Local contact pressures in ship/ice and structure/ice interactions

Data on local ice pressures and forces were compiled. The two primary sources were controlled indenter experiments in the field and ship trials. Loads and average local pressures on areas up to 7 m2 were examined. All the data were plotted on a basis of average pressure versus contact area. Similar trends of decreasing pressure with increasing contact area were observed for all data sets. In order to extrapolate these data to larger contact areas, measurements on structures with contact areas greater then 100 m2 were reviewed. The larger contact area data indicate that the trend of decreasing local ice pressures levels off at larger areas. Based on all the data examined, design curves for local ice pressures on structures were suggested.