Interaction between ice cover and floating platform simulated by dilated-polyhedron-based DEM

Abstract

This study presents a dilated-polyhedron-based discrete element method (DPDEM) aimed at investigating the interaction between the self-propelled ice-resistant platform (IRSPP) and drifting sea ice. The IRSPP is treated as a rigid body anchored by a mooring system, providing six degrees of freedom (6-DOF) in translations and rotations. The simulation of the ice-IRSPP interaction utilizes the DPDEM, incorporating contact forces and bond-failure criteria to account for sea ice collisions and fractures, respectively. To address disparities between DEM sea ice and actual sea ice, as well as the random nature of fracture and fragmentation following IRSPP interaction, an analysis of the dimensional independence of DEM calculation elements is conducted. Additionally, the validity of DEM parameters is assessed by comparing the numerical ice resistance of various previous icebreakers with the Lindqvist formula. Then, the time history of structural ice forces, ice heeling moments, and platform motion responses under varying ice floe thicknesses are investigated. Furthermore, the influences of sea ice conditions on ice load and the value of the ice heeling moment for the IRSPP are analyzed.