New insights about ice friction obtained from crushing-friction tests on smooth and high-roughness surfaces

Ice crushing occurs in many situations that involve a sliding frictional component such as sports involving ice-contact, ice interaction with ship hulls, and ice-on-ice sliding/crushing within glaciers and between interacting sea ice floes. Ice crushing-friction tests were conducted in the lab at −10 °C using a set of acrylic ice-crushing platens that included a flat smooth surface and a variety of high-roughness surfaces with regular arrays of small prominences. The experiments were part of Phase II tests of the Blade Runners technology for reducing ice-induced vibration. Ice was crushed against the platens where the ice movement had both a vertical and a horizontal component. High-speed imaging through the platens was used to observe the ice contact zone as it evolved during the tests. Vertical crushing rates were in the range 10–30 mm/s and the horizontal sliding rates were in the range 4.14–30 mm/s. Three types of freshwater ice were used. Friction coefficients were extraordinarily low and were proportional to the ratio of the tangential sliding rate and the normal crushing rate. For the rough surfaces all of the friction coefficient variation was determined by the fluid dynamics of a slurry that flowed through channels that developed between leeward-facing facets of the prominences and the moving ice. The slurry originated from a highly-lubricating self-generating squeeze film of ice particles and melt located between the encroaching intact ice and the surfaces. Keywords: Ice crushing-friction, Highly-lubricating ice-melt slurry, Solid–solid fluid interface friction mechanism, Surprising low friction on rough surface