Development of a Probabilistic Ice Load Model based on Empirical Descriptions of High Pressure Zone Attributes

• Main Authors: Rocky S. Taylor, Martin Richard
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Sea ice
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.658.4682; http://proceedings.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/pdfaccess.ashx?PDFSource%3D13%26ResourceID%3D7623141

During an ice-structure interaction, the localization of contact into high pressure zones (hpzs) has important implications for the manner in which loads are transmitted to the structure. In a companion paper, new methods for extracting empirical descriptions of the attributes of individual hpzs from tactile sensor field data for thin first-year sea ice have been presented. In the present paper these new empirical hpz relationships have been incorporated into a probabilistic ice load model, which has been used to simulate ice loads during level ice interactions with a rigid structure. Additional aspects of the ice failure process, such as relationships between individual hpzs and the spatial-temporal distribution of hpzs during an interaction have also been explored. Preliminary results from the empirical hpz ice load model have been compared with existing empirical models and are discussed in the context of both local and global loads acting on offshore structures.