Effect of Temperature on the Creep of Ice

• Published in: Journal of Glaciology
• Main Authors: Mellor, Malcolm, Testa, Richard
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1969
• Subjects: Journal of Glaciology
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000020803; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000020803

Creep tests on homogeneous, isotropic polycrystalline ice gave an apparent activation energy for creep of 16.4 kcal/mol (68.8 kJ/mol) over the temperature range −10° to −60° C. Above −10° C the Arrhenius relation for temperature dependence is invalid, and creep rate becomes progressively more temperature dependent as the melting point is approached. Between −20° and −50° C the apparent activation energy for creep of a single crystal of ice was found to be 16.5 kcal/mol (69.1 kJ/mol). A complete creep curve for a single crystal loaded in uniaxial compression parallel to the basal plane was qualitatively similar to the classical creep curve; creep rate at all stages was very much faster than for polycrystalline ice under the same conditions. Creep tests on polycrystalline ice at 0° C gave a stress/strain-rate relation for that temperature, but its precise meaning is unclear, since recrystallization complicated the results.