Mechanical testing of floating ice sheets

A cold box was designed for the in situ determination of the flexural strength and modulus of floating ice sheets. It consists of an aluminum casing which houses an insulated water basin and a dry ice compartment suspended above the water surface. Cantilever beams were produced by lowering a heated brass frame into the ice. Load and displacement transducers were mounted at one end of a horizontal support, with a counterweight of equal mass at the other end. Multiple tests were conducted by sequentially lowering, raising and rotating this system about a central pivot. Inertial acceleration had no appreciable effect on the modulus of elasticity and the strength of freshwater ice.Mr. Jones was affiliated with the National Research Council of Canada, Institute for Marine Dynamics when he authored this article.M. Jones \ue9tait affili\ue9 avec le Conseil national de recherches du Canada, Institut de la dynamique marine lorsqu\u2019il a r\ue9dig\ue9 cet article.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye