Author(s): S. Beltaos
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: A central question in studies of river ice breakup and jamming pertains to the factors that govern the "onset" of breakup, that is, the first sustained motion of the winter ice cover. The flexural strength of the ice cover is one of these factors, resisting horizontal bending moments generated by hydrodynamic forces and river curvature. This type of flexure causes transverse fractures and involves the entire ice cover width. Analysis of field data from several river sites indicated relatively low values of the flexural strength (- 50 kPa). The implied scale effect was supported by the results of tests on relatively large ice beams (up to 10m in width). A strong scale effect is also present in recent fracture experiments by others on specimens as large as 60 m. Extrapolation of these results shows agreement with the river ice findings which involve ice covers width of up to 750 m.
Year: 1998