Author(s): G. Comfort; A. P. S. Selvadurai; R. Abdelnour; M. C. Au
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Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: Current numerical methods for predicting ice loads on large offshore structures are largely empirical. Efforts have been made towards the development of a rational model that is based on a physical description of the processes involved. The work has been focussed towards the case where a thick ice sheet is steadily driven past a large vertical structure. This interaction is complex as it includes many processes, such as: (a) the complex, rate-dependent, spatially-varying constitutive properties of the ice; (b) the ice failure process in which the intact ice sheet is transformed into a fragmented and pulverized state; (c): mass movement of the ice and its extrusion away from the icestructure interface; and (d): the interactive dynamics of the system. Efforts were made to produce a model that was simple enough to be tractable while still capturing the essential elements of the interaction. The model was developed to conduct a timestepped, dynamic analysis of this interaction using the finite element method. The model was demonstrated by conducting a two-dimensional, plane strain analysis. The predicted force time history shows reasonable correlation with that which was observed at the MOLIKPAQ structure.
Year: 1992