Abstract: The polar icebreaker R/V Xuelong is an important platform for China’s polar scientific expeditions as well as China’s ability to deliver its projects in the polar regions. To facilitate scientific operations, the hull of R/V Xuelong is often oriented to create an area of open water—free of floes from the surrounding broken ice field—on one side of the ship. Currently, R/V Xuelong’s resistance to lateral pressure is often assessed on the basis of the experience of the ship operator without relevant theoretical or quantitative support. Against this backdrop, the present study uses the nonsmooth discrete element approach and develops an efficient numerical model based on the theory of rigid body dynamics and mixed compensation problems to simulate interactions between the ship and broken sea ice fields as well as the corresponding resistance to ice. Ice accumulation along the side of R/V Xuelong and corresponding increases in lateral pressure under different conditions were investigated. The simulation results indicate that: (1) the scale of ice accumulation and pressure along the hull is positively correlated with the sea ice friction coefficient, ice concentration, and relative ice speed; (2) ice resistance increased from 948.5 to 6102.3 kN as relative velocity was adjusted from 0.05, 0.2, 0.5 m·s⁻¹ to 0.15, 0.4, 1.5 m·s⁻¹. Ice resistance is the most strongly impacted by relative ice velocity; it is less impacted by ice concentration and the least impacted by the ice friction coefficient. This study provides a theoretical basis for evaluating and predicting R/V Xuelong’s resistance to lateral pressure during on-site operations in the polar regions, as well as offering technical support for the selection of operation sites and for ensuring the safety of operations.

Key words: R/V Xuelong, lateral pressure to broken ice, numerical simulation, polar regions