A general nonlinear viscoelastic plate theory and its application to floating ice

Abstract

On the basis of the general theory for floating ice plates, as presented in Ref. [6], a viscoelastic plate theory is constructed which is analogous to a Reissner—von Karman theory in elasticity. The nonuniform distribution of temperature across the depth of the plate is accounted for by assuming that ice satisfies the postulates of thermorheologically simple solids. It is shown how the plate relaxation functions may be obtained from the relaxation functions of three dimensional viscoelasticity and the temperature-time-shifting functional. The paper concludes by demonstrating that a theory of such complexity is required to explain certain behavior of sea ice plates.