Dynamic ice force estimation on a conical structure by discrete element method

Abstract

This paper aims to numerically estimate the dynamic ice load on a conical structure. The Discrete Element Method (DEM) is employed to model the level ice as the assembly of numerous spherical particles. To mimic the realistic fracture mechanism of ice, the parallel bonding method is introduced. Cases with four different ice drifting velocities are considered in time domain. For validation, the statistics of time-varying ice forces and their frequencies obtained by numerical simulations are extensively compared against the physical model-test results. Ice properties are directly adopted from the targeted experimental test set up. The additional parameters for DEM simulations are systematically determined by a numerical three-point bending test. The findings reveal that the numerical simulation estimates the dynamic ice force in a reasonably acceptable range and its results agree well with experimental data.