Quantitative Analysis of Ice Sheet Failure Against an Inclined Plane

The main force components on inclined offshore structures in the Arctic include the flexural and crushing behavior of the ice sheet, rotation and translation of broken ice, gravity and buoyancy in lifting and moving ice, and friction between ice and structure. Tests were carried out to isolate these components and analytical expressions were derived for them. Measured and predicted components compare favorably, the analytical model overpredicting by about 20 percent.