Author(s): David M. Cole

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Abstract: This paper describes the development of a model for the flexural strength of S2 freshwater ice in simple bending under isothermal conditions. The model applies to the case of nucleation-controlled failure and addresses temperature and grain size effects. The derivation balances the energy supplied by stress relaxation with the energy required to overcome the barrier to crack nucleation and the energy to form new surface area. The nucleation barrier, which is not yet fully specified, can be determined from experimental results and appears to be independent of temperature for the flexural case under consideration. The physical reasoning behind the model leads to a mathematical form that differs somewhat from the expression generally used to represent similar experimental results. The conceptual basis for the model draws from observations on the flexural tests, from published microscopic observations for ice and from the literature on nucleation theory. The model predictions compare favorably with published experimental results for the flexural strength as a function of temperature in the range of -1° to -19°C and as a function of grain size in the range of 0.002 to 0.006 m.

DOI:

Year: 1988