The study will examine the effects of deformation damage on the mechanical behavior of sea ice and whether such deformation lowers ice strength. Offshore exploration and production structures must be designed to resist forces and damage that result during contact with wind-driven floating ice sheets. To help BSEE predict the effect of ice forces on offshore engineered structures, the study will establish the physical basis of ice conditions and quantify the rate at which ice becomes deformed through a combination of modeling and systematic experimentation using facilities of Dartmouth's Ice Research Laboratory.
To date, experiments have been performed on both saltwater and freshwater, columnar grained ice, at -10 degrees C. Both ice types were milled into cube shaped blocks that were compressed uniaxially at a strain rate and the elastic properties were measured.
BSEE received the final report on July 23, 2015.