Strengthening ice through cyclic loading

• Published in: Journal of Glaciology
• Main Authors: DANIEL ILIESCU, ANDRII MURDZA, ERLAND M. SCHULSON, CARL E. RENSHAW
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press 2017
• Subjects: ice engineering; ice physics; ice rheology; Environmental sciences; GE1-350; Meteorology. Climatology; QC851-999; Journal of Glaciology
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2017.32; https://doaj.org/article/4e27d5a08de443f5baa1b0a85f19d793

New experiments reveal that the flexural strength of fresh water, columnar-grained ice loaded normal to the columns may be increased by about a factor of two upon reversed cyclic loading at a frequency of ~0.1 Hz at stress amplitudes of 1.3–2.6 MPa. The effect is explained in terms of a reduction in deformation-induced stress concentration through the activation of grain boundary sliding, which is evident through boundary decohesion.