Session: 07-05-01 Ice Load modelling

Paper Number: 124820

124820 - The Influence of Structural Stiffness and Ice Shape on Impact Loads in Ice-Structure Interaction Experiments 

Ships that are navigating in waters with ice occurence are prone to the risk of damage due to ice impact. For assessing the safety of ships it is crucial to predict these loads accurately. Ship hulls have varying structural stiffness due to differences in structural design. The stiffness influences the deformation of the structure during ice impact, which in turn affects both the failure behavior of the ice and the loads experienced by the structure. The aim of this study is to understand how ice responds to variations in structural stiffness in an impact scenario and how the structure is affected by impacting with different ice shapes as well as the interplay of both. Research on this topic is very limited, therefore we seek to address this knowledge gap.

This paper presents controlled drop tower experiments with freshwater granular ice of varying shapes impacting structures with different levels of stiffness. Drawing upon prior experience, five different ice shapes were investigated: dome, 10° cone, 30° cone, 30° truncated cone and cylinder. Each of these ice shapes impacted both a quasi-rigid plate and a 3 mm steel plate. The 3 mm plate underwent plastic deformation and was measured before and after the ice impact. The measured forces and plate deformations were subjected to analysis and the key findings were discussed. Among the ice shapes tested, the most detrimental one was identified. The results of this study contribute to the development of predictive numerical models for ice impacts on structures by providing a robust set of validation data.

Presenting Author: Franciska Müller Hamburg University of Technology

Presenting Author Biography: 2011 - 2015 B.Sc. Naval Architecture
2016 - 2018 M.Sc. Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
2019 - 2021 Project Engineer at German Naval Yards Kiel GmbH
2022 - today Research associate and PhD student at Hamburg University of Technology - Institue for Ship Structural Design and Analysis

Authors:

Franciska Müller Hamburg University of Technology
Franz Von Bock Und Polach Hamburg University of Technology
Sören Ehlers German Aerospace Center (DLR)