Numerical Simulations of Broken Ice Interaction with Structures

The interaction of moving broken ice with a structure is an important problem in ice mechanics. Ice-induced loads and pile-ups can result due to this type of interaction, for example, on a bridge pier during spring break-up or on a vessel stationkeeping in pack ice conditions. Numerical techniques can be developed and applied to investigate this type of problem. In this report, a numerical model of ice interaction with both slender and wide structures in varying ice conditions is presented. The model is based on a Particle-In-Cell (PIC) approach, combined with a viscous plastic ice rheology. The plastic yield follows a Mohr-Coulomb criterion. The Zhang-Hibler (1997) numerical scheme is used to solve the momentum equations. The model is used to examine the role of ice thickness, ice properties and velocity on the resulting forces on two different structures. The results show good agreement with the field measurements.NRC publication: Ye