Ice Pressure Prediction Based on the Probabilistic Method for Ice-Going Vessels in Inland Waterways

Abstract

With increasing need to utilize inland waterways (IWW), the design of IWW vessels gains attention both from a transport efficiency and an emission control point of view. The primary challenge is to estimate the ice pressure acting on the ship hull for IWW. Ice information for Lake Mälaren is extracted and analyzed in this work. Since the ice properties have great influence on the impact load, they are studied based on empirical formulae and are calibrated by reference data. The ice impact is then predicted for an IWW barge. Probabilistic method is selected to derive the load based on available field test data. Several parent datasets are chosen, and different design strategies are implemented to evaluate the ice impact load and investigate the influence from exposure factors. The paper finds that the design curve of α=0.265a−0.57 can be used for Lake Mälaren. The approach itself introduces a possible way to investigate loads on ice-affected IWW.