Tensile Strength of Multi-Year Pressure Ridge Sea Ice Samples

Abstract

Thirty-six constant strain-rate uniaxial tension tests were performed on vertically oriented multi-year pressure ridge samples from the Beaufort Sea. The tests were performed on a closed-loop electro-hydraulic testing machine at two strain rates (10−5 and 10−3 s−1 ) and two temperatures (−20° and −5°C). This paper summarizes the sample preparation and testing techniques used in the investigation and presents data on the tensile strength, initial tangent modulus, and failure strain of the ice.