7 75,27 8,7306 2,9548 ~

h verti­
cal
average 76,56 75,50 77,44 74,60 77,55 69,71 73,60 74,99
2
o vari­
ance 0,939 a 1,3600 0,5948 0,6550 1,0125 0,7211 1,8225 7,4328
>-3
~
o stand­ 0­
~
ard ro
devia­ H
tion 0,9694 1,1661 0,7713 0,8093 1,0062 0,8492 1,350 2,7263
w 2 2
~ Average of profiles h=74,99 0 =6,4634 0=2,5423: Average of holes h=74,99 0 =0,1366 0=0,3683
of ice cover, however, for deriving local dielectric constants
of different types of ice, a few boreholes are desirable.
7he constant value given in the literature is only valid
for a uniform, homogeneous solid ice cover composed b~l "block"
ice. For real ice jams and accu~ulated ice floes, frazils and
sludges individual ~onstants, higher than 4 should be determi­
ned by local testing.
Reproducibility of the profile measurements was tested on
a uniform ice cover of a lake and it was found within 1 cm.
Standard deviations of several 8easurements were even less.

It is reconunended that for ice studies, .,here ice thick­

ness over larger areas, in cross-sections or longitudinal pro­
files should be measured, this instrument may successfully be
used.

Bibliography

[1 J l'lorld Meteorological Organization, 1981. Guide to Hydro­

logical Practices. Vol. I. Geneva.
[2] Starosolszky, 0., 1970. Ice in hydrauliC engineering.

Institute for Vassbygging, Report No . 70-1. Trondheim.

[3] Geophysical Survey Systems, Inc., 1974. Continuous sub­

surface profiling by impulse radar. Hudson.

Figures

Fig. 1. Simplified block diagram and functional operation of

the subsurface radar system [3]
Fig. 2. Hanging dam on Tisza River at the measured section
Fig. 3. Radar profile l'9.iver Tiszaf
Fig. 4. Velocity distribution under the hanging dam
Fig. 5. Radar profile fRiver Karasl
Fig. 6. Blasted hole to check thickness of ice jam
Fig. 7. Radar graphiC recorder profiling lake ice cover
Fig. S. Radar profile of the lake ice

Table

Table I. Repeated radar profile data fLake Velence, 22 Feb­

ruary, 19841

338
 IAHR Ice Symposium 1984
Hamburg
DETERMINATION OF COMPRESSI VE STRENGTH OF SEA ICE

BY USING AN ULTRASONIC PULSE

Hirosh i Saeki Profess or Hokkaido University

Toshiyuki Ono Researcher Hokkaido University

Na oki Nakazawa Design Engineer Pacific Consultants Co., Ltd.

Kiyoshi Izumi Lecturer Tokai University

Masafumi Sakai Engineer Taisei Corporation

ABSTRACT

It would be very useful for the advancement of ice-enginee ring tech­

nology if there existed a quick, inexpensive way to accurately determine
the strength of sea i ce . The strength of sea ice i s determined by its
co mpos ition and temperature.

This paper reports on experiments which determined both the composi­

tion and the ·uniaxial compress iv e strength of sea ice using an ultraso­
nic pulse. We also aim to describe the testing methods by means of the
ultra sonic pulse for sea i ce .

339
 INTRODUCTION

The authors carried out the experiments in a cold room using sea
ice, taken from the Saroma lagoon connected to the Okhotsk sea, to
obtain the relationship between the composition and the strength of sea
ice. The ultrasoni c pulse method was established as a nondestructive
testing device f or conc rete. This method predicts the qualities of
concrete from the pulse velocity.

From past experience of concrete , the attenuation constant obtained

by the ultrasonic pulse depends on the strength and the mix proportion
of concrete, and the compressive strength may be accurately estimated by
the ultrasonic pulse method. Thus the strength characteristics of sea
ice can be grasped by means of the ultrasonic pulse whi ch will be
effective means f or determining the strength of sea ice.

TESTING DEVICE AND METHOD

The experiments were conducted in the Research Laboratory, Dept . of

Civil Engineering, Hokkaido University, and the Saroma lagoon in
Hokkaido. The testing device is composed of ultrasonic digital indi­
cating tester, synchroscope, transmitter and receiver as shown in Figure
1.

The ultrasonic pulse from the tran s mitter is applied to a sea· ice
sample covered with a guide pipe as shown in Figure 2 and indicates
elapsed time by tester and pulse forms on a synchro scope.

Judging from the conclusion of the pre-experim~nt testing, to obtain

stable pulse forms , a contact pressure of 0 . 2kg/cm was required between
the ice specimen and the ultrasonic transducers. A soft gr ease was used
to facilitate contact.

The frequencies of the pulse were 50kHz, 200kHz, 400kHz . And the
uniaxial compress iv e test was carried out using cylindrical samples
(10cm in diameter and 20c m in length) at strain rates E between 0.001
and 0.003 sec-I and stress rates oc between 1.0 and 3.0 kg/cm 2 /sec.

The actual strength of sea ice depends on ice temperature (T),

salinity (S), and porosity (K) . In the experiments, however, the atten­
uation of ultrasonic pulse was taken into consideration in addition of
these factors as shown above, and the relation between the pulse veloci­
ty and the uniaxial compre ssive strength was examined in particular .

Judging from the conclusion of the results of experiments in the

past, we were aware of the fact that the strength and Young 's modulus of
sea ice are closely related and that the pulse velocity which is being
transmitted through an elastic body can be obtained from Formula (1) in
case of a rod; Therefore the strength of sea ice may be determined once
we know the pulse velocity.

v~ • • • • • (1)

E: Young ' s modulus of sea ice

p: density of sea ice

340
 The attenuation of ultras onic pul se will occur as a res ult of re­
fle ctio n, r efra ion and diffusion and its extent ~ay be expr ased by
the attenuation consLantCt .

I n t he se experimen ts , t he pulse velocity V (m/sec) of the ltrasonic

pulse propagated thr ough the i ce sa mple and the atten uat io n cons tant
(cm- 1 ) are meas ured .
a i s def ined a s Formula (Z);

(2)

P£ : th e aLte nueted s oundpr essure

PO : transmitted soundpreasure
t: the l ength of the ic e s pecimen

The method of deter mini t he composition and the po ro sity of sea

ice i s explained as fo llows :

Sea ice gener l ly cons i s t s of pure i ce , air bubbles and br ine. Its
proper t ie s ar e s ubj e ct t o chan g , a s time passes , f rom initial fr ee zln
to f usion wher e th volume , weight , temperat ure and specific w ight of
sea ·ce a r e V*( cm J ) , W (g ) , T (DC ) and p (gr/c mJ ) , a nd pur e ic , air
bubbl es aline 1n br ine and water content volume of ice a r e Vi (cma ) ,
VA (cm 3 ), Va (em') , Va (em » and Vw ( cm'), a nd al so the dens ity of pure
ice , brine , saline a nd water in t he br Ine are pi (gr /cm 3 ) ,
pB (gr/c m3 ) and pw (gr /em 3 ) , and in· addition, t he weight r atio of saline
is y and the salinity of sea i ce is S (0/00) , rela t i ons between 1;hem aloe
expressed in t he Formulae f rom (J) to (6).
V* ~ Vi + VA + VB (3)

vi ViPi • VwPw + VsP s

y VsPs / VwPw ( 5)

T S • y (6)

pa ~ + 0.8 (1 I( 1 + SIT)} (7)

Vs ps 0 . 001 · S· W (8)

pi 0 . ,:! ~680 - 0 . 00014 · T (9)

Vi
v* ~
= p i (1 +
(iiT +
1) . S • 10
-,
) • (10)

Va
V" ~ p. S · 10 - 3(,1)2
T + 1 1
- -....;...--- ( 11)
(1 .j ~) + 0 . 8
T

3
VA 1 _ 'L- {1 _ (Ii + 1 ) • S. 10- )
V* Pi T
_ p. S . 10- 3 • ([ + 1)2 1 •• (12 )

T ( 1 + [) + 0 . 8

341

-
 Regardi ng B in fo rmula (6) , e ven though Assur shows tha t S =- 54 .11
un til T~8 . 2 °c when NaS O~ · '0f!20 is separated fr om t he re sults of the
study of Nelson snd Thompson , Schr werdtfeger states that s ince the
influence of separating of NaS04- 10H20 is not considered lar §e, the
val ue of e in for mula (6 ) may be used a pproximately until T=- 22 . 9 C when
liaCl o2HzO begins t o separate . By using formulae from (3 ) t o (9) , Vi , VA ,
VB may be obtained as shown in f ormul ae (10) t (12 ) , re spect i vely .
Since P =1. 00 (gr/ cm3 ) , P s=2 . 17 (gr / cnr ) and S=- 54 . 11 , it i s known that
Vi / V", VA/ V* and VB/ V;' respecti vely ar e f unctions 0 f T,S and P ; the
strength will '.4e ke n as the value of VA+VB in r eases , suggesti ng that T,
S, p are affe c ting the s trength .

RESULTS OF EXPERH1ENTS

1. Experi ment s i n the Saroma Lago n

The sea ice used in the xperiments is 3-7 0 /00 salinity, its tem­
peratur e ie - 4 . 0 oC - - 6 . 0 0C rind - loDe - - 12°C , cu t fro m th e same blocks
longit udially in the direction of ice growth .

The ultrasoni c pulse passed throug s ea ice is infl uenced gr ea tly by

a ir bubble s an brine content . I n these experiments , t he re l ati on be ­
tween the pulse velocity and the uniaxial ompressi ve str ength was
meas ured by changing the porosity agai nst the change in i ce temperature .
The resul ts obtained on the relation between the ulse vel ocity and the
porosity are sho'~ in Figure 3.

It may be een fr om the figure that the pulse velocity become s

gradually constant as Lhe poro sity falls below 5 ercent , and t he pulse
veloci t y becomes les s as the poro ~lty becomes larger. Th i s i s because
the ultrasoni c pulse r eflects when there are air bubbles in the sea i ce
a~d transmits or r efr ac ts in a brine . Also , the tempera ture becomes
l ower , vo i d due to the ev poration of water content and t he contraction
of sea ice becomes larger nd the pulse velocity becomes smaller .

Figure 4 shows the relation between the compressive strength by t he

ice temperature and t he porosity .

Obviously , t he salinity becomes lower as the wa ter content in the

bri ne evaporates and, therefor e , the porOSity become s larger. It is
known that the porosity is closely related to the i ce temperature , the
salinity , and de nsi t y and the compre sive strength becomes lower a s the
poro ity inc r eases .

Figure 5 shows the relation between the pulse vel ocity and th e size
effect of the ice sample t o the compre s sive strength. The shor t er the
le ngth of the sample the 1 r ger the p lse veloc ity and t he co mpressive
strength .

From the resu l ts of the experime nts which were carried out by the
author s , it has been proved that the uniaxial compre ssive· s trength
become s smalle r a8 the ratio £/¢ of le ngth and di ameter of the sample
become s la rger . In particular , the unia xial compressi ve strength beco mes

342
markedly smaller as the ~/¢ ratio increases with the range of ~/¢<1, and
it becomes gradually smaller as the ~/¢ ratio increases with the range
of ~/¢)1.

Figure 6 shows the relation between the pulse velocity and the ratio
~/¢. From the above facts and the results of the experiments, we were
able to determine that a suitable diameter of the sample would be more
than 5cm and the ratio ~/¢<3 would be suitable, and when the ratio
becomes ~/¢)3, the pulse velocity would become abruptly smaller. From
the above observation, and the uniaxial compressive strength may in­
crease as the pulse velocity increases within the range of ~ /¢<3 .

2. Experiments in the Laboratory

The relation between the pulse velocity and the strength was ex­
amined with regard to the changes in salinity. The specimen used was
taken both longitudinally and perpendicularly in the direction of ice
growth.

Figure 7 shows that the pulse velocity becomes smaller as the salin­
ity increases. When considering the attenuation constant, it becomes as
shown in Figure 8 with the pulse velocity becoming approximately con­
stant until the attenuation constant of 0.35 and becoming smaller grad­
ually with the attenuation constant of more than 0.35.

Now, when the samples cut from the same blocks longitudinally and
perpendicularly are compared, the pulse velocity becomes smaller in the
perpendicular direction than in the longitudinal direction. And at
10°C, the uniaxial compressive strength in the perpendicular direction
is smaller than that of the longitudinal direction.

This is considered because in the perpendicular direction the ice

crystal is not uniform in the upper and lower part of the sample, there
are some weak points on the surface and at sea water and there are many
cavities.

Figure 9 shows the relation between the salinity and the attenuation
constant. Where the salinity 0 is shown, it is a fresh water ice, and,
the attenuation constant is smaller than in the case of sea ice as there
are any air bubbles which pre ve nt the ultrasonic pulse from propagating.
The attenuat i on constant increases linearly as the salinity increases,
allowing us to obtain the salinity if the attenuati on constant is known.

From the results of experiments 1) and 2) above, the relation be­

tween the pulse velocity and the compressive strength is shown in Figure
10. Due to the difference in the attenuation constant, it may be clas­
sified into several layers, and both the porosity and the salinity
increase as the attenuation constant become larger, and the pulse ve­
locity and the compressive strength become smaller.

Consequently, the compressive strength may be determined from the

pulse velocity and the attenuation constant regardless of the ice tem­
perature.

CONCLUSION

Factors influencing the attenuation of the ultrasonic pulse, are

343
 salinity, air bubbles, ice temperature, ice thickness and frequency,
etc., but it is clear from the experiments that it is mainly salinity
and porosity which affect the attenuation. By obtaining the pulse ve­
locity and the attenuation constant of the ultrasonic pulse, we may come
to know the composition and the strength of sea ice. Through the experi­
ments carried out, the difference in the pulse velocity due to the
frequency could be clearly determined. This is due to the fact that the
directivity improves.

The following experimental conclusions were obtained in thi s study.

1) The ratio between length and diameter t/¢ of the ice sample should be
less than 3. When t/¢ is greater than 3, the measured pulse velocity
V is low. The measurement of the attenuation constant a is unaffected
by sample s t/¢ ratio.
2) As the pure ice content increases, the pulse velocity increases.
Conversely, as the poros ity increases, the pulse velocity decreas es.
3) The attenuation constant a increases as the porosity increases.
4) It is clarified that the uniaxial compressive strength of sea ice
could be determined by measuring the pulse velocity V and the atten­
uati on constant a.
5) When using a high frequency (200kHz and 400kHz) ultrasonic pulse,
the axis of the transmitter and receiver must be accurately aligned.
Measurement using 50kHz were found to be practical because the direc­
tivity of the low frequency is less than that of the high frequency.
As the frequency i~crea s es, the attenuation of the ultr ason ic pulse
becomes larger. Future problems to be solved are that size effect
(scale merit) of the longer sample in a rod shape and thickness of
ice sheet, and the conditions under which the attenuation will be
made the minimum must be determined. Therefore, it is hoped to carry
out the experiments to dete rmine Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio
of sea ice and the experiments immersing he samples in sea water.

Finally, we wish to be able to detect reflective pulses and obtain

the ice thickness through the surface propaga tion method on the ice
sheet. And the determination of the ice strength will be improved mark­
edly by us ing the composite nondestructive testing method combining the
use of an ultrasonic pulse and th e Schmidt test hammer.

REFERENCE

1) Chuji Kashiwa : Nondestructive testing method - Thesis, specification

and bibliography of Japan, Europe and U.S.A - Hakuhodo Co., Ltd.
2) Hideaki Yamamoto: Basic Ultrasonic Engineering, Nikkan Kogyo Shim-
bun Co., Ltd.
3) Toshikazu Igarashi: Sound and Vibration, Kyoritsu Shuppan Co., Ltd.
4) Noboru Niwa : Ultrasonic Mea surement, Shohodo Co., Ltd.
5) Robert J. Urick: Principles Underwater Sound, ~lcgraw-Hill, 1975.
6) Hiroshi Saeki Research on strength characteristics of sea ice and
ice r es istant design of coastal and marine structures, 1982 ..

344
 ULTRASONIC DIGITAL

INDICATING TESTER

Fig. 1

Measur ing System of The Velo­

city and The Attenuation Con­

s tant of The Ultrasonic Pulse

SYNCHROSCOPE

EB
--== ___
~ LOAD

'" RECEIVER
Fig. 2
i / GUIDE PI PE
,/ The Ultras onic Pulse Sensors
I TRANSMITTER Setting.

4000.-------.-------,-------~

V 0
(m/s) o£:, ~ cPo 0
Q) 0 8 o?fi 00 Fig. 3

3000
. ...
.
• ••
The Relation Between The

Puls·e Velocity and The Poro- .

s·fty of Sea Ice .

o T=-lO--61)'C
• T=-10.0--12.Q'C
•
2000 P = O.81-0.93g/cm 3
S = 7.29-758 'I..
f =50kHz
~ =10cm 1=20cm

10 K (010) 15

345
 (Jc
(kglcm1 T 'C P g/c,nJ 5 'I..
o -2.8 --3.2 090-0.93 5.06-7.58
60 • -4.6- -5.2 090-092 5.70-699
o -40--6.00.87-0.90 3.89-528
50 0 6. -100- -1 2.0081- 084 2.29-400
4>=10cm 1=20cm
40
0

~
30

20

10

0 2 4 6 8 10 K('I.) 12
Fig. 4 Relation between Compressive Strength and Porosity of Sea lee.

4~'r----r----.----.----~---r--~
o 4>=10em 1=20em P=0.610-0840glcm 3
V 6. 4> =10 em 1= 10 em 5= 2.29-4.00 '1_
(m/s) f = 50 kHz T= -10- -12 ·C

~~
6.
3000

Fig. 5 Relation between Velocity and Compressive Strength.

m/sec f:50 kHz

P=O.90 -0.93 9/cm 3
• • 5=5.08 -7.38 0/00
. ..
~
•
3000 ..
T:-2.B--3.2·C

~.
v

2000

,
1000)OL----~1------2~----3~----~4------5---
L/¢

Fig. 6 Relation between Velocity and Size of Specimen.

346
 -,

I
v
(mIs)
0
o Horizontal
4~~ 0 00
q;,
• Vertical
P=0880-0914glc
c~
8 T= - 10 ·C
o 0 f= 50 kHz
0 ¢>= 10cm I =20cm
0
8
3000 •• ~ • .,.
0

20000 5 10 5 (0'00) 15
Fig . 7 Relation between Velocity and Salinity of Sea I ce.

V
(mls) o Horizontal
4000 • Vertical
p = 0880 - 0914g/cm3
T=-IO·C
f = 50 kHz
¢>=IOcm 1=20cm

3000 0:'
o 0

. .• ..0..
•
• 0 •

200«,.3 0.4 0.5

c( (lIem)
Fig. 8 Relation between Velocity and Attenuation Constant.

15~--------------~--------------~~
5 o Horisontal
(0'00) • Ver tica l 3
p = 0.880-Q911 g/cm
T =-IO ·C
f = 50 kHz
10 . ¢> = 10cm I =20cm

0 •
•
5 0
~ fiJ
0

~ (:f' 0

/ 0.4 05
c( (lIem)
Fig . 9 Relation between Salinity and Attenuation Cons·tant.

347
 4000r----r----.----.-----.----.----.,----·
V __ -=- 0
(m/s) -. 0:---0 0 0 a - <X.=Q406-Q424
• ~'~~ ---------- <X. =0..426-0..431
____ - __________
............
<X.= 0.440. - 0.4 50

3000
e~o ____ r:i.=0.482-0..489
<X.=0..441-0..447

~
~OOO 0 <X.=0.477-Q494
o --- .
<X. =0..484 - 0..487
-::::---....
2000 g OoCOCO~. . . 0:=0.491-0.514
T: 0 -2.8- -32 DC
• -4.6 - -5.2 DC
<X.=o.526 - 0.538 0-4.0- -6.0.·C
f =50. kHz
q>=lOcm
I =20.cm

100%~--~1~0--~2~0--~3~O----4~0--~5~0--~6~O~-2~
Ge (kg/em)

Fig. 10 Relation among Uniaxial Compressive Strength • Pulse

Velocity and Attenuation Constant of Sea Ice.

348
 lAHR Ice Symposium 1984
Hamhurg

EVALUATION OF A BIAXIAL

ICE STRESS SENSOR

Gordon F.N. Cox, U.S. Army Cold Regions United States

Geophysicist Research and Engineering
Laboratory, Hanover, N.H.

ABSTRACT

Controlled laboatory tests were performed to evaluate the response of

a cylindrical, biaxial ice stress sensor. The tests demonstrate that the
sensor has a low temperature sensitivity (5 kPa/'C) and is not signifi­
cantly affected by differential thermal expansion between the ice and
gauge. Loading tests on fresh water and saline ice blocks containing the
embedded sensor show that the sensor has a resolution of 20 kPa and an
accuracy of better than 15% under a variety of uniaxial and biaxial load­
ing conditions.

349
INTRODUCTION
Reliable, inexpensive ice stre s s measurements are needed to solve a
va riety of ice related problems. These include measuring and monitoring
ice loads on marine and hyc1raulic structures; determining the magnitude of
ice force s associated with ice drift, ride-up, pile-up and pressure ridge
formation; measuring thermal ice pressures in reservoirs; and assessing
the effects of ice convergence on the performance of large icebreakers and
tankers.
During the past several years, a biaxial ice stress sensor has been
under development at Oceanographic Service., Inc., CRREL, and IRAD Gage,
Inc. (Johnson and Co x , 1980; Johnson and Cox, 1982; and Cox and Johnson,
1983). This paper sLmlmarizes the results of controlled laboratory tests
which were performed to evaluate the new bia xia l gauge. I!ore detailed
infonnation on measuring stress in ice, the biaxial sensor theory, and the
laboratory r e sults are given in Cox and Johnson (1983).

BIAXIAL ICE STRESS SENSOR

The biaxial ice stress sensor cons ists of a stiff cylinder made of
steel (Fig. I and 2). It is 20.3 em long, 5.7 em in diameter and has a
wall thickn e ss of 1.6 cm. The ends of the sensor are threaded such that a
rounded end cap can be attached to the lower end of the sensor. Extension
rods can also be screwed to the top of the sensor to positi on the sensing
portion of the gauge at any desired depth in the ice sheet.

Figure I. Biaxial ice stress sensor.

350
 3 wires

~. 72
at 120 0
\(.

LE
Figure 2. Schematic of biaxial ice stress sensor.

Principal ice stresses normal to the axis of the gauge are determined
by measuring the radial deformation of the cylinder wall in three direc­
tions. This is accomplished by use of vibrating wire technology advanced
by IRAD Gage (Hawkes and Bailey, 1973). Three tensioned wires are set
120· from each other across the cylinder diameter (Fig. 2). The diametral
deformation of the gauge in these three directions is determined by pluck­
ing each wire with a magnet/coil assembly and measuring the resonant fre­
quency of the vibrating wires. A thermistor is also placed inside the
cylinder to measure the gauge temperature. Both ends of the sensor are
sealed to protect the wires and electronics from moisture. The sensor and
data logging equipment are fabricated by IRAD Gage in Lebanon, N.H.
Despite the stiffness of the gauge, it is very sensitive to loading.
~m (2.0x10-
3 7
Radial displacements as small as 5.0x10- in.) can be mea­
sured. This corresponds to a sensor resolution of about 20 kPa (3
lbf/in.2) when i t is embedded in ice.
This design offers several advantages. The sensor is rugged and
leakproof and it can be easily installed in the ice using conventional ice
augering equipment. As the sensor output is frequency, it is not affected
by leakage to ground, poor contacts and long lead lengths. The sensor is
also inexpensive ($1700 for the prototype, including labor and materials).
The magnitude and direction of the principal stress (p, q, and el)
are calculated from the radial deformation (Vrl, Vr 2, and Vr 3) of
the sensor wires by solving three simultaneous equations:

351
 Vrl
= A (p + q) + B (p - q) cos 28 1

Vr2 = A (p + q) + B (p - q) cos 2 (8 1 + 60°)

and

where A and B are constants which depend on the gau~e geometry and the
mechanical properties of the ice and ~auge. The sensor is desi~ned such
that A and B are relatively insensitive to variations in the ice modulus,
Ei, and Poisson's ratio, u (Fig. 3 and 4). Equations for A and Bare
given in Cox and Johnson (1983). They are derived from analytical solu­
tions which describe the behavior of an elastic ring welded in an elastic
plate (Savin, 1961).
The biaxial ice stress sensor is not calibrated in ice. It is cali­
brated in a hydraulic pressure cell to determine the initial frequency and
the effective length of each vibrating wire. The gau~e is radially loaded
and the measured deformation of the gauge is compared to the radial defor­
mation of a thick-wall cylinder.

E,Obf/in.2 )

104 lOS Irl la'

E1Ubl Jin.'l.)
Ia' 10' 10· la'

v·0.5

I
0.33
Z 0 .33

~
;;­
.5
0

« II 3.0'" _4

Z
a
;;­ ;:
107§
10
0 .5 .5
CD .
2.5
9

Id' 10' 10' 2.0 lei' 10' 10

Figure 3. Variation of A with ice Figure 4. Variation of B with ice

moduli. moduli.

352
EVALUATION TESTS

Controllerl lahoratory tests were perfo rmed to evaluate the biaxial

i c e stress sensor. Tests were first conducted to determine the tempera~

ture sensitivity of the gauge. The sensor was then frozen into large ice
blocks and loaded in a biaxial loading machine to study the response of
the sensor under different loading conditions. The effects of differen­
tial thermal expansion between the sensor and s urrounding ice and 10ng­
term sensor drift were also examined.

Tempe rature Sensitivity

The temperature sensitivity of the gauge waS determined by placing
t he sensor in a glycol bath inside an environmental chamber. The tempera­
ture of the chamber and bath were varied and sensor readings were taken at
different temperatures. The results for each of the three vibrating wires
in the gauge are presented in Figure 5.

Biax ial Loading Tests

The response of the sensor to different loads was evaluated by freez­
ing the sensor into large ice blocks and loading the blocks in a hydrau­
lic; biaxial loading machine. The ice blocks used in these tests were 61
x 61 x 18 cm thick. The length and width of the ice blocks were chosen to
accommodate the entire area of influence of the sensor, about ten diame­
ters.

71 B )( 10- 6 , - - - . - - - , - - - - - , - - - - - . - - . . - - - - - ,

717~ w;,.~

~:::~'''',

~ 7\4

713

712~·--~--~~2~.r_-~.k-___ __.~

Figure 5. Variation of wire period

with temperature for each of the
three wires in the biaxial ice
stress sensor.

353
 The blocks were grown from both fresh and saline water. The grain
size of the crystals in the blocks varied between 0.5 and 2 cm. The fresh
water blocks had both horizontal and vertical c-axis crystals, while the
sa lir1e ice bl ock s had predominantly horiwntal c-axis crystals. The c­
axis did not show any preferred alignmer1t in the horizontal plane. The
saline ice blocks had an average salinity of about 5 0/00.

The biaxial loading machine used in the stress sensor verification

tests is shown in Figure 6. The machine consiste<l of two, 0.4-MN-capacity
hydraulic rams supported by two independnet I-beam frames. The inside ram
and frame rolled Or1 casters to minimize shear stresses on the block during
hiaxial loading as well as to compensate for any lack of planar squareness
of the ice blocks. The platens consisted of alumir1urn blocks covered with
sheets of Teflon. They were only 58 cm wide to allow for about 3 cm of
block strain during a biaxial loading test. The platens were also free to
rotate in the vertical plane to compensate f o r lack of end squareness of
the ice blocks.
Loads were applied to the ice blocks using the rams and a hydraulic
hand pump. Control valves were used to direct the hydraulic fluid to one
or both rams and a hydraulic dial gauge was used to measure the load. The
entire loading system was calibrated with a load cell prior to testing.
Applied uniaxial stresses on the ice blocks had an accuracy of about 20
kPa. In a few tests, block strains were measured with direct current
distance transducers attached to the platens.

Figure 6. Ice block and sensor in biaxial loading machine.

354
 Four blocks were used in the loading tests. Blocks 1 and 2 were
fresh water ice and blocks 3 and 4 were saline ice. Measured versus ap­
plied stresses for each test are plotted in Figures 7 through 10. In cal­
culatinp, the measured stress from the diametrial deformation of the gauge,
a modulus of 0.69 CPa and Poisson's ratio of 0.33 were assumed for the
13
ice. This corresponds to coefficient A and B values of 1.15xIO_ and
13 3
4.74xl0_ m /N, respectively.

I I I
- 300
2 .01- _Applied
• Measured

1.6e­

- 200

rT 1.2­
(MPo)

0 .8 - •
- 100

0.4 ­

TIme (min)

Figure 7. Measured versus applied

stress and block strain for block 1.
08~-'--r--r-'--~-r.--'--r--'-'1-'120

a, : : / .
(MPol
02
l·l. -
•
Applied
Measured ­ 80

40 (lbflin.2)

o L -_ _ _ _ -w L----~~.~L. 0

""~ '.~~"".~..
0.6

q
IMPe)
0.4

o. :~ : : :. '. ' , "

o 10 20 30 40 50
Time (min)

Figure 8. Measured versus applied stress in the two

loading directions of block 2.

355

-
 80
0 .'

CT 40 CT
(MPal (lb l lln .2 )
0 .2
- A~pll.d
0 .1

a .,
• Mlo.ured
..
12 16 20 20
80

A.'
0.0
CT CT
IMPolO .3 40 (lbf/in..2)

0 .2
20
0.1
.

a
24 28 .. 36
Time (hr)
00 00
a
o.
a. 0 to 48 hours.

a.'
0 .0
CT 0 .3 CT
IMPol (Ibl/in.')
0 .2

0.1

o. 02
•• 60 • 4
••
0 .'

CT
40 (lbflln.'I:)
0 .2
20
0.1
'\

72 7. 80 80 BB 92 9.
Tim. (In) b. 48 to 96 hours.

CT CT
( MPQ) tlbflln.'I:)
0 .2
-Applied 20
0.1
.... a.ur.d

9. 100 lao 10. 112 II. 120

.0
O.
60
A.'
CT CT
IMPo l 0 .3 40 (lbUin.' )
0 .2 I
...2.4%
Strain 20
0.1
I
120 144
c. 96 to 144 hours.

Figure 9. Me asured versus applied stress for block 3.

356
 BO
0 .0

60

0 .4
(T
CT 0 .3
(MPo) 40 Ubl/in.2)
0 .2

20

0 .1 -Applied
• Measured
o~~~~-------------L----------~------~ 0

'\

148 "2 ". 160 "4 188

80
0 .0
0 .4 40
(T (T
IMPel 0 .3 40 tlb' lI n.z ,
0 .2

20

0.1

o. 0

I •• 172 176 180 184 IBB ,.2

Tim. (nr) d. 144 to 192 hours.

320

2.0­

- 240
1.6f­

1.21­
(T 160 (7
("'Po) Ubl/tn. 2 )

0 .• 1­

O.4f­ s.r­
6.B"­

BO

s,----~1~93.---~1~9~.----~19~O----~,95
192
Time (IIr) e. 192 to 196 hours.

Figure 9 (cont'd).
I. 2,---,----,------,----,---,-----,-----,,-­
150
-Applied

0 .• 120

0;
("'Pal
0.4
40

1.2',----,----,------,----,-----,-----,----,-­
... 160

~ O.B 120 q
(MPa) (lbl/in. 2 )
BO
0.4
40

Tim. (nr)

Figure 10. Measured versus applied stress for block 4.

357
 718>10·'
I I
Wire I

7161­ -
~

."
.g 3
~
!! 714­ -
j

712 ;­ ~ -
°°
I I I
0 40 80 120 160 200
Time (days)

Figure 11. Va riation of wire period with time

for wi res in biaxial ice st ress sensor.

Differential Thermal Expansion

Block 4 was also used to study the effects of differential thermal
expansion between the ice and gauge. To simulate conditions in the field
where the se nsor would be cove red with an insulated instrument box. the
blo ck was insulated on the top and bottom with foam. The temperature of
the sensor and block were then varied from -20°C to O°C and back to -lO°C
to examine the response of the gauge. After the stress measurements were
corrected for changes in temperature, the stress readings were generally
within or equal to the re so lution of the sensor, 20 kPa.

Long-Term Drift
During the course of the evaluation study, sensor readings were ob­
tained at 20°C to examine the stability of the unloaded gauge. The period
of vibration of each of the three wires in the gauge is plotted against
time in Figure 11. Over a period of about 200 days, wires 1 and 2 showed
a slight decrease in the wire period, while wire 3 showed a significant
change.

DISCUSSION OF TEST RESULTS

The biaxial ice stress sensor has a low temperature sensitivity and
the sensor response is not affected by differential thermal expansion be­
tween the ice and gauge.
The sensor output appears to vary linearly with temperature. If the
sensor were in ice, the observed changes in output would correspond to

358
stresses of about 5 kPa/oC. Relative to the resolution of the gauge (20
kPa), the temperature sensitivity is small. In many short-term applica­
tions of the gauge, temperature corrections would not be needed. However,
in situations where large variations in ice temperature did occur, the
sensor output would have to be corrected to obtain the highest possible
accuracy.
Metge et al. (1975) postulated that the response of a steel ice
stress sensor would be greatly affected by differential thermal expansion
between the ice and gauge. However, the results of this investigation and
those of Johnson and Cox (1980) do not support this hypothesis. If ice
were an elastic material, differential thermal expansion would be a prob­
lem. Because ice creeps under low stress, localized thermal stresses in
the ice around the sensor rapidly relax and are unable to build up to any
significant value.
The results of the loading tests indicate that the sensor responds
immediately to applied loads. In general, meas·ured stresses are within
15% of the applied stress for both uniaxial and biaxial loading. The sen­
sor response does not appear to be affected by ice creep and, when the
applied stresses are removed, the measured stresses fall close to zero.
Reliable stress measurements are also obtained well beyond yielding or
failure of the ice. In addition, the sensor can usually determine the
direction of the applied stresses to within 5°.
Part of the observed error can be attributed to the resolution of the
gauge (20 kPa) and the loading system (20 kPa). Combined, they account
for about 30 kPa of the observed differences in the applied and measured
stress. These differences are significant at low stress levels. Errors
are also introduced by poor seating between the sides of the ice block and
platens, and shear stresses on the block sides during biaxial loading.
The block 3 and block 4 results show that stress measurements improve sig­
nificantly when the applied stresses are held constant on the block.
If it were possible to solve the seating and shear stress problems
associated with the loading ~achine, measured stresses would probably be
within 10% of the applied stresses. This postulate is supported by the
results from block 3 where a uniaxial load was maintained on the ice
block. After about 3 hours, the block appears to be properly seated and
the difference between the applied and measured stress is less than or
equal to the combined error associated with the resolution of the gauge
and loading system. Since a biaxial field can be described as the super­

359

-
position of two normal uniaxial fields, the same results should be ob­
served in a well-des igned biaxial loading test where problems associated
with poor seating, bulging of the ice block and shear stresses have been
eliminated.
Periodic measurements under no load reveal that the sensor exhibits
long-term drift. With time the strain in the vibrating wires increases,
resulting in a decrease in the wire period. According to IRAn Gage, the
gauge fabricator, this behavior is caused by outward displacement of the
clamps holding the wires in the sensor. Work on borehole stress meters
indicates that the problem can be eliminated by heat-treating the sensor
after fabrication. This was not done for the prototype sensor.

CONCLUSIONS

Reliable ice stress measurements can be obtained by measuring the

diametral deformation of a stiff steel cylinder embedded in the ice. By
measuring the deformation of the cylinder in three directions, we can
determine both the magnitude and direction of the principal stresses in
the i ce . Analytical solutions describing the behavior of an elastic ring
welded in an elastic plate adequately predict the sensor's inclusion fac­
tor (stress concentration factor) in ice, despite the fact that ice is a
time-dependent material. Since the sensor is considerably stiffer than
the ice, its deformation is not significantly affected by variations in
the ice elastic modulus and by nonelastic hehavior. It i s not necessary
to calibrate the sensor in ice.
Controlled laboratory experiments to evaluate the biaxial ice stress
sensor indicate that the sensor has a low temperature sensitivity (5
kPa/oC) and is not significantly affected by differential thermal expan­
sion between the ice and the gauge. Loading tests of fresh water and sa­
line ice blocks containing an embedded sensor show that the sensor has a
reso l ution of 20 kPa and an accuracy of better than 15% under a variety of
hoth uniaxial and biaxial loading conditions. When allowances are made
for poor seating of the ice blocks in the loading machine and shear
stresses on the platens, test results suggest that the sensor accuracy may
be better than 10% of the applied stress. Principal stress directions can
be resolved to within about S°.
The cylindrical sensor does not greatly overload the ice and can ac­
curately measure ice stresses well beyond ice yielding or failure. The

360
maximum stress riser produced by the presence of the sensor in the ice is
about 1.5.
The sensor is also rugged, leak-proof, and can be easily installed in
an ice sheet with conventional augering equipment.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was jointly supported by the Minerals Management Service of

the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Army Cold Regions Re­
search and Engineering Laboratory In-House Laboratory Independent Research
Program. The author appreciates the assistance provided by Nancy Perron,
Steve Decato, and Bill Bosworth in growing and handling the large ice
blocks, as well as in preparing ice thin sections. Larry Could designed
the biaxial loading machine which was then fabricated by B11l Burch.

REFERENCES

Cox, C.F.N. and J.B. Johnson (1983) Ice stress measurements. USA Cold
Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory Report 83-23.
Hawkes, I. and W.V. Bailey (1973) Design, develop, fabricate, test and
demonstrate permissible low cost cylindrical stress gauges and
associated components capable of measuring change of stress as a
function of time in underground coal mines. U.S. Bureau of Mines
Contract Report H0220050, NN.
Johnson, J.B. and C.F.N. Cox (1980) The OSI ice stress sensor. In Pro­
ceedings of the Workshop on Sea Ice Field Measurements, St. John's,
Newfoundland. Center for Cold Oceans Resources Engineering, C-CORE
Report 80-21, pp. 193-207.
Johnson, J;B. and C.F.N. Cox (1982) Stress sensor particularly suited for
elastic, plastic, and viscoelastic materials. United States Patent
4,346,600, 31 August.
Metge, M., A. Strilchuk and P. Trofimenkoff (1975) On recording stresses
in ice. In Proceedings, IAHR Third International Symposium on Ice
Problems. 18-21 August, Hanover, N.H. USA Cold Regions Research and
Engineering Laboratory, pp. 459-468.
Savin, C.N. (1961) Stress concentrations around holes. New York:
Pergamon Pres s.

361
 lAHR Ice Symposium 1984
Hambw-g

IIAIOYED _lIE RADAR DISPLAY

fOR NIIYIGllTION IN ICE-COVERED WATERS

E.O. LEWIS Oepartment of Fisheries & OC88ns CANADA

Chief, Engineering enQ Ocaen Sc I enca & Surveys

Technical Support

B.W. CURRIE Commun I cat Ions Res8nrch Laboratory CANADA

Reseer<:h Eng I neer McMaster Un 1vars Ity

Sh 1ps nay I get I ng In Ice-covered waters are severe Iy htJnd I capped by the poor

Quality of conventional IMrlne radar display devices tJnd bye lImited cepebility to IMnlpu­

ItJte the race 1ved rade,. dtJtll to more af feet I va I y uf III ze I ts I nforlMIt Ion content.

The Cened 1an Department of Fisher r as end OcetJns and Md4ester Un I vsrs I tv hev8, for

8 period of severed yeers, been ClIIrrylng out & series of experiments end Investigations to

I mprove the reder's abl!1 ty to detect and c I ass I fy J ce types and features. A IMjor pert of

these experiments hes been essocleted with Investlgetlng the optimum reder peremeters

(frequency. polerlzetlon, pulse width. etc.) to employ In 21 speclelly-deslgned Ice reder.

The resu 1ts of th Is work ere descr I bed In en eccompeny I ng peper (Lew I send Curr I e, 1984).

Recant studies heve elso been directed ot maximizing the Informetlon evelleble from conven­

tlonel IMrlne reder systems.

"This peper describes Investlgetlons of 11Mg8 enhencement techniques appllceble to

reel-time enhencement of radar slgnel returns from Ice targets. A redar Image recorded

during en experlmentel program Is enhanced by a number of reesonably simple methelN!lltlcal

processes. The results of these operetlons are compared against the orlglnel unprocessed

IlN!IIge. end show slgnl!lcant Increase In the Information made epparent to the operator.

Besed on the result of these comperlsons. recOfM18ndatlons are IN!IIde on the m'Jst sulteble

complement of techniques to be employed In e r8lJ1-tlme display. Issues Involved with scan

conversion from RE> to XY coordinates ere discussed.

The peper conc I udes by descr I bing how these enhencement techn I ques cou I d be

I mp I emented In hardwere to ach I eve cont I nuous rea I-t I me processed IlI'IlIges. Herdware costs

of this Implementetlon are elso discussed.

363
I• I NJlQ)I£T1 (II

The conventlonel mer-Ine rader dlspley system, the plan position Indlcetor (PPI),

suffers from severell significant limitations which restrict Its performelnce when used for

I ce MY I gett Ion. These II mI tet Ions I nc I ude 1111'11 ted dyntlml c r8ng8, 8 strong rtlnge dependence

which clInnot be accuretely ellmineted, 8 need to be viewed under subdued lighting, and the

reliance on tube perslstence . to present a complete llll!lge. Of these, the two most 5lgolfl­

cent Ilmltetlons are the IJmlted dynamic renge and renge dependence. In eddltlon, due to

the unsoph I st I ell ted nature of the d I sp lay system, modern methods of 1!MIge enhencement wh leh

could Improve the usefulness of the d'splllY Image ctlnnot be employed.

Th I 5 paper looks lit techn I qUBS to overcome the I nherent 1111'11 tat Ions associ ated

with conventional devices as well as other techniques that can be employed to Improve the

Information content of the IlI'IeIge.

In Section 2, the paper will describe the problems associated wIth displaying Ice

Information, whIle Section 3 will discuss potentIal methods to r~solve these problems. In

Sect I on 4, methods su I tab I e for real-t I me app II cat I on wII I be se I ected and discussed, and

e)(amples of the Improvements shown. Section 5 covers discussion of results while final l y,

Section discusses hardware ImplementatIon and anticIpated costs.

2. 0 I SPlJ\Y PRIlIlUMS

For 8 shlpborne radar IIIumln8tlng 8n Ice cover, the r8ng9 of signal Intensities

of targets of Interest spans 30 to 40 db or more, wh lie the dynamic range of the conven­

tlon.1 PPI dlspl.y Is limIted to less th.n 12 db. When the dlspl.y Is .dJusted to show the

sll'lelilest target of Interest, larger targets cause saturation of the display. ThiS, then,

conceals the difference between smaller targets which are relatively harmless, end larger

dangerous targets (I nc I ud I ng 1cebergs), since a II are d I sp I ayed at essent I a Ily the same

IntensIty on the PPI.

A second problem result~ from the spreading of the radar energy with r:-enge.

Targets near the radar ref lect more energy than simI far-strength targets further away,

since more Incident energy falls on them. For a surface-based radar IlIumlnetlng the Ice

surfece, this decreese In Incident radar energy varies as 1/R3, where R is the range to the

t.rget. If the dlspl.y Is .dJusted to show t.rgets close to the r.d.r, sl .. ".r-slzed

targets further away can easily be lost due to this range dependence. Conversely, If the

dlspl.y I s .dJusted to show long-r.nge t.rgets, strong bloomIng ne.r the dlsploy ""ntre

results In the loss of Individual short-range targets.

A lesser, though stili Important, Ilrnltatlon of conventIonal display systems

resu I ts from the f.ct th.t the PPI I mege I S me I nt.1 ned on the d I sp I.y by emp loy I ng tube

persistence. This requires that the display be viewed under reduced lightIng either

through. vIewing hood; or by d.rkenlng the shIp's brIdge. DurIng d.yllght hours, It Is

extreme Iy d I ff I cu I t for more than one person to vi ew the d lsp I ay at one t I me. Further,

364
since the ver leb I e renge merker Ish I gh II ghted on I y by the rottlt I ng sweep, renge measure­

ments cen not be mede unt II the sweep updetes the tlr68 of Interest.

}. TEafi IQOES fIR DI SPLAY III'ROYBIENT

All the techniques described bel o w rely on having the IlMIge InforlMtlon In e

TV-type rester seen format. In Section 3.1, the rester seen dlspJey Is described, while In

the fo I low I ng sect Ions potent 18 JIy 8dvent8geous process I ng techn I ques ere discussed.

3.1 _1"... Scan Display

One w8y to effectively overcome some of the problems described In Section 2 Is

through the use of e rester SClln d I sp ley dev Ice. BeClluse of I ts rep Id upde'te rete (1/60 of

tI second), 'the display eppeers flicker-free. The entire Image Is dlspleyed continuously

end cursor position meesurements ClIn be mede et eny time. In eddltlon, beceuse of the much

brighter dlspley the device ClIn be viewed under normal ambient lighting. Most Importently,

however, Is the much wider dynemlc renge of the dlspley device. Utilizing e bleck end

white dlspley with 8 bits per pixel resolution, e dynemlc renge of Intensity of 48 db ClIn

be eccomrrodated, elthough the ectual discernible dynamic renge Is more likely In the 20 to

30 db range. By going to e color dlspley e s'tlll wider dyn8mlc renge cen be eccommodeted,

end s I gnlll sin pert I cu ler renges of I ntens I ty ClIn be enhenced by the use of co lor.

A ""'Jor pre-condltlon to employing this type of display technology Is a require­

ment to digitize the Incoming reder signals. WI'th modern dlgl'tel circuitry the enalogue­

to-<11glt81 conversion Is readily accomplIshed. In order to accurete I y represent the

analogue signal In dlgltel forma't It Is necessery to sample end digitize the slgnel e't

least twice per radar resolution cell. The renge resolution Is 'the minimum rl!lOge sepere­

tlon for two tergets to be Indlvlduelly resolved, end Is determined by the pulse length of

the trensmltted reder Signal. For e typlcel marine reder pulse length of 200 ns (30 m

resolution), the signal ...st be digitized at approxl""'tely 1014Hz.

}.2 Range _ I Iza1" Ion

Once the reder signal has been digitized, the lest of the IMIJor problems essocl­

eted wi th the stenderd PP I d I sp I ey ClIn be reso I ved. By norM I I zing the reder returns as e

function of rllOge, the blooming problem described eerller ClIn be ellmlneted. All tergets

of equ81 red8r cross-section w'II be dlspleyed with the S8me IntensIty regerdless of their

r8nge from the red8r. Although this normlllization ClIn largely be achieved with some red8rs

by employing the STC (sensitivIty time control) function, the resultIng signals are

un~ II brated, thus mek I ng further process i ng d Iff I cu It. The nor me II zing process Is ClIrr I ad

out by multiplying the return signal by an appropriate factor to compensate for the 1/R3

range dependence.

One conslderetlon In USing e rester scen dlsp lay Is thet 'the Incoming reder dete

Is seq>led In e renge-beerlng (poler) formet, wherees the rester SC8n dlspley system Is In

an X-V CClIrteslen) forlMt. The required polar-to-rectanguler mepplng Is known es scen

365
conversion. Generelly, there ere more sempled dete points In the poler Image then can be

dlspleyed In the X-V system. The resulting reduction of dete points In going to the X-V

d I sp I ey must be alrefu II y meneged to evo I d the loss of I nforrn.at I on. Neer the centre of the

rmege, there ere many more dete pol nts then cen be d I sp I eyed In the X-V format.

Conversely, neer the outside of the lmege there will be few poler dete points due to the

diverging neture of the poler seen lines. In fect, some X-V locetlons (pixels) will not

heve e dete velue esslgned. There ere e number of scen conversion procedures whl"ch eddress

these end other problems. It Is necessery to select the procedure which Is most sulteble

to the Image being converted end the neture of the targets which ere to be dlspleyed.

3~ NoIse ReductIon

In this work, the noise Is essentlelly from t-.o sources: the reder system, end

the digitizing process. Both noise sources ere white end eddltlve, end successive noise

semp I es ere unCorre leted •

There ere e number of methods by wh I ch no I se reduct Ion een be ech I eved. One

51"1>le method of reducing low level noise 51gnels Is to threshold Incoming s8mples et some

5elect8ble level such thet ell velues near the MDS <minimum discernible 5lgnel) level of

the reder ere set to zero, while higher level s8mples ere ptlssed un8ltered.

As well, noise reduction tr8dltlonelly Involves 8ver8g1ng either tempor811y or

spetl81ly. One tempore I method 8vereges e number of lmeges to reduce the uncorreleted

noise (r8ndom sI9n8Is). However, for the re81-tlme 8ppllc8tlon In Which the vessel end the

Ice t8rgets 8re both In motion, the 8vereglng of multiple Irneges results In slgnlflcent

blurrIng of the 'mege end delay In presenting en up-to-d8te IMge to the oper8tor. A

spetl81 method of noise reduction Involves IOW-P8S5 filtering the lmege, thus reducing high

frequency, splkey noise. If the 'OIl P8SS filtering Is Implemented by spetlel 8ver8glng It

h8S the d IS8dv8ntege of srrooth 1ng 8nd b I urr I ng the I mege, p8rt I cu 18r I y 8round edges. S I nee

edges represent 8 meJor source of Inform8tlon content for the Ice situation, this technique

15 0150 undeslroble. A spotlol fIltering method whIch reduces thIs smeorlng effect 15

medlon filterIng. In thIs technIque the lmoge Is operoted on by 0 slidIng wIndow whereby

the V8' ues with I n the window 8re 8rr8nged I n order 8nd the mad 18n v81 ue se lected 8nd

substituted for the orl91n81 pixel velue. ThIs technique h85 the 8dvent8ge thet It reduces

sp I key noIse but does not blur edges.

Another smooth I ng techn Ique, Edge Preservl n9 SlIIOOth I ng (Neg80 end MetsuY8rn.a,

1979), removes noise In fl8t regions but coesn1t blur sh8rp edges by looking for the most

homogeneous neIghbourhood 8round e8ch point 8nd then 8sslgnlng to thet point the tIIverege

gray level vtlllue of the selected neighbourhood. By repet5ted eppllcetlon of this technique,

the noise Is reduced while the edges rem81n shtllrp.

J.4 Hlstogr. . _Iflcotlon

Another group of methods thet ~n provide Improvements In the vlsuel qU811ty of

8n lmege are I)lstogrem modlflc8tlon techniques. A hl5togrMl of the pixel v81ues of tIIn

366
Iml!Ige ctln provide value:ble descriptive Information regarding enhancement methods that rMy

be effectively 'pplled.

The problem of limited gre:y sC8le utilization (limIted contrest) can be resolved

to 8 certe:'n extent by e: technique ce:lled "contrast stretchlng. 1I WIth this technique the

gre:y scale v~lues from the orlglnel IrMge ~re rMpped Into new values (often villi ~ look-up

teble) which more effectively utilize the full renge of gray scale ve:lues aVllllable.

However, the beslc shape of the hlstogrllm Is unch~nged.

Much more ef fect I ve resu I ts can be ach I eved by mod I fy I ng the his togrllm to ~

distribution besed on 1I rode I of the human visual perception. This proces s clln be accom­

plished by clIlcullltlng the cumulative distribution function ( the Integral of the origlnlll

hlstogrllm), lind then mapping the grey scale values of the cumuilltive distribution function

onto the desired cumulllttve distribution function. The histogram of the mapped gray sCllle

vlIlues .1Ipproxlmates the desired hlstogrem shape. In the Cl!Ise of histogram equlllizatlon,

which assumes 1I linear human brightness response, the desired histogram Is flat, giving an

equlli distribution of Intensities. Altern~tlvely, If one assumes a logarithmic roodeJ ot

humen brightness perception, then the desired histogram Is hyperbolic. This technique 15

clliled hlstogrllm hyperbollzlltlon.

3.5 Edge Enhanc_t

Another very powerfu I method of IrMge Improvement Is edge detect Ion or edge

enhancement. Since edges represent lIbrupt changes In gn!ly scele level, they have a slgnl­

f I clint high frequency content. As such, edge 'n format I on ctln be extrected through the use

of high frequency f liter I ng. Th Is f II ter I ng can be accomp II shed I n the frequency domlll n

through the use of Four I er transforms. However, th I s method requ I res that the who I e I mage

be present prior to processing. For our re~l-tlme lIppllcatlon, It Is preferable to operllte

on the Imnge data liS It Is being received.

Alternetlvely, the high-pass filtering Clln be accomplished In the spatial dOml!lln

where 1I smllil square edge operlltor Is convolved with the Imllge. This requires that only a

sml!Ill portion of the Imllge be stored at anyone time.

Some of these edge operlltors perform a differentllli function at ellch pixel of the

Itnl.Ige, while others provide 1I measure of the gradient ~t ellch point. Because edge operlltor

response vlIrles with edge orlentlltlon, horlzontlll Iy ~nd vertically sensitive operators are

combined to ensure thllt e:11 edge Information Is extre:cted. A number of .e I I-known

operlltors lire discussed InS hllw (1979).

Edge detect Ion I nvo I ves the lIpP II cat I on of an edge operator whose output Is

thresholded to produce ~n I mage wh I ch conta I ns on I y edge I n format I on. Edge enhancement

combines extrllcted edge Informl!ltlon with the original Im~ge to produce a sharpened result.

3.6 Bit Slicing

There ~re severlli other enhllncement techniques wnlch Involve some manipulation of

the grlly sCllle or color assignment t8ble that can be used to highlight InformatIon In the

367
Image. A technique known as "bit sllclng ll can be used to enhance certain gr&y scale levels

within the Image by assigning them a unique gn~y scale or color level. By Inl!Inlpulatlng the

display's video look - up tables, the bit slice c~n be controlled Interactively.

:S.7 Pseudo Color

Finally, the Introduction of pseudo color pr oC6sslng can further enhllnce IlMges.

Pseudo co lor I s taken to melln the ass I gnment of a co I or, based on lin I ntensl1'y level vlli ue,

whare no color was present before. The ml!Ixlmum useable number of colors Is limited by the

spatially diverse nature of the radar Image. AdJlIcent pixels may have substllntlllily

different Intensities lind to be sepf!l.rable they must hllve relldlly distinguishable color

aSSignments. The application of a few well chosen colors Mkes It eaSier to distinguish

between adjacent Signal levelS, while the aSSignment of darker colors for low signals lind

brighter colors for higher signals does provide a recognlzllble progression of Intensities.

4. TECtWIQUE SEUCTION

Before present! ng the chosen process! ng techn I ques, It Is usef u I to rev I ew the

processing time constraints. Since the d~ta must be digitIzed lit approximately 10 MHz,

this allows less than 100 ns between digitized samples t o perform processing operlltlons.

However, s ince the rlldar pulse repetition frequency (PRF) Is typically 1000 Hz, gIving a

new s et of slgnlll returns every 1 ms, and sInce we are Interested In data only out to

100 ~s ( 15 km, 1'yplclll radar horizon ) atter the trllnsmlt pulse, there Is approxlmlltely

900 ~s available lit the end of each sweep to perform additIonal processing. At this point,

It Is Important to define what relll-time Is assumed to mean In the context of this

research. 'Real-time' here mellns the lIblllty to handle the dlltll out to 15 kID on a

continuous blIsls without hllvlng to miss Incoming datll. This Is accomplished by tllklng

lid vantage of the dead time at the end of each sweep.

The following parllgraphs discuss the processing techniques chosen and show some

results of their llppllcatlon. To provide a basis for comparison for subsequent results,

Figure 1 showS l!I photograph of the original rl!ldar d8ta on a 1'yp1C81 rl!ldar PPI dlspl8Y. To

permit fair compllrlson of the Images, the contrast of each of the following Images hlls been

adjusted to us~ the full l!Ivallable gray scale.

a) Figure 2 shows a photograph of the digitized data displayed on • high resolu­

tion (1260 x 1024) pixel display system. (Due to the digitizing hardware available, the

data was digitized to 6 bits at 11 MHz.) To produce th Is lmage l the Selin convers Ion

r o utine Simply retained the Il!Ist polllr value aSSigned to each pixel on the X-Y display.

Thi s technique has the dlsl!Idvantage that sm~11 isoillted targets can get lost by being

repl.!!ced by a subsequent lower level Signal. For the appllelltlon of dlspll!lylng lin lmege of

lin Ice-covered region In wh Ich the targets l!Ire spl!ltlally Il!Irge, this Is not 1I IMJor

problem. However l for the detection of slngull!lr tergets In Ice-Infested water5 1 l!I rrore

eillbor8te technique, possibly using a pe8k signal detector, Is required.

368
 b) To reduce the noise, the Incoming date Is thresholded. The threshold leyel

Is determ I ned by performl ng a histogram on the system nol se I n a non-s Igna I aretJ of the

lmege and selecting the leyel vhlch rejects 95. of the noise samples. This process

substantially reduces system noise as well as eliminating small Isolated noise pulses.

Care tI'lJst be taken In choos I ng the thresho I d val Ue I n order not to lose sma II targets. If

the thresholding Is not performed prior to range normellzatlon, the R3 weighting causeS the

no 1se leve I to Increase with range, and th I s Is distract I ng to the observer.

c) The next operation to be carried out Is range normalIzation. Figure 3 shows

the reSu I ts of app Iy I ng a IIR3 nor... I I zat Ion. A Ithough not apparent In Figure 3, there Is

a considerable amount of noise In the Image despite the thresholding performed. If not

removed, thIs noise ceuses significant problems vlth edge detection.

d) The choice of a smoothIng (filtering) routine to remove this noise Is some­

what more difficult, The routine which yields the best results (the Edge Preserylng

Smoothing) requIres multiple passes to be effective and, as such, cannot be Implemented In

real- or near real-time. The medIan filter, however, yields &cceptable results and cen be

relatively easily Implemented In hardware to operate In real-time.

Since the median filter removes 'splkes' that are shorter than one half the

f liter length, we must be sure that the f liter length Is chosen so that It will not elimi­

nate single targets. At the 10 MHz digitizing rate there are two se",ples per pulse length

and thus a minimum of two returns from a sIngle point target. We must therefore not use a

filter which Is larger than 3 x 3. To reduce hardware, the tvo-dlmenslonal median fIlter

CDn be Implemented by 'the successive application of two, one-dimensional filters, with

netJrly Identical results.

e) The next process Implemented Is edge detection and enhancement. A review of

edge detec:t Ion techn I ques by the authors showed that the Mero-Vassey operator performed as

well as any tes'ted for this application. Since '1' can be Implemented using only binary

operations, It Is suitable for hardware Implementation. figure 4 shows the detected edges

after thresho I ding. One method of edge enhancement I nYol yes add I ng the detected edges back

to the original lmege. Figure 5 shows the edges of Figure 4 added to Figure 3. Figure 6

shovs the result of an alternate edge enhancement method whIch Involves the use of a 3 x

operator which directly produces an enhanced Image.

f) Finally, Figure 7 shows the result of applying histogram equalization to the

lmega In Figure 5.

g) Unfortunately, due to the nature of this report medIum, results of the bIt

Slicing and pseudo color manIpulations cannot be shovn. Howeyer, pseudo color In particu­

lar can provide substantial Improvement In Image Interpretability.

5. DISCIISSIOH

Examination of figures 1 and 2 shows the Image Improvement afforded by the wider

dynomlc ronge of the roster scan display. The Individual targets such as the Icebergs at A

369
and B, the Island at C, and the pressure ridge at 0 are lost In the saturated video of the

f'P1 display, but are clearly shown on the raster scan display. II the PPI display Inten­

sity Is turned down, small but significant targets, and targets at far range are lost.

Figure 3 shows that the range norma II zat I on resu I ts I n a more even Iy " I uml nated I mage.

for e)(a~ Ie, the out /I ne of the floes at E, F and G 15 rrore def I ned. I n add I t Ion. targets

near the centre are more discernible due to the reduction In 'blooming.' In particular,

the Icebergs at Hand J are more clearly displayed. figure 4 shows the res.uJts of edge

detection. The floes at E, F and G are now more clearly defined. Although the Individual

targets at A, Band C are not well outlined, ttlelr shadows ere preserved. The pressure

ridge at 0 15 partially retained. There Is little apparent Improvement In Figure 5 with

the edges added beck to the norme II zed Image, compared to Figure 3. Th Is I s pert I e I I y a

result of difficulty In balancing the combination of the edge and the original Im.ge Infor­

mat/on • Further work (s required to determine If there Is an optimum ml)( of edge and

original Imege Informetlon or If the balance should be operetor control/eble. This diffi­

culty can be overcome, however, ' by overleylng the edge Information In color. Unfortunately

It Is not poss I ble to show those resu Its here.

The alternate edge enhencement technique shown In Figure 6 produced a better

Image In this cese, elthough the ratio of edge to orlglnel Information Is fixed, In

part I cu I ar, note that when compared to Figure 3, the floes at E, Fend G, and the pressure

ridges at 0 end K ere more c I ear Iy def I ned. However, the I nd I v I dual tergets et Hand J are

not es wet I defined although the tergets at A, Bend Cere es cleer as or clearer then In

figure 3. This demonstretes that the reder operetor will require differing techniques for

differing terget detection requirements.

Similarly, hlstogrem modification would seem to require a different technique

from the normal proC6dure of histogram equallzetlon. Figure 7 shows e decrease In

viSibility of the targets .t A, B. and C. To find the modlflc.tlon algorlthm(s) best

suited to the neture of the Ice reder date, further Investigation Is required.

6. HARDWARE cacs IDERATlONS

ThIs section discusses the necessery considerations when Implementing In hard­

were the techn I ques se lected I n Sect Ion 4.

The .n.'ogue radar video Is digitized using a re.dlly avall'ble slngle-chlp AID

converter. The converter output Is passed through a compere tor circuit whose output Is

zero for Input velue5 below the operetor-controlled threshold. Velues above the threshold

ere pes sed unchanged.

The dete Is then renge normalized through multiplication by a range-dependent

const.nt taken from. re.d-only memory (ROM). Each range posit i on (1024) h.s • different

multiplier v.lue In R~.

To minimize the herdware, the 3 x 3 median filter Is Implemented sequentially In

range then bearing, using two three-point one-dlmenslone. filters. The range filtering Is

370
done along each sweep tiS the date 15 received. The rtlnge filter output Is fed Into D

three-sweep buffer. The buffer Is then accessed to provide the output for the three-point

bearing medlon filter.

The beari n9 f liter output Is passed on to the edge detection and enhancement

c I rcul try. The use of a .3 x .3 edge operator reQu 1res the use of enother three-sweep

buffer. Since the Mero-Vessey operator coefficients lIrB 0, 1 8nd -1, multiplication

reduces to addItion end subtraction. The horizontal and vertlcel operator megnltudes are

combined to produce the edge operZitor output. For on lmega of detected edges, this output

Is thresholded and p85sed to the scan converter for dlspl8Y. For edge enhanced IlMIges, the

edge operator output Is combined In a weIghted sum wIth the buffered medlen filter output.

This Sum Is pes sed on to the seen converter for dlspl8Y. With more complex circuitry

providing progr8mmoble multipliers, 8ny 3 x 3 convolution oper8tor, such as the oper8tor

shown Ih Figure 6, C8n 81so be Implemented.

For SC8n conversion, the CircuItry h8S the b8Slc purpose of storing the renge­

b80rlng sO"'4'le In the opproprlote X-Y dlsploy locotlon (pixel). The ..,pplng from ronge­

be8rlng semple coordln8tes to X-Y IOC8tlon een be Implemented +hrough t8ble look-up tech­

niques USing ROM. To reduce stor8ge requirements, the look-up t8ble, due to sYlrllletry, need

only cont81n the m8pplng for 8 single one-h8lf qU8drent.

Assuming the use of 0 1024 line by 1024 pixels per line dlsploy. there ore 0

Mxlmum of 512 pixels (r8nge positions) per sweep. To ollow one look-up t8ble to suffice

for V8r tous r8nge sett I ngs on the d Isp t8Y, the number of I ncoml ng dat8 pol nts per sweep fed

to the scan converter must be m81 nt81 ned et 512. For the 10 km renge coverege 8t the

10 MHz s8mpling rate, there ere 8pproxlmately 1024 samples per sweep. To reduce this to

the required 512 displaY8ble points, with minimum loss of Information, successive pairs of

s8mples ore aver8ged. When the Mxlmum ronge being displayed Is reduced to 5 km, the first

512 s8mple points are used. As the maximum r8nge being dlspl8yed Is further reduced by

fectors of two, the 8pproprlate d8to points 8re replicated to Mlnteln an Input of 512 dtrte

po I nts to the seen c,Jnverter.

Roster sClln dlsploys ore presently evolloble In 0 1280 pixel by 1024 line

forlMt. Th Is prov I des a squ8re 1024 x 1024 are8 for the r8d8r I mega 8nd 8 s I de 8re8 for

8nnot8tlon. Each screen pixel has 8n 9-blt stor8ge I~tlon 8ssoclated with It. This

9-blt pixel value Is used to Index 8 video look-up table whose output determines the color

of the pixel by controlling the Intensity of each of the red, green and blue guns. Most

colors C8n be produced by 8n 8pproprlate mlX'ture of red, green 8nd blue, while for gr8Y

scale the red, green 8nd blue Intensities ot ~ch level are set equel. The video look-up

teble Is 0 powerful tool In thot the opp .... ronce of the I..,ge CIIn be chonged without

altering the orlgln81 data. For example, such techniques es bit Slicing and pseudo color

mepplng C8n be Implemented In this mDnner.

371

--
 Histogram modification Is also most easily Implemented by controlling the video

look-up table. The data histogram Is eccumulated In RAM over a complete saln. Since the

distribution of Intensities on the dlspley should not change signIfIcantly oyer e few

scans, there Is sufficient time to permit the use of ell microprocessor to celculate the

required sample mepp l ng to give the desired histogram, and to adjust the video look-up

table accordingly. Performing the hlstogrem modification using saftwer. provides the
fle)(lblllty to Include ell number of modification schem6s.

6. I Hard....... Costs

The hard.. er. system as descr J bed above all" be separated I "to four rMll n sect Ions

for the purpose of cost discussion : the digItizer; the comp8rator, multipliers and

buffers; the seen converter; end the display device. H8rdwere costs are expressed In U.S.

dollers. The 10 104Hz hardwere digitizer Is conwnerclally available for approximately $1000.

The cost of the comparator, multipliers and buffers should not e)(ceed S1000. The cost of

the Salin conversion hardware Is more dl"fflcult to define. A simple hardware seen converter

which retains the last polar value assigned to an X-V pixel, end which does not attempt ·to

fill X-V pl)(els which have not been 8sslgned a data v8lue, cen be purch8sed for approxi­

mately S10,000 to SI5,000. Conversely, a scan converter that resolves most of the polar­

to-cGrtesl8n con",erslon problems Is estimated to cost In the neighbourhood of SI00,000.

There does not appear to be 8nythlng available between these extremes 8nd It Is estlmeteti

that one to two man Y68rs of design effort would be required to develop such 8 system. The

final element of the hardw8re system Is a high resolution r8ster scan dlspley devIce. A

1280 x 1024 pixel display costs approximately $8000.

For the I~dlate application of displaying an Image of 8n Ice-covered ar88, an

Improved display system encom~sslng the Image processing methods described herein could be

built for 8pproxlmately S25,OOO, excluding design and construction costs. It 15 antici­

pated that these systems could be produced commercially for less then $40,000.

REFEREHCES

Lewis, E.O. and Currie, B.W., 1984. Effects of frequency and pol8rlzatlon on marine r8dar

detect I on of Ice t8rgets I n an I ce cover. Proceedings of the IAffl Ice SymposIum,

H8mburg, August 21-31, 1984.

Nagao, M. and Matsuyama, T., 1919. Edge preserving smoothing. Computer Graphics 8nd Image

ProceSSing Vol. 9, P. 394-407.

Shaw, G.B., 1919. LOC81 and regional edge detectors~ some comparisons. Computer Graphics

and lm8ge Processing '101.9, p. 135-149.

372
373

374
 WlR Ice Symposium 1984

Hamburg

EffECTS Of FREQUEI«:Y AN) POLARIZATION ON MARINE RADAR

DETECTION Of ICE TARGETS IN I\H ICE COYER

E.O. LEWIS Department of Fl sher las & Oceans CANADA

011 af, Eng I neer I ng and Ocean Sc I anee & Surveys

Techn I ell I Support

B.W. CLRRIE Comun IClit I cns Res811rch laborlltory CANADA

Resellrch Eng I neer Mc~ster University

ABSTRACT

Ships nllvlglltlng In an Ice cover require Information on the Ice features and type

being encountered In order to select a safe lind optimum route. Iro'ost Importantly, the ship

must know the loclltlon of Icebergs, multl-yellr Ice floes nnd ridged first-year Ice.

Present mer! ne radars do not adequate I y proy Ide th I 5 Informet' on.

The ClInad Ian Department of FI sher I as and Oceans lind McMester Un Ivers ltv have

undertaken a program to Improve the surfeee-based radar's ability to discrlmlnllte Ice types

end features. Three field experiments heve been underteken et 8 site overlooking the

Northwest Pnssege. In the most recent experiment, radars were oper8ted at 3 GHz (10 em),

9 GHz (3 cm), 16 GHz (1.88 em) end 35 GHz (0.96 em), with the letter three providing both

like end cross-polerlzed signals. To provide ground truthlng, the erea of rader coverage

wes photogrephed with en eerltlll survey camera et scales of 1:20,000 end 1: 8000. To provide

the besls for comp8rlson of redar paremeters, ten lines oriented radlelly outwerd from the

redar and pesslng through targets end Ice of verylng types were estebllshed. The reders

were cerefully ellgned along each redial line end the reder returns for the various

frequencies end poltllrlzetlons were recorded.

The ptIIper descr I bes the an til I ys Is, tIInd compares the r8dtllr returns tilt ver lous

freQuencies end polar! zetlons. The redar returns es til function of renge ere compared with

the tIIerlel photography, showing thet the reder ctlln provide some surftllce topographic mepplng

ctilpebility. The 3 GHz reder WtllS superior In hIghlighting eretlls of rough surfece to be

evolded, while cross-polarlztlltlon lit higher frequencies discriminated multi-year Ice end

Icebergs frcm flrst-yeer Ice.

k Ice n8v I get I on system Is proposed wh I ch I ncorporetes e sing I e-po I er I zed r8der

tilt 3 GHz end e duel-polerlzed reder et e higher frequency.

375
 IHTROOLCTION
The ~nadlen Department of FIsheries and Oceans, working together with McMaster

University. has been carrying out e sarles of studies to gain a better understanding of the

Interectlon between signals emanating from e 5urfBce-besed radar end Arctic see-Ice. The

objective of this progrMl Is to develop techniques end equipment capable of classifying

sell-Ice features and Ice type from a surface vessel. Although considerable ..ark has been

done on detecting end cll!lssltylng Ice .. Ith airborne radar sensors, very little work has

been done tor surface based systems.

During periods of daylight and fair weather, ships navigating In Ice Infested

weters will be provided wIth tactical Ice lnform~tlon trom supporting aircraft. rt:>wever,

during periods of fog, foul 'WelJther and Arctic night, a large part of the Ice nlJvlglJtlon

Information 'WIll have to be secured abo~rd the vessel Itself. The Ice information required

Includes th.,t necess~ry to choose the quickest end elJslest track through the Ice, as well

as that required to avoid collision with Ice features hazardous to the ship. <XIe of the

prlmlJry sensors that 'WIll be used to provide this n~vlgatlon81 Inform~tlon will be a

modification of the convent lonEl I marine r~d~r.

To provide the basic rad~r research, the Department has constructed ~ rese~rch

facility on Baffin Island In the ClInllldl~n .Arctic (Figure 1) overlooking the ~rthwest

PasslJge. The facility provides en effectIve bese for carrying out r~d.,r and Ice-related

research studies. The facilities have been, and 'WI II continue to be, made available for

F.<.g.

376
other researchers I nvol 'led I n radar or I ce research progrllms. A v lew of the camp wi "th the

6.5 x 8 m laboratory building on the right and two accommodation buildIngs on the left Is

shown In Figure 2. The camp has a clellred and bllrrel-mllrked 1500 ft runway suitable for

Twin Otter aircraft traffiC.

F-<.g. RadaA Camp

This site was chosen for the wide variety of Ice types normally located within

close r~mge. In addition to flr5t- and multi-year fee, there Is 8150 normally a good

selection of Icebergs within view of the site, which also overlooks reilltively smooth,

f I xed Ice In Nevy Board In I at, heav" y ridged and ratted I ce at the Junct I on with lancaster

Sound, and mobile Ice In llIncaster Sound Itself. The site, 30 m above sea level, approxi­

mates the mast height of proposed Arct I c tllnkers.

ElCPERIMENTAL PROGRAM

In May 1983, the Deplirtment of Fisheries lind Ocellns undertook a major Ice rlldar

field experiment at the OFO research facility. This experiment built on the results of

ellrller experiments and concentrated on 8Valulltlng frequency 8nd polllrization effects on

the 8bllity to classify Ice types and fe8tures. lice type' Is particularly meant to

Indicate flrst- or multi-year Ice, ..hi Ie 'features' Include smooth or rubbled Ice, pressure

ridges, gro.. lers and Icebergs.

R.od.rs oper.tlng .t 5(3GHz), X(9.4GHz), Ku(16GHZ) .nd K.!35GHZ) b.nds were

employed during the experiment. From the height at which the radars were operllted on the

roof of the laboratory (approximately 35 to 40 m above the Ice), the grazing angle of the

377
 rl!lder slgnl!ll wlt~ the Ice surface v8rled be'tween 6- end 0.1- over the 300-me"tre to 10-km

renge of Interest. In the pr lme ereo of I nterest from 1 kin outwerd. the grltz I ng ong I e W8S

less th8n 2-. The three higher frequency red8rs were e I so opereted In 0 duo I-polltr I zed

mode_ The rltdar slgnel was tr8nsmltted In either horlzont81 or vertical polerlz8"tlon

through e dU81-pol8rlzed per8bollc dish entenne with the received Ilke- 8nd cross-polerlzed

returns Independent Iy processed and recorded.

The det8 collected were of two beslc forms: with t he red8r antennas fixed elong

one of ten 'standerd lines, r 8nd with the rader entenne scennlng. The tan 'st8nderd lines'

were chosen to Incorporete 85 wide a vll:rlety of Ice types end feotures as possible. These

lines Included pressure ridges, smooth end rough multl-ye8r Ice floes, lorge ond smoll

Icebergs, heavily rubbled flrst-yeer Ice end smooth flrst-yeer Ice.

Approxlmetely one month prior to commencement of t~e field experiment, the Ice

surfoce In en opproxlml!lte 10-km r8dlus of the rador stotlon was photographed et a scele of

1/20,000 and 1/8000, wIth a high resolution 9 x 9 aerial camera. The 1/20,000 photographs

were then I ncorporeted Into 6 mosel c of the survey 8ree. Th' 5 mesa I c, together with

surface observlltlons fran e heli copter, wes used to select the ten stllndard l ines. The

lines were lebeled by their bearing with respect to 8 smell Island which presented II s"tron'g

recognlzlIble return on the rlldar screen. To provide repeatable 8ntenna pOSitioning, "the

lines not containing large Identifiable targets were m8rked with redar reflectors.

To provide a good descriptIon of tergets causing p8rtlcular radar returns, the

standerd lines were extenSively ground truthed. In lIddltlon to the 8erlal photogrllphy, It

set of oblique photogrophs were teken from 8 helicopter at 500 m Interv81s elon9 each

line. Surfece photographs, with 8 person In the picture for scole, were t8ken of slgnlfl­

Clint t8rgets. Flnolly, snow 8nd Ice samples were token 8t several locations.

When cot I ect I n9 red8r d8to 0 long the stondltrd II nes the ontenno wes corefu I I Y

rocked bock lind forth until II m8xlmt.m slgnlll W8S received fran the reference target, elt~er

reflector or Ice feoture. The lIntenne wos then locked In "this position 8nd date collec­

ted. For d8te co II ect Ion with the 8ntennll Sctln n I n9 the. rlldtlr v I dec es we II os liZ I muthtll

Informtltlon tlnd north up mtlrker were Independently recorded.

The rtldtlr dtlta for each rtldtlr were col' ected ut III zing two separate tlnd d I st I nct

record I ng systems. In tt'le first, the rllw rtldtlr video, tllong with hetldlng mll:rker tlnd

ltzlmuth chtlnge pulses was recorded on en RCA Advisor dutll-ct'ltlnnef wldeband (91Hz) video

recorder which -htld tl dyntlmlc rtlnge of tlpproxlmtltely 36 db. The second system utIlized 0

rtlnge-geted digitizer supplied by Georgltl Institute of Technology, At ' tlnttl, Georgie. The

system consisted of lI: 12-blt tlntllogue to dlg l ttll converter tlnd tl compu"ter controlled

rtlnge-gate stlmpler. The sM'lp l er system sttlrted tlt lero rtlnge tlnd stepped out In 12"'1'n8tre

steps lI:nd cou Id be progrllmmed to collect tl number of stlmples et etlch rtlnge prior to

stepping on to the next ronge. In normol opertltlon 128 samples were ttlken tlt etlch rtlnge

378
end evereged to produce e smoothed stlmp Ie. When operat I n9 In antenn8 sctlnn i n9 mode, the

sempllng system collected dett! tilt the same rllnge at each azimuth position tor one sct.ln.

then stepped out to the next range.

In order to provide meaningful lind camper-tibia results, slIch reder system weS

clIllbrated prior to ellch deta collection run. utilizing a signal source e1' the epproprlate

frequency, II signet was Injected Into The front end of the radar starting from satur8tlon

lind decreasing to minimum discernible Signal (MDS). The radar response at each Injected

level "eS recorded ~Y the two dl!te collection systems described above. As 1I cross-comperl­

son on th I 5 method, rader tllrgets with known radllr cross-sect Ion were pieced at known

ranges on one of the st8nd8rd lines. Using the stenderd r8d8r equetlon, the received power

from the t8rgets W8S converted to a me8sured red8r cross-section 8nd compared to the known

cross-section. The results of this comperlson l!Igreed to within 1.5 end 3 db. Given The

problems of multlpeth Interference (lewis 8nd UJrrle, 1983) this was considered to be a

good fiT. In eddltlon to the c811bretlons performed, slgnel losses In the waveguide runs

to the antennes end the pulse width, pulse repetition frequency 8nd output power of the

raders were regu I ar I y measured.

~
This peper discusses en81ysls performed on the st8ndard line det8. Prellmln8ry

lIna I ys I s of The SC8nn I ng dllta h8s been presented In Curr I e et lIl. (1984). The d8t8

en81ysls and plotting were lIccompllshed on en HPIOOO computer et McMaster University In

Hemllton, Cnt8rlo. The d8tll recorded on the RCA hlvlsor recorder were digitized with en

8-blt AID converter 8nd recorded on computer competlble megnetlc t8pe, while The d8te

collected with the Georgie Tech sempllng system was elreedy In computer compaTIble form.

For point t8rgets In free sp8ce, their redar reflectivity Is cheracterlzed by e

panwneter a known 85 the rlld8r cross-section (Skolnik, 1980). For distributed Tergets such

es Ice cover, The reflectivity Is normellzed by the 8rea Illumlnllted by the rader to yield

the per8meter 00 which Is the rad8r cross-section per unit 8rell. The uniTs of 00 ere

normal Jy gIven In db referenced to 1 sq m. In the subseQuent 8nelysls plOTS of 00 versus

renge lire presented.

Figure 3 shows e plot of the normllil zed radllr cross-section 00 for stenderd line

247 \If I th S-bllnd on the top of the figure 8nd X-band on the botTom. In The centre 15 a

sect Ion of the aer lei photogreph I c mesa Ic th8t corresponds to the I ce sur fllce 810ng th I s

line. The Trllnsmltter Is loc8ted et the X on the left side of the Imege, while the range

extent from the trensmltter to the extreme right of the mosellc 15 appro)(lmately 10 km. The

Ice surfece depicted consists of relatively smooth, tlrst-ye8r Ice In the area A to B.

rougher first-year I ce from B to C~ smooth first-year I ca from C to 0, mad I um-s I zed f I rst­

year pressure ridges at 0 end E, rough f I rst-ye8r I ce I n the 8ree E to F, and a large

379
mu !, 't I -yeer floe In ttle eree f to G. We cen see thet the X-bend p lot I s very 'busy', wi th

substentlel returns from ell elong the 'line. From e revIew of the aerial moselc end

extensive ground truthlng, meny of these strong returns ere from tergets thet ere not

slgnlflcent from e nevlgetlonel point of vIew .. thet Is they do not represent e threet to

the ship or e mejor Impediment to nevlgetlon. Results of the Ku plot shown et the top of

figure 5 ere eQuel Iy busy, end do not provide any cleer ~. lndlcetlon of tergets thet need to

be evolded.

';1 Jv"V{\~~~j~

~ n. ~,~,~-r~,-,~,~,~~~,~-r-r-r-r~~,~~~-.-r-r-r-;~,~,~~'~-r-r-:--~~:-~'-"~-:~

' _1_) l

F-<-g. 3 s- and X-Sand Re.tuAM 60lt Une 247

The S-bend plot, on the other hend, I s cons I dereb I y I ess busy. The strong s Igne I

returns I n the reg Ion B to C correspond to sign If' cent roughness In th I s eree. v 151 bl e on

the eerl81 photogreph end substentleted by ground truthlng, while the 11:* sign." returns

from C to 0 correspond to the smooth eree on the mose 1c. The tw I n ridges et D end E ere

well represented, with strong peeks. The roughness 'Imledietely behind the ridges Is elso

d I sp I eyed, es we II es the smoothness of the mu I t I-yeer floe. A ridge I n the centre of the

multl-yeer floe Is elso evident.

The top of Figure 4 shows the normellzed reder cross-sectlon for Ilke-polerized

Ku bend returns e long line 307, the bottom shows the cross-po I er I zed return, wh I I e the

correspond I ng sect I on of the mose I cis shown I n the centre. The terget et A Is e I erge

I c eberg, with e heIght of 45 mend e width of 75 m yielding en epproxlmete physlcei cross­

sect I on of 3400 SQ m. The very low s Igne I I eve Is beh I nd the I ceberg ere e resu I t of the

redar shedow cest by the Iceberg. We cen see by comper I ng the II ke- end cross-pol er I zed

returns thet the cross-poler I zed s I gne Is, with the except Ion of the return from the

Iceberg, ere conslderebly lower then the IIke-polerlzed returns. This m8kes the Iceberg

more readily noticed In the cross-polerlzed plot. Of even more signlflcence, however, Is

380
the t~rget lit B. Although this target is not slgnlflcently Identified In the IIke­

polarized plot on the top of this fIgure, It Is well defined In the cross-polerlzed plot.

Target 8 Is , In tact, enother small Iceberg (300 sq m) In front of the large berg, and

.... Itally Important to detect.

"

This Improvement In detectability Is even more obvious when displayed In an Imega

format. The Images were generated on a hIgh resolution raster selin display system. The

Image on the lett of Figure 5 Shows the K,; band lIke-polarized returns. The target lit A

15 the I erge I caberg shown I n Figure 4. We cen see that the sme II sr Iceberg c losar to the

radar Is not visible In this Imllge. en the right side of the Figure Is the cross-polerlzed

returns. Again, the large berg Is cle8rly visible et A, while the smeller berg et B Is now

elso detecteble.

381
 An equelly slgnlflcent findIng Is Illustrated In the next two figures. <X'I the

top of FIgure 6 Is the like-polarized Ku band normalized redar return for line 247 (the

same piece of Ice shown In Figure 3), while on the bottom Is the cross-polarized return.

The ~ band like-polarized plot Is similar to the X-band plot of Figure 3 and Is quite

cluttered. The trece et the bottom, by contrast, has very few slgnels of slgnlflcence.

Although the slgnels et C and 0 are not lerge, they are, In feet, very significant. By

looking at the mosaic In the centre of the figure we can see thet these signals represent

the multl-yeer pressure ridges In the middle of the multl-yeer floe. EQuelly significant

Is the fact thet the first-year ridges at .A and B, although physlcelly es large vertlcel Iy

as the multi-year features, are dlspleyed only wea k ly on the cross-polarized trace.

Finally, In Figure 7 the like-polarized Ku band return for line 341 Is on the

top and the cross-polarized return Is on the bottom. The target at B Is a lergs Iceberg

(15,200 sq m) which Is well represented In both the Ilke- end cross-polarized returns,

although more 8lIsily detectable In the cross-polerlzed reply. The terget at A, which Is

not detectable In the Ilke-polerized return but easily detectable In the cross-polerlzed

reply, Is a reasonably large multl-yeer Ice floe thet would Impose significant resIstance

to navigatIon.

In this paper, no examples of ~ bend analysis have been presented. Although

the Ke band results support the results presented here, beceuse of e week transmitter the

Ke bend returns are qui te low and are not as conc I us I 'Ie a5 the other resu I ts •

382
 01 SCIJSS ION

For the pur~ses of nev I 98t' n9 In 8n Ice cover .. the rnder system shou 1d high light

tergets ot concern to the safety end progress of the ship. Flgures.3 end 5 show thet the
S-band reder more closely fulfills this requirement, whIle the higher frequency reder

returns ere c I uttered by echoes from smell er.. I aSs 5 Ign I f Icent targets. Ttl 15 15 a resu I t

of the teet thet, due to multlpeth Interference, higher frequency raders get more energy
neer the surfeee of the Ice end lire therefore able to detect smaller targets. Furthermore,

liS the frequency Is Increased-, and the wevelength of the trllnsmltted 519n81 gets shorter,

smaller tergsts will eppeer 'rough l to the rellde ... slgnel and will thus reflect energy_

For Ice type determInatIon cross-polarization Improves the ability to detect

I cebergs and mu I t I-year Ice f Ices. In Figure 4, a I though the cross-po I ar I zed return of the

large Iceberg has been reduced by 3 db with respect to the like-polarized return, the

return of the other non-Iceberg targets has been reduced even more (12 db) yielding a 9 db

Iceberg-to-clutter Improvement. Referring to this serna Figure and to Figure 5 the smell

Iceberg that was undetectab I e I n II ke-poler1 zat Ion Is detecteb' e with cross-po I er I zat Ion.

Again referring to Figures 6 and we heve shown that, by us I ng cross-po I er I zed returns,

there Is a substantial Improvement In the ebility to detect multl-yeer Ice floes. It Is

antlclpated that by employing the retlo of IIke- to cross-polarized returns this ebility

can be further Improved.

The strong depolarization of the rader signal by the Icebergs end multi-year Ice

results from the same phenomenon. Voll.Ine scatterIng due to air Inclusions In the Iceberg

end multi-year Ice depolarize the Incident radar energy to a much lerger extent' than the

383
 more sollne first-year Ice. In Icebergs, the elr Inclusions result from air entrapped

during compression of the snow 'to form gl8clal lee. For multl-ye8r Ice, brine pockets In

the flrs't-year Ice drain durIng the mel't sees on between Ice years, le8vlng voids In 'the

resulting multl-ye8r Ice. This volume sC8ttering phenomenon relies on some vertical relief

In 'the Ice perml'ttlng significant penetra'tlon by the red8r Signal. Icebergs typlcel'y

present signifIcant vertical relief, whereas multi-year floes are verleble as to the amount

of surface re II ef they contlll n. ~wever, the more re I I ef I n the f Ices, the grellter the

depolarizing effect Is expected 'to be. A''ternately, the higher the lIntenna, the Illirger the

grazIng angle lind, slml111rly, the greater 'the depolllrlzing effect.

Although this peper hlls lIddressed only the Ice covered situllitlon, 11' Is eQually

expec'ted that cross-poler I zed re'turns wI I I prov Ide substllntlll I edvllntllge In detectl ng

I cebergs and grow I ers I n open wllter. To can firm th Is, the Depllrtment of FIsher I es lind

Ocellns end f1cMas'ter Lnlverslty lire undert8klng a dUlIl-polerlzed radar InvestIgation of

I cebergs I n open wlIter duri ng Sep'tember 1984 lit the OFO radllr fac III ty.

CONCLUS IOIlS
In slJMlllry, In designing a speclellzed Ice rlldllr navigation system bllsed on

existing knowledge, one would certelnly Include e lower frequency radar In 'the S- or C-band

range to detect featUres of major slgnlflct!lnce. Secondly, one would want to Include a

higher frequency redar In the X or Ku band range with a cross-polarized capability to

ess I st I n detect I ng I cebergs and mu I t I-yell"r fee. These systems shou I d a I so tllke adventage

of Improved display and Image processing capabilities as described In Lewis and Currie

(1984) •

REFEREI«:ES

Currie, S.W., Haykln, S., lewis, E.O. lind Nickerson, K., 1984. Redar parameter comparison

and Improved display of radar re"turns from landfest see Ice. Proceedings of inter­

national Conference on Redar, P8rls, Mey 21-24, 1984.

Lewis, E.O. and Currie, S.W., 1983. Investlgetlon of the effect of mul"tlpeth Interference

on "the de"tect Ion of low-I Y I ng tergets on the I ce surface. Proceed I ngs of the Seventh

Interne"tI onllI Conference on Ports and Ocean Engineering Under Hc"tlc Conditions,

Helsinki, April 5-9, 1983.

Lewls~ E.O. and Currie, S.W., 1984. Improved marine radar display for navl9a"tlon In

Ice-covered weters. Proceedings of the 1A.t-R Ice SymposllM1'l, Hemburg, Augus"t 27-31, 1984.

SkolnIk, M.I., 1980. Introduction to radar systems. 2nd Edition. f1cGrl!lw-HIII, New York.

384
 WlR Ice Symposium 1984

Hamburg

AN INSTRUMENTED AUGER

FOR A VERTICAL SURVEY

OF ICE "HARDNESS ft

D. J. Harmon Centre for Cold Ocean canada

B.L. Parsons Resources Engineering,
Researchers Memorial University of
Newfoundland

JlBSTRACT

The instrumented auger was developed by C-CORI; as an

efficient and effective tool for determining the spatial
distribution of the relative "hardness" of sea ice in large
rubble fields, pressure ridges and man made ice pads.
Regions of ice consolidation and constituent voids are
qualitatively identified by augering a sequence of holes
with this tool. Ice "hardness" is quantified in the units
of specific energy (energy per unit volume) and thus allows
a relative index for comparison. Horizontal and vertical
variations in ice "hardness" can be presented by contour
lines mapped onto an elevation profile of the area under
investigation.

385
 IMTROOO CT ION

In the past, when large areas of ice cover were

surveyed by augering, the regions of "solid" ice and voids
were described subjectively. The instrumented auger was
developed in an attempt to quantify ice "hardness· more
accurately ana remove the subjective aspect of this type of
ice character iza tion.

In the field of rock mechanics much emphasis has been

placed on finding a correlation between specific energy and
uniaxial compressive strength of the tested material. Ice
studies appear to be following the same route. Mellor
(1972) states that uniaxial compressive strength and
specific energy are not equivalent but they do have the same
physical dimensions and could be proportional. When
specitic energy (Es) consumption for cutting tests on ice
is graphed against uniaxial compressive strength (a c ) (Mellor
& Sellman 1975) it produces a ratio of Es/ a c between O.land
1.0. The uniaxial compression test is a standard breaking
mechanism for sea ice but involves either quite elaborate
and awkward field equipment or the hazards of shipping ice
samples to a laboratory. The instrumented ice auger is a
simple device which is portable and gives instant resultS.

TEST ~(JIPMENT

The instrumented auger was comprised of:

3/4" reversible drill

2" (5.0!l cm) diar.leter auger (l and 1.5 metre fl ights)

Lebow Products socket wrench torque sensor

SonoteK digital indicator

The data acquisition package consisted of:

Hewlett Packard 3468A digital multimeter
Hewll;\:.'C PacKara B2162A thermal printer

386
DRILL
---1 ~lER

I
I
SUPPLY ~---i
I DATA AOQUISI~ION PACKAGE
I
- mul timeter
TOR;lUE DIGITAL - printer
SENSOR INDICATOR

AUGl::R
FLIGHTS

FIGURE 1. Schematic Layout of Instrum~nted Auger

RESULTS

The digital printout system recorded torque

measurements every second and served as a timer for drilling
a measured distance, usually less than a metre. The average
torque for a known depth of drilling was calculated and used
in the following formula with the corresponaing penetration
rate.

Work Power x Time = Torque x 2 x RPM

Unit Volume Unit Volume Auger Area x Penetratlon Rate

Torque
Penetration Rate
Where C 2 x RPH
r2

This can be seen from the following:

Total mechanical work W

387
 where t drilling time (in minutes)
n drill speed in rpm
q instantaneous torque

If n is lndeed consLant and Q =+ J: qdt

is tile average torq ue over the time t, tnen

w= 2 nOt

Tne voJ.ume tlrillea is lJ

where r = auger radius, V = average penetration rate, (Vt

L = hole depth over time)

w 2 nn Qt 2n Q
Tnus work/unit volume V 7lr 2 Vt rz V
wnich is the equation given above.

This equation is val id if both constant drill rpm and

axial loading are assume~ Constant axial loading at the
bit requires the determination of the total weight of drill
plus auger tlights as well as the externally applied axial
load. In t:he field the drilling was performed by one
individual. ~ile extra apparatus required to ensure a precise
constant loading force or a constant penetration rate would
have defeated the portable nature of the drill.

The ice failure mechanism in drilling is sensitive to

drill bit sharpness and geometry and this is also known to
affect the torque readings. Every effort was made to use
identically sharp bits to ensure reproducibility. As the
auger depth increased, the side wall friction also increased
creating inaccurate high torque readings. The input to the

388
system consists of the energy to penetrate the ice sheet and
also the energy to remove the surplus cutting. To eliminate
this it was necessary to spend considerable time reaming out
the hole of all surplus material before each new metre run
was began.

Despi te these considerations it was felt the augering

results adequately reflected the conditions encountered.
The results from a rubble field showed vertical variation of
the ice "hardness· with a resol ution of tens of centimetres.
Bands of soft ice or slush (water inundated ice) could be
seen cl early.

Usually no data was collected in a slush zone as the

auger tended to draw itself down with a rate of advance of
the pitch of the auger. Similarly; "hard" and cold ice of
low salinity was reflected in higher· specific energy values.

SUMMARY

An instrumented ice auger such as described is an

adequate surveying tool for determining macroscopic
variations in the "hardness" of the various ice formation~
To date the auger has been used to survey a rubble field
surrounding an artif icial island in the southern Beaufort
Sea. The survey results answered the following two
questions about the structural integrity of the rubble
field:
1. can there be a load transmitted to the underlying
berm and/or caisson wall by the rubble field?
2. Is there direct ice contact with the berm?

A second application of the instrumented ice auger has been

on an ice pad formed by spray ing sea water onto a mul tiyear
ice shee~ The artifical ice consistency, "hardness" and
effects on the underlying ice sheet can be monitored by

389
 surveying at regular intervals.

OVerall structural integrity and consolidation of such

ice structures are revealed by augering a sufficient number
of hoI es.

ACKNCMLEDGEKENTS

We would 1 ike to take this opportuni ty to thank Dr.

B.D. Wright and Mr. Ken Anderson (Gult Canada Resources
Inc.) for the ini tial concept and s uppor t in the development
of the technique. We would also like to thank Dr. M.
Mellor, D.S. Sodhi, J.C. Tatinclaux and T. Tucker for their
interest and suggestions.

REFERENCES

Mellor, M. (1972) Normalization of specific Energy Values,

In. Journal Rock Mech. Min. Sci, Vol. 9, p. 156-163.

Mellor, M. and Sellman, P. V. (1975) General Considerations

for Drill System Design. Ice Core Drilling (J.F.
Splettstoesser, ed.) p. 77-111.

390
 - - - - - - - - - .... ;-/-=, - - - - - - ­ ----~

LEGEND
'- --_/ /' \
5_ "'­ ..... _, ICE RUBBLE PROFILE
'-­ C CONTOUR LINES IN ~ UNIT
I~
O+-.J-.+seolever~-H-- -10 - - - - ­
INTERVALS OF SPECIFIC
ENERGY

0 AUGERED HOLE LOCATION

0 VOIDS ABOVE SEA LEVEL

~
2-1 Ii ~I ~~D)IJ IV ~II VOIDS BELDW SEA LEVa.

3
I II ~~ \.(rl r----~~ r ~ ~LI

4. - ..
_'5
--10

5~ ~1~5
5
I II I II I
0 5 10 15 20 25 30m

w FIGURE 2 ' Example of Instrumented Auger Results.

~
 Figure 3: Instrumented Ice Auger in O~eration

392
 lAHR Ice Symposium 1984
Hamburg

A PARAMETRIC STUDY OF LONG-TErul

BOREHOLE DILATot1ETER TESTS IN ICE

B. Ladanyi, Professor Centre d'ingenierie Canada

nordique,
J-R. llurat, Associate Professor
Ecole Poly technique de
P. Huneault, Graduate Student Montreal

Abstract
The stage-loaded borehole dilatometer test, introduced into frozen soil
testing by Ladanyi and Johnston (1973), has since that time been used with
success in several field studies, both in frozen soils and in ice. The
procedure for determining the creeD ~arameters from such tests as origi­
nally develo~ed, is based on the assum~tion that the material around the
borehole has attained the state of stationary creep at the end of each loa­
ding stage. However, if a dilatometer test is performed in the sea ice,
which can be described as a linear-elastic non-linear-visco-plastic mate~

rial, it is found that a certain amount of time after load application is

necessary for the stresses around the borehole to redistribute from their
initial elastic state, to their final state, corresponding to the statio­
nary creep. Although, theoretically, this time is infinite, in practice,
it is found that, after a limited time interval, the stresses will come so
close to the stationary state, that the resulting errors in the determina­
tion of creep parameters will become tolerable.

This paper nresents a finite element simulation of the borehole dilatome­

ter test in the creeD range, using a set of material properties, pertai­
ning to those found for sea ice. A parametric study was then performed in
order to evaluate the minimum time under load required to achieve a given
precision of results. The study enabled some improvements to be made in
the original data analysis procedure.

393
Introduction
A large amount of experimental work both in the laboratory and in situ has
been carried up to now in order to obtain a better understanding of the me­
chanical behaviour of sea ice and to obtain some basic parameters necessary
for the design of structures, either bearing on ice or affected by its pres­
sure. Experimental evidenc e gained in these investigations shows that an
undisturbed sea ice cover is a highly heterogeneous and anisotropic mate­
rial, whose properties vary both with th e depth below the surface and with
the orientation of applied loads. In addition, because of large size of
its crystals , its mechanical properties are size-dependent, so that it is
difficult to obtain a proper picture of its large-scale properties by tes­
ting only small, laboratory-scale, samples.

If one is mainly interested in evaluating the pressure of sea ice on ver­

tical structures, the knowledge of its behaviour under lateral stresses
might be sufficient for design purposes. For such a loading case,several
in-situ methods for measurement of ice properties have been proposed and
used in recent years (e.g., Croasdale 1970, 1974, Kivisild and Iyer, 1976).
However, a majority of these methods have been designed primarily for mea­
suring the short-term properties of ice , while their potential for evalua­
ting its creep properties has not yet been clearly demonstrated.

One promising in-situ method which has a good potential for measuring both
short- and long-term properties of sea ice covers in a horizontal sense,
is the borehole dilatometer test, the use of which for that purpose was
first described by Ladanyi and Saint-Pierre (1978). The method, introduced
in the 1960-ies for in-situ determination of mechanical properties of soils
and rocks, has been adapted to frozen soils and ice by Ladanyi and Johnston
(1973) and has since then been used with reasonable success in such mate­
rials. (Ladanyi, 1979, 1980, 1982; Ladanyi et al 1979; Eckardt and Ladanyi,
1982; Ladanyi and Eckardt, 1983.)

In all these studies, the procedure used for the determination of creep
properties of these materials from a stage-loaded borehole dilatometer test
has remained bas ica lly the same , assuming that stationary creep has been
attained at the end of each stage. Although it was realized from the be­
ginning that this assumption might affect the values of creep parameters
when determined from relatively short creep tests, only few attempts have
be en made up to now to evaluate systematically the order of magnitude of

394
that error, and to eventually improve the testing procedure and the inter­
pretation method.

The reason of concern is the fact, common to all linear elastic, non-li­
near viscoplastic materials, that after each load application, a certain
time is necessary for stresses to redistribute in the structure from their
initial elastic distribution to their final state, corresponding to the
stationary creep. Since, theoretically, this time is infinite, no stage­
loaded borehole creep test can furnish exact values of creep parameters of
the material. Nevertheless, after some limited time interval, the state
of stress may come so close to the stationary state that errors from this
source may become tolerable.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the precision of the presently

used interpretation method as a function of the time allowed for stress
redistribution. A finite element simulation of the borehole test, based
on the initial strain technique, was used to obtain a set of long-term di­
latometer creep curves, corresponding to different material properties and
test pressures. A parametric study of these results was then performed in
order to evaluate the minimum time under load required to achieve a given
preCision of the results, and to establish the basis for necessary impro­
vements in the original procedure of data analysis.

Approximate methods
While the problem of stress redistribution in a similar case can be solved
only numerically, several attempts have been made in the past to estimate
the stress redistribution time in thick cylinders under internRl pressure
by an approximate method. (For a review of such methods, see in Penny and
Marriott, 1971). For example, Calladine (1969) followed an analysis by
Hoff (1954) in which the redistribution time is related to the time taken
for the creep strain to become equal to a multiple of the elastic strain .
Recently, the Calladine method was adapted to the problem of a dilatometer
test in frozen soils by Ladanyi and Eckardt (1983), and a slightly diffe­
rent solution was obtained by Huneault (1984). Although the comparison
with the results of FEM simulation shows that the Calladine method applies
only to the small strain region, the solution nevertheless expresses cor­
rectly the influence on stress redistribution time of certain parameters,
such as the applied pressure, the modulus of elasti c ity and the creep pa­
rameter n.

395
Finite element analysis
For simulating by the finite element method the behaviour of sea ice du­
ring a borehole dilatometer test, the method described by, e.g., Greenbaum
(1966) and Murat (1978), valid for non-linear creep analysis of an axisym­
metric body, was used. The analysis was applied to a slice of the cylin­
der of thickness h under plane strain conditions. Its internal and exter­
nal radii were 7 cm and 307 cm respectively, giving the wall thickness of
300 cm. The radius ratio of 307/7 = 43.86 was considered to be suffi­
cient for approximating the infinite medium conditions. For the analysis,
annular elements with quadrilateral cross-section were used. The radial
size of the 15 internal elements varied according to a mathematical pro­
greSSion, while the remaining 5 had the same size.

In the creep domain, the method of initial strains was used. The method
approximates the creep phenomenon by a succession of ela$tic solutions, by
specifying an incremental variation of the total strain vector during an
increment of time. For assuring the convergence, variable time increments
according to the method proposed by Greenbaum (1966), and modified by
Laplante (1981) and Huneault (1984), was used.

All the results shown in the following were obtained by simutating the be­
haviour of a thick cylinder of the above described dimensions when submit­
ted to a constant internal pressure, applied in a single step. The time­
dependence of stresses at the cavity wall shown in the following corres­
ponds in fact to that at the closest Gauss point, located at 1.94 mm from
the cavity wall.

The simulation has included various combinations of the values of the

modulus of elasticity E, the coefficient of Poisson V, the pressure diffe­
rence (Pi - Po) between the inside and the outside of the cylinder, and
the creep parameters in the Andrade creep equation. The latter, Which has
been used in all previous determinations of creep parameters from the bo­
"rehole dilatometer test, can be written in the form:

(1)

where °e and E e c are the von Mises equivalent stress and creep strain res-
tively, band n are creep exponents, 0 c and £c are the reference stress
and strain rate, respectively, while T denotes the time function, related
to the real time t by:

396
 b
T = t (2)

According to the test results published by Ladanyi and Saint-Pierre (1978),

average values of creep parameters in Eq. (1) for the tested first year
sea ice were: b = 0.791, n = 2.106, and ac = 0.453 l~a for tc = 10-5min-1.

Writing Ea. (1) in the form:

C
E = Ka nT (3)
e e
and using as units kN/ cm 2 and min, instead of MFa and min, yields
=
K 0.09032 (kN/cm 2 )-Omin- b , which has lead to adopting K 0.1 for the =
parametric study. All combinations of parameters for which the FEM simu­
lations were carried out are shown in Table 1.

b n E \> Pi Po
(MFa) (MFa) (MFa)

c.33J
0.50
1

2 ~,oo ~ 500 0.333 - - - I 0.01

0.75
3 1000
1.00

0.33

~ <
0.50 500 0.333 1.0

0.75
2
1000 X 0,450 X 2.5
>0.01

1.00

0.33

~ ~
1
0.50
2 500 - - 0.333 - - - 2.5 0.01
0.75
3
1.00

Table 1. Combinations of parameters used in FEM simulation of a dilato­

meter creep test.

Because of the lack of space, only some typical results of this analysis
can be shown in this paper. For example, Fig. 1 shows the evolution with
time of the stresses throughout the thick cylinder of sea ice (radial, ar,
circumferential, ae, and longitudinal, a z . (Note t ha t tensile stresses are
positive). The creep parameters used in the calculation were those quoted

397
 E=200 MPa az
V=0,333 (MPa)
Pi=1 MPa 67 97 127 157
0
Po=0,01 MPa
f~=Kaentb radius x10 2
K=9,032x10- 2 (m)
n =2,106
b=0,791 -0,5
to= initial state
ts = stationary state

-ar a(}
(MPa)
(MPa) 1,0
1,0

to

0,5
0,5

01. ~==~~~~~~~==~~t~s
37 67 97 127 157 7 37 67 97 127 157
radius x 10 2 radius x 10 2
(m) (m)

Figure 1. Stress redistribution with time around a step-loaded

cylindrical cavity in a thick cylinder of sea ice.

398
a (MPa) - - - - - - - transitional states
I

I
- - - stationary state
1\
1,5 Ii
I
1
0= -ar
'1I • = ae
6= a
I

I
z
I

\
\
0= ae
I
\
\

'\,
10 ",
, ~~~~~~~===========
--======
- - - -=
-=- ==_
- ====
_ _ _=~==_===========-~or-­
_ __
-"0­

------------0- ----- -- --- _-0-------- --------0

I\

I
1 E=200 MPa
1
1 V=0,333
, 1

0,5 1, .
1

I
Pj=1 MPa
po=0,01MPa
\ fEf=Kae"tb
\ K =9,032 x 10"2
.'\, n =2,106
' .... , b=0,791
" ....... _­
--- -- --- ...------------- 9--------------,..
O+-----~,------+-----~,--~--~,--~~f,~-ae
,\
1 2 3 4 5
\
\ t
"'. \
( hour)
"­ "'~ ...
- ·6 ____ - - _____ -..l:!.-, __ -----------c.---- _______ ----0.
-0,5-~---------------------------------------­

Figure 2. Stress variation with time at the Gauss point (1.94 mrn
from the cavity wall) in a thick cylinder of sea ice.

399
above as average for the tested sea ice, i.e., K = 0.09032, n - 2.106,

b ; 0.791, E - 200 MFa, and V 0.333. The simulation was made for

Pi ; 1 MFa and Po = 0.01 MFa. The stress distribution curves shown in

Fig. 1 correspond to the times: to ; 0 (elastic), t ~ 0.2Sh, Ih, 2h, and

Sh. In addition, each figure contains the ultimate theoretical stress dis­

tribution curve (t s ) corresponding to the stationary state. Figure 2, in

turn, shows the evolution with time of the same three principal stresses

plus the equivalent stress oe at the Gauss point, located 1.94 mm from the

cavity wall. It will be seen from Fig. 2, that, for that particular sea

ice, the practical stress redistribution time would have been about 4 to 5

hours under a constant load.

Results of parametric study

The original method for interpretation of stage-loaded borehole dilatome­

ter creep tests proposed by Ladanyi and Johnston (1973), uses the follo­

wing equation, deduced from the theory of an expanding cylindrical cavity,

located in an infinite medium, composed of an "Andrade" material:

(4)

where VA denotes the cavity volume at t = 0, that is, at the start of a

given constant-pressure creep stage, and V VA + Vc denotes the volume
of the cavity at the time t after the step increase of pressure (Pi-Po) in
that stage. The interpretation method consists in plotting first each
creep curve in a 10g(lnV/VA) vs log(t) plot, from which the value of b is
determined. A second plotting for each creep curve of the right-hand side
of Eq. (4) at t = 1 against (Pi-PO) in a log-log plot, gives the value of
the exponent n and the creep parameter Oc in Eq.(l) or Kin Eq. (3).

The main question which this FEM simulation was asked to answer was how
long the load in any creep stage should be held constant, in order to be
able to determine from the test a nearly true value of the exponent b, ­
which characterizes the primary creep of the material.

One way of seeing the effects of stress redistribution on the determina­

tion of b consists in plotting the results of FEM simulation in a log
(lnV/V a ) vs log t plot, as it is usually done in practi c e. In such a plot,
an example of which is shown in Fig. 3, if there were no stress redistri­
bution, the creep curve would plot as a straight line, with the slope
equal to b. In fact, however, because of the stress redistribution,a non­

400
 al to,75 E c =0,1 ae2 to,75
In(~) t EeC =0,1
b
0,8
e
t EO=0,01
/ '

~.// -­
07
",

10-1 -l:: ............ . . ,

-/ ./ :
/~;::;:::;/
" ',
0,6
"""'.._-.-_.---!; :-/.

~. B ~'.-;::::;..~ 0,5
.1':'
~.~
/ '
0,4 / :'
//
E=500MPa
10
-2-l:: %
0
F t
anO=b=0,75 / :' Pi= 1MPa
0,3 / :' po=0 ,01 MPa
B-E = 200 MPa
/ :- deformations
C-E= 500 MPa Pi=1MPa 0,2 ,." -- 0-1 total
D-
F-
E =1000 MPa Po= 0,01 MPa
stationary state 0,1 /
/
J'
V =0 ,333
V=0450
creep
- - -~- -.
- 0­

- o ~- EE.M. - - - stationary state

10-3 ! i ii ' !
2
1 Iii
3
• t ° 1
I ' '' '''I " " "1
101 2
""',.

101 10 10 (min) 10- 10° 10 103 t

(min)

Figure 3. Simulated borehole creep curves, with and Figure 4. Evolution with time of parameter b, deduced
without stress redistribution, for three from a simulated dilatometer creep curve.
different value s of Young's modulus E.
9
linear line will be obtained for each value of E, each of them tending
with time asymptotically to the "stationary state line". The particular
case shown in Fig. 3 corresponds to: n = 2, b = 0,75, K - 0.1, Pi = 1.0
MPa, Po - 0.01 MPa, V = 0.333 and E = 200, 500 and 1000 MPa,respectively.

A still better idea on the convergence of b towards its true value is ob­
tained if the slopes of the lines in Fig. 3 are determined and plotted
acainst time as in Fig. 4, which shows one typical case, valid for n = 2,
b = 0 .75, Pi = 1.0 MPa, Po = 0.01 MPa, V 0.333 and E = 500 MPa. In this
figure, the true value b 0.75 plots as a horizontal line. The lower li­
ne represents the s lopes of the line E = 500 MPa in Fig. 3. The line is
seen to come, after about 7 hours, up to about 87% of the true value of b.
An improvement in the convergence can be obtained if, before plotting, the
instantaneous strains are subtracted from the total strains. The resul­
ting "creep only " curve is the middle one in Fig. 4, which comes up to 89%
close to the true b value after 7 hours. It is noted that plotting the
" creep only" curves for interpretation was suggested by Ladanyi· and
Johnston in 1978, and has been the curren t practice since that time (e .g.,
Ladanyi and Eckardt, 1984).

It can be shown theoretically (Huneault, 1984) that for tangential strains

£e at the cavity wall exceeding about 1% (indicated by an arrow in Fig. 4)
a more accurate expression for large strains in Eq. (4) is obtained if
In (V IVA) is replaced by 2 (Iv IVA - 1). If this is done, i t is found that
the error with respect to the correct value of b is reduced up to one half
of that with the original definition of strain.

It is no·ted that a detailed account on, and a discussion of, al l the simu­
lation r.esults, as well as a proposal for an iterative interpretation me­
thod of the borehole dilatometer creep test can be found in Huneault
(1984).

Conclusions
This analysis has shown that during a borehole dilatometer stage-loaded
creep test performed in sea ice, which can be classified as a linear-elas­
tic, non-linear viscoplastic material of Andrade type, the transformed
b
stress-distribution time T - t depends on a number of factors, including
the ice properties and the applied pressure. Theoretically, the redistri­
bution time T is zero if creep strains are linearly related to stresses
(n = 1), and increases rapidly with increasin& value of n > 1. This is,

402
however, valid only if the initial response of the material is linearly
elastic. If this is not true, i.e., if the initial response is nonlinear
or elasto-plastic, the redistribution time will be considerably reduced.

In addition, the parametric study leads to the conclusion, which is in

agreement with the approximate methods mentioned earlier, that the redis­
tribution time T is inversely proportional to the modulus of elasticity E
and to the quantity (Pi-po)n-l, i.e., it is shorter the stiffer, the mate­
rial and the higher the applied pressure in the borehole. On the other
hand, the "time" T is relatively little affected by the value of the
Poisson's ratio V of the material.

ACknowledgements
Financial assistance received for this study from Esso Resources Canada
Ltd and from NSERC Canada, is gratefully acknowledged.

References
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404
 I

I
 !
,I
I