Author(s): S. Pfister; F. M. Williams; R. Phillips
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Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: Observations from centrifuge modeling are compared with those made in the field of a series of ice-structure interaction events at the Confederation Bridge crossing the Northumberland Strait in eastern Canada in March 2001. Past work has shown that ice forces on upward breaking conical structures scale in the centrifuge and this was confirmed by the tests discussed in this paper. An investigation of the process of ice rubble accumulation was conducted in parallel with the force scaling study. Ice rubble accumulations are of interest because of correlation between these events and force maxima. Following the centrifuge modeling program, ice rubble accumulations were analyzed using thin sectioning. The processes of level ice failure and rubble accumulation have been observed to be similar in freshwater centrifuge tests and the field. Fracture mechanics has been found to be the theory that most consistently explains the occurrence of ice rubble accumulations in both the field and the centrifuge.
Year: 2002