Estimation of ice loads on offshore structures using simulations of level ice-structure collisions with an influence coefficient method

Abstract

During their service, ice-class vessels are exposed to ice collision loads. Precise estimation of such ice loads is essential to the design of ice-class vessels. Due to difficulties encountered in real measurement of ice loads, a simple yet logically straightforward method, namely the influence coefficient method (ICM), has been widely employed to convert strain data to ice pressures. However, the method's accuracy and reliability depend on how strain gauges are arranged and load cells are divided accordingly. This study investigated those aspects in order to enhance the accuracy and reliability of the ICM in estimating ice loads incurred in collisions of ice with offshore structures. It began by developing a numerical model of level ice-structure interactions. For this, an ice-material model applying the Drucker-Prager (DP) plasticity model combined with an element erosion technique's simplified damage mechanics was developed. The developed numerical model was verified by comparing its results with the relevant model test data and corresponding numerical results available in the open literature, and good agreement was achieved. Next, the present study performed, based on the numerical simulation strategy thus validated, simulations of level ice collisions with actual offshore structures showing inflexible and deformable behaviors. Subsequently, a finite element (FE) model of the structures’ instrumented area, which is the same as the scantling used in the ice collision simulation, was developed to construct an influence coefficient matrix for the ICM. The structural responses, including stress/strain data and ice-contact pressure observed numerically, were then applied to an investigation of the ICM capability. The effects of the strain gage arrangements and corresponding load cells on the estimation of the local ice pressures acting on actual offshore structures were demonstrated. The proposed procedure is expected to provide insights into how the ICM can be improved in reliably and cost-effectively estimating ice loads on ice-class offshore structures.