The Effect of the Specimen–Platen Interface on Internal Cracking and Brittle Fracture of Ice Under Compression: High-Speed Photography

• Published in: Journal of Glaciology
• Main Authors: Schulson, E.M., Gies, M.C., Lasonde, G.J., Nixon, W.A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1989
• Subjects: Earth-Surface Processes; Platen; Journal of Glaciology
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000009308; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000009308

Abstract Uniaxial compression experiments at –10°C at 10 −3 s −1 on fresh-water, granular ice have established through the use of high-speed photography that internal cracks nucleate preferentially away from the ice/platen (i/p) interface under conditions of i/p contraint, but near the interface under conditions of i/p expansion. Under conditions of little i/p interaction, cracks nucleate more or less randomly throughout the specimen. Correspondingly, the brittle-fracture strength decreases as the i/p interaction changes from compressive to tensile. These effects are explained in terms of the spatial variation of the maximum shear stress and the crack density.