In-Situ Tensile Tests of Snow-Pack Layers

• Published in: Journal of Glaciology
• Main Authors: Jamieson, J.B., Johnston, C.D.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1990
• Subjects: Earth-Surface Processes; Canada; Journal of Glaciology
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s002214300000561x; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S002214300000561X

Abstract During the winter of 1987–88, an average of seven tensile tests was made for each of 66 snow layers in the Rocky Mountains of western Canada. The precision of the mean strength for seven tests, expressed in terms of the coefficient of variation, was 15% with 90% confidence. Snow with a faceted micro-structure was approximately half as strong as partly settled or rounded snow of the same density. Notch sensitivity in the strength data and critical strains of 1% or less indicate that the test fractures were essentially brittle.