Experimental Study of Sea Ice Motion in Waves

Abstract

To better understand the interactions between ships and ice, analyze ice–ice collisions, and provide parameters for the design of ships and offshore structures, it is important to study the interaction between ice and waves. Understanding these interactions is crucial to the analysis of collision velocity and impact during ship–ice interactions. In this study, experiments were carried out focusing on factors that influence sea ice motion using a motion tracking system in a towing tank. Two conditions, a fixed wave height and a fixed wave steepness, were considered in examining the motion of synthetic ice models with various shapes, lengths, and thicknesses; analyzing changes in the surge, the heave amplitudes, and the drift velocity; and calculating the kinematic energy involved. The results demonstrate that the shape, length, and thickness of ice blocks, as well as the water wavelength, affect surge and heave. The wavelength and ice thickness were found to be the most important factors. Characterization of the kinematic energy acquired by the ice model was also carried out.