Abstract:

Understanding of ice failure modes is very important for the estimation of the forces needed in icebreaking. This paper analyzed the mechanics of crushing during ice-structure interactions. The ice breaking force component can affect the ice failure mode, and its variation with the dimension of the icebreaking structure was investigated to further confirm the relationships between friction, slope angle and ice failure mode. On the basis of a range of friction coefficients of sea ice, it is concluded that bending failure occurs when the slope angle of the structure is below 70o. Crushing and bending failure occurs simultaneously when the slope angle lies between 70° and 82°. When the slope angle is above 82°, only crushing failure occurs. A model to derive the ice breaking force under different failure modes was presented.

Key words: icebreaker, icebreaking structure, level ice, failure mode