Author(s): Kaj Riska; Rodolphe Blouquin; Edmond Coche; Sergey Shumovskiy; Dmitry Boreysha
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Abstract: Repeated breaking of the ice cover by ships entering and leaving ports induces a thermomechanical process of ice accumulation which produces brash ice. Brash ice is a mixture of smaller ice floes (mean diameter 50 cm) and water among the floes. The water content is described by porosity which is one of the main variables controlling the growth. This water freezes after each passage of ships and is again broken with the next ship passage. This process stimulates ice growth and thus the thickness of brash ice can reach several meters, even in milder winter conditions like those in the Baltic. In Arctic ports, if the ship passages are frequent, the brash ice thickness may reach even 10 m, presenting a significant challenge to the ships and thus methods to control the growth are needed. This paper addresses numerical modelling of brash ice growth. A model to address the breaking–freezing cycle has been developed taking into account the isolation, snow cover, porosity of brash ice, mechanical mixing of ice layers and other related factors. The model is tested and validated with the available full scale data and finally applied to designing a port in Russian Arctic; including a brash ice growth management system. The paper presents the elements of the numerical model as well as applications. Finally improvements to the model are presented based on some results observed in application.
Year: 2014