Numerical investigation of ice breaking by a high-pressure bubble based on a coupled BEM-PD model

Abstract

In this paper, by combining the boundary element method (BEM) and peridynamics (PD), a bubble-ice interaction model is established, which can investigate the dynamic interactions between a high-pressure bubble and an ice plate with particular focus on the mechanical behaviors of ice breaking. The bubble dynamics are solved by BEM based on the potential flow theory. Ice cracks initiation and propagation are simulated by the bond-based peridynamics which is validated by a three-point bending test. The fluid–structure interaction (FSI) is achieved by matching the normal velocity and hydrodynamic loads at the fluid–structure interface. To validate the proposed FSI model, an experiment is carried out in which an oscillating bubble is generated under an ice plate by underwater discharge system. The whole interaction process is captured by a Phantom V711 high-speed camera. Qualitative agreements are achieved between the numerical and experimental results. The underlying mechanism of cracks initiation, propagation, branching, and coalescence of the ice plate is found to highly depend on three parameters, i.e., bubble–ice distance, ice thickness and bubble size. The present study is expected to provide further assists in the understanding of ice breaking problems.