Cold Regions Science and Technology, 12 ( 1986) 1 3 - 2 8 13

El sevi er Sci ence Publ i s her s B. V. , Ams t e r d a m - Pr i nt ed in The Ne t he r l a nds

CONFI NED COMPRESSI ON TESTS: OUTLI NI NG THE FAI LURE ENVELOPE OF
COLUMNAR SEA ICE
G.W. Timco and R.M.W. Frederking
National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K I A OR6 (Canada)
(Received March 14, 1985; accepted in revised f orm June 19, 1985)
ABSTRACT
A series o f conf i ned compression tests has been
perf ormed on columnar sea ice over a range o f nomi-
nal strain rates o f 10 -s to 10 -3 s -x at a temperature
o f -2C. Bot h the applied load and side confining
load were measured. These are used to outline the f ul l
3-dimensional failure envelope o f the ice. The results
are discussed in terms o f loading rate effects, tem-
perature, brine vol ume and air porosity. A strength
i ndex is introduced which correlates the present
results in terms o f these parameters. This leads to an
empirical relationship which gives the functional
dependence o f the uni-axial compressive strength in
terms o f strain rate, loading direction, salinity, tem-
perature and ice density. A mathematical description
o f the failure envelope is presented using a modi f i ed
n-type yi eM f unct i on.
INTRODUCTION
When an icebreaker travels t hrough a floating ice
sheet, or when a moving ice sheet interacts with a
st at i onary structure, the breaking of the ice is an im-
por t ant part of the i nt eract i on process. The stress
levels at which the ice fails can influence bot h the
global loads and local pressures on the structure. This
failure stress is controlled by the mechanical proper-
ties of the ice. Ice, however, can exhibit a variety of
behaviour such as elasticity, brittle fracture, visco-
elasticity, plasticity, etc. Moreover, for sea ice, the
mechanical propert i es are influenced by the loading
strain rate, loading stress rate, ice salinity, ice t em-
perat ure, grain structure, grain size, grain orientation,
brine porosi t y and air cont ent . Thus, in order to be
able to understand the interaction process, it is neces-
sary to st udy the mechanical properties of ice for a
wide range of conditions. Because of its i mport ance,
there have been several investigations of the mechan-
ical properties of ice. These are usually performed by
taking a sample of ice and, under a well-defined load-
ing arrangement, subjecting it to an increasing load
until it fails. For simplicity in testing and analysis,
the stress field is usually applied onl y in one direc-
t i on, for exampl e, in uni-axial testing of the compres-
sive strength of ice (Peyt on, 1966; Schwarz, 1970,
1983; Wang, 1979; Sinha, 1983a, 1983b, 1984;
Frederking and Ti mco, 1980, 1983, 1984a).
In nat ure, however, the stress field in the ice can
be very compl ex and the response of the ice cannot ,
therefore, be described uniquely by the uni-axial
stress properties of the ice. Because of this, informa-
tion is required on the behaviour of ice under com-
plex stress states. This behaviour is usually described
in t erms of the failure envelope for the material (Paul,
1968). This is a description of the stress levels at
which the ice yields for any combi nat i on of compres-
sive or tensile stress states. One technique for inves-
tigating the failure envelope of a material is through
the use of confi ned compression tests. In these tests,
the material is loaded in one direction while confi ned
in a second direction. This allows deformat i on of the
material in onl y one direction. By measuring bot h the
applied and confining loads, and knowing the orienta-
tion of the ice in the confi nement apparatus, the
failure stresses for the ice can be determined for
various combi nat i ons of stress states. These define the
failure envelope for the ice in the 3-dimensional com-
pression-compression-compression oct ant . A knowl-
edge of the failure envelope for ice is i mpor t ant since
it indicates the maxi mum stress which the ice can
14
sust ai n bef or e fai l ure. In a ddi t i on, i f it is des cr i bed in
a conveni ent ma t he ma t i c a l f or m in t er ms of t he pri n-
ci pal and shear st resses, it can be used t o pr edi ct
anal yt i cal l y t he ice l oads for var i ous i c e - s t r u c t u r e
i nt er act i on scenar i os. The fai l ur e envel ope for colum-
nar sea ice is par t i cul ar l y i mpor t a nt si nce col umnar -
s t r uc t ur e d ice is pr e domi na nt in ma ny areas of t he
Ar ct i c.
To dat e, t her e has been onl y a handf ul of conf i ned
compr es s i on t est s on sea ice. These i ncl ude t est s by
Ti mco and Fr e de r ki ng ( 1983) and Bl anchet and
Hamza ( 1983) who meas ur ed t he conf i ned compr es -
sive s t r engt h of ice wi t h hor i zont a l l oadi ng at one
t e mpe r a t ur e and over a ver y l i mi t ed range of st r ai n
rat es. A mor e t hor ough i nvest i gat i on was car r i ed out
b y Ti mco and Fr e de r ki ng ( 1984a) who meas ur ed t he
full fai l ure envel ope using bot h ver t i cal and hor i -
zont al l oadi ng ar r angement s for gr anul ar / di s cont i n-
uous col umnar sea ice at one t e mpe r a t ur e over a
range of l oadi ng r at es. Thei r t est s wer e anal ys ed usi ng
pl as t i ci t y t he or y and f i t t e d successful l y t o an n- t ype
yi el d f unct i on. The pr es ent t est s are concer ned wi t h
t he fai l ure envel ope of columnar sea ice. The t est s
were pe r f or me d in t he fi el d on war m (T = - 2 C)
col umnar sea ice fr om Nor t her n Labr ador al ong t he
east coast of Canada. In t hi s paper , t he t echni ques
used for measur i ng t he s t r engt h are des cr i bed and t he
resul t s for five di f f er ent c onf i ne me nt c ondi t i ons are
given in r el at i on t o l oadi ng r at e at cons t ant t emper a-
t ur e. In a ddi t i on, a series of uni - axi al t est s wer e per-
f or med at di f f er ent t emper at ur es , and t he r esul t s are
pr es ent ed in t er ms of t e mpe r a t ur e , l oadi ng r at e, br i ne
vol ume and t ot al por os i t y of t he ice. The resul t s f r om
all of t he t est s are used t o out l i ne t he 3- di mens i onal
fai l ure envel ope for war m col umnar sea i ce, and t he
cor r es pondi ng envel ope at - 1 0 C is i nf er r ed. Fi nal l y,
t he resul t s are anal ys ed t o fi t a modi f i e d n- t ype yi el d
f unct i on for t he ice at b ot h t emper at ur es .
r at i on. To get speci mens of ice, a large bl oc k 1.2 m
1.2 m 1.0 m (ice t hi cknes s ) was cut f r om t he ice
cover wi t h a chai n saw, and br ought on boa r d using
t he cr ane of t he vessel. Ther e, t he b ot t om hal f was
i mme di a t e l y cut i nt o smal l er pi eces, 30 cm 50 cm
X 30 cm, l abel l ed and put in an onboa r d col d cham-
ber at a t e mpe r a t ur e of - 15 C. These bl ocks were
t hen cut i nt o 19 cm 8 cm 5 cm sampl es using a
band saw. The large faces of each sampl e were s moot h-
ed usi ng a power pl aner . Once cut t o sampl e di men-
si ons, t he ice was t r ans f er r ed t o a s econd col d r oom
and al l owed t o sit over ni ght at t he a mbi e nt t emper a-
t ur e of t he t est . Al l sampl es t es t ed cons i s t ed of st r i ct -
l y col umnar $2 ice wi t h r andom or i ent at i on of t he
c-axi s in t he hor i zont al pl ane (see Fig. 1). For t hi s
t est seri es, t he ma j or i t y of t est s were pe r f or me d at
- 2 C, al t hough a smal l number of sampl es wer e
t es t ed in uni - axi al compr es s i on at - 4 C and - 12 C.
EXPERI MENTAL
The t est s descr i bed here wer e car r i ed out in l at e
May, 1984 in nor t her n Labr ador , Canada dur i ng t he
i cebr eaker t r i al s of t he Ger man i cebr eaki ng r esear ch
vessel Pol ar st er n. Si nce t he t est s were car r i ed out l at e
in t he spri ng, t he air t e mpe r a t ur e was r el at i vel y hi gh
( - 5 t o +5C) and t he ice had under gone s ome det er i o-
Fig. 1. Thin section of ice through crossed polaroids showing
the columnar structure of the ice. The width of the sample is
approximately 10 cm.
The t emper at ur e of - 2 C was chosen t o cor r espond
t o t he average t emper at ur e of t he ice in the Labr ador
Sea at t hat t i me. For all ice specimens, t he salinity
and densi t y were det ermi ned. The average salinities
were 1.6 -+ 0.4%0 and 1.7 + 0. 4%0, and t he average
densities were 0. 847 -+ 0. 036 gcm -3 and 0. 829 -+
0. 031 gcm -3 at - 12 C and - 2 C respectively. Salinity
and densi t y hi st ograms are shown for bot h t empera-
tures in Figs. 2 and 3 respectively. There were several
brine drainage channel s and large voids evident
t hr oughout t he ice. The relatively l ow values for bot h
salinity and densi t y, as well as t he general appearance
of t he ice, confi r m t hat it had under gone consi derabl e
det er i or at i on. All prepared samples were t est ed, even
i f t hey cont ai ned large drainage channel s, voids, etc.
In t ot al 93 samples were t est ed.
The tests were per f or med using a 0. 05 MN capac-
i t y Soiltest CT-405 compr essi on tester whi ch has a
screw-driven act uat or power ed by a 1/4 H.P. mot or .
With this mot or drive, act uat or speeds 0( ) of 3 X
10 - 3 t O 7 X 10 -2 mms -1 are obt ai nabl e. Duri ng this
test series, i nt er mi t t ent pr obl ems wi t h t he mot or
necessi t at ed conversi on of t he press t o a hand-dri ven
machi ne. This modi fi cat i on wor ked very well and it
al l owed higher cross-head speeds up t o 1.9 X 10 -1
2 0
>" 15
O
Z
ILl
::D 10
O
#
u_ 5
- - n = 4 6 [ ~ T = - 2 C -
0 . 8 1. 0 1. 2 1. 4 1, 6 1. 8 2 . 0 2. 2 2. 4 2. 6 2 . 8
S A L I N I T Y [ / - 3
2O
n = 1 2
Z
~ 1 0
u. 5
I I I I I I I
0. 8 1. 0 1. 2 1. 4 1. 6 1. 8 2. 0 2 . 2
T = - 1 2 o C
I 1
2. 4 2 . 6 2 . 8
S A L I N I T Y [ * / * o)
Fig. 2. Salinity histogram for all i c e s a m p l e s a t T = -12C and
T = -2C.
15
3 0
2 0
10
O
3 0
n = 6 0
I I I I I
0 . 7 6 0 . 7 8 0 . 80
T = - 2 C
i I I ] I I I I
0. 82 0 . 84 0 . 86 0 . 88
I
0 . 90
D E N S I T Y [ g - c m -3 ]
>.- 2 0
O
Z
LU
:3
O 10
U.I
CE
U-
0
n = 1 2
m
I I i
0. 76 0. 78
T = - 1 2 C
p =0, 847
I I I I I l I l I I I
0. 80 0. 82 0. 84 0 . 86 0 . 88 0 . 90
D E N S I T Y ( g - c m - 3)
Fig. 3. Density histogram for all ice samples at T = -12C and
T = -2C.
mms -1. With samples of l engt h L = 19 cm, this gives
a range of nomi nal strain rates (en = x/L) of 1 10 -s
t o 1 10 -a s -1. The t est i ng frame stiffness and load-
ing syst em stiffness were measured using t he ap-
pr oach descri bed by Frederki ng and Ti mco ( 1 9 8 3 ) t o
be 200 and 100 MNm -1, respectively. In or der t o
create t he confi ned condi t i ons for the ice, a specially
built al umi num sub-press was used (see Fig. 4). In con-
fi nement , t he ice speci men was put bet ween t he t wo
confi ni ng walls of t he sub-press whi ch were fi rml y
ret ai ned wi t h an initial pressure of 0.1 MPa using four
large t hr eaded rods wi t h nut s. This restraining syst em
is stiffer t han t he syst em of C-clamps used by t he
aut hors in earlier tests ( Ti mco and Frederki ng, 1983,
1984a). Bot h t he applied l oad and side confi ni ng load
were measured using t wo di fferent l oad cells. The
out put fr om t he l oad cells was fed i nt o a st ri p-chart
recorder. Fr om t he l oa d - t i me curves, t he stresses and
st rengt hs were det er mi ned as t he l oad divided by t he
initial cross-sectional area of t he sample. The average
stress-rate (6a) whi ch is defi ned as t he stress at yield
divided by t he t i me t o failure was also det er mi ned
fr om t he curves.
For this col umnar - st r uct ur ed ice, t here is a high
degree of ani sot r opy. In the plane of t he ice cover,
16
Fig. 4. Photograph of an ice piece sandwiched between the
confining plates in the sub-press. Note the two load cells
which measure the applied and confining loads. The cloth at
the bottom was used to absorb the large amount of liquid
brine squeezed from the sample in the A-type tests.
t he ice can be cons i der ed t o be i s ot r opi c si nce t her e
was r a ndom or i e nt a t i on of t he c-axi s of t he ice grai ns
in t hi s pl ane. Because of t he vert i cal col umnar st r uc-
t ur e, t her e is a uni que di r ect i on whi ch is in t he l ong
di r ect i on of t he grai ns (i. e. in t he di r ect i on of gr owt h
of t he ice cover ) . Wi t h t hi s ice s t r uct ur e, t her e are five
di f f er ent t est conf i gur at i ons t hat can be used. These
are shown in Fi g. 5 as:
Type A: Bot h l oadi ng and c onf i ne me nt in t he
pl ane of t he ice cover . This measur es t he conf i ned
s t r engt h in t he x- di r e c t i on and si de- l oadi ng in t he y-
di r ect i on, or , si nce t he ice is i s ot r opi c in t hi s pl ane,
t he s t r engt h in t he y- di r e c t i on and t he si de- l oadi ng in
t he x- di r e c t i on.
Type B: Loadi ng in t he pl ane of t he ice cover wi t h
c onf i ne me nt in t he ver t i cal di r ect i on. This meas ur es
t he s t r engt h in ei t her t he x or y di r ect i on, and t h e
side l oadi ng in t he z- di r ect i on.
Type C: Loadi ng in t he pl ane of t he ice cover wi t h
no c onf i ne me nt . This t est measur es t he uni - axi al com-
pressi ve s t r engt h f or hor i zont al l oadi ng (i. e. per pen-
di cul ar t o t he l ong di r ect i on of t he grai ns).
Type D: Loadi ng par al l el t o t he gr owt h of t he ice
cover wi t h c onf i ne me nt in t he pl ane of t he ice cover .
This measur es t he conf i ned s t r engt h in t he z- di r ect i on
and t he side l oadi ng in ei t her t he x or y di r ect i on.
Type E: Loadi ng in t he di r ect i on of gr owt h of t he
ice wi t h no c onf i ne me nt . This measur es t he uni - axi al
compr essi ve s t r engt h f or ver t i cal l oadi ng (i. e. par al l el
t o t he l ong di r ect i on of t he grai ns).
Using t hese five di f f er ent l oadi ng ar r angement s ,
APPLIED
LOAD
APPLIED CONFINING .,,1 ~ ~, j ) ICE f I "
LOAD PLA1. E ~ ~. BLOOK X ~ - - - y ~ 1
APPLIED
LOAD
Fig. 5. Geometry for confined compression tests showing the five confinement arrangements.
CONFINING
PLATES
APPLIED
LOAD
17
the size and general shape of the failure envelope can
be det ermi ned for col umnar ice for the x - y , x - z and
y - z planes in the compr essi on- compr essi on quad-
rants. When combi ned, t hey outline the failure en-
velope of the ice in 3-dimensional stress space.
R E S U L T S
E f f e c t s o f c o n f i n e m e n t
Figure 6 shows typical st r ess- t i me curves for each
of the five t ypes of confi nement at a nominal strain
rate of 2 X 10 -4 s -1 and t emperat ure of -2C. For
confi ned conditions, bot h the applied stress and side-
confining stress are shown. A compari son of their
values at yield for all investigated loading rates is
shown in Fig. 7 for A, B and D t ype confi nement .
Fr om these figures, there are several things t o not e.
For C-type confi nement , which is the conventional
uni-axial loading in the horizontal direction, the
st r ess- t i me curve illustrates typical ductile failure at
this strain rate and t emperat ure. For B-type confine-
ment , the loading characteristics are similar with onl y
very small ( <0. 2 MPa) side confining stress, even at
yield. A-t ype confi nement , on the ot her hand, pro-
duces strain-hardening and appreci abl y higher stresses
at yield for bot h the applied and side-loading direc-
tions. In addition, the t i me t o failure is considerably
longer t han for either the B-type or C-type confine-
ment . For this col umnar ice, A-type confi nement
produces yield stresses which are 4 - 5 times higher
t han the stress necessary for ice failure in unconfi ned
conditions. In addition, the confi nement stress is
typically 50% of t he applied stress.
$2 col umnar ice is characterized by a preferred
basal-plane ori ent at i on and grain boundar y direction
such t hat the "easy-fai l " direction is in the plane of
the ice cover. In A-type confi nement , the confining
plates and loading platens are ori ent ed in such a way
t hat t hey prevent deformat i on in this plane. As such,
this defor mat i on is restricted, and the ice must de-
form in the long direction of the grains. This is ob-
served aft er a test by examining the ice surface in the
unconfined direction. In many cases, the ice deform-
ed to give a "mot t l ed" appearance in which individual
grains were clearly evident. Because of the ori ent at i on
of the grain boundaries and basal planes for $2
col umnar ice, this t ype of deformat i on by elongation
of the col umns requires some t ype of non basal-plane
glide. The stress for this is much greater than t hat
associated with basal-plane glide (Higashi, 1967).
4
3
2
1
0
5
~ 4
3
2
iii
O3
0
5
4
3
2
1
0
5
4
3
2
1
0
m
_
\ _ ~ - / CONFINING
- - J / / STRESS
- A - T Y P E
VI I I I 1 I I I I I I
0 200 400 600 800 1000
/APPLIED STRESS
/
/
~
/CONFINING STRESS B-TYPE
I I I I I I I I I
200 400 600 800 1000
APPLIED STRESS
I I I I I I I I
0 200 400 600 800
/ APPLIED STRESS
~ 1 1 CONFINING STRESS
I I I I I I
0 200 400 600 800
r//APPLIED STRESS
I I I I I I I I
0 200 400 600 800
C-TYPE
I I I
1000
D-TYPE
I I I
1000
E - T Y P E
I I I
1000
LOADI NG TIME ( s e c o n d s )
Fi g. 6. S t r e s s - t i me cur ves f or each of t he fi ve c on f i n e me n t
c ondi t i ons s howi ng b ot h t he a ppl i e d and c onf i ni ng st r ess i n
each case at i n = 2 X 10 -4 s -1 and T = --2C.
1 8
3 5
3 0
~- 2 . 5
w 2 . 0
12
1 . 5
z
z
ta_
Z
0 1. 0
O
0 5
I I
A = A - T Y P E
- - B = B - T Y P E
D = D - T Y P E
I I I
AA
A A
A
A
A A
~A
I
a ~ B
1
D i ~ D D D
I B B f f B ~ b I I
2 3 4 5 6 7
A P P L I E D S T RE S S ( MP a ]
Fig. 7. Applied stress versus side-confining stress at yield for
A, B and D-type confinement.
Theref ore, t he stresses necessary for yi el d o f t he
col umnar i ce wi t h A- t ype c o nf i ne me nt are si gni fi cant-
l y higher than for unc onf i ne d or B- t ype c o nf i ne me nt
where de f or mat i on wi t h basal glide is al l owe d. This
al so expl ai ns t he si mi l ari ty in st rengt h be t we e n B and
C- t ype c o nf i ne me nt for thi s col umnar i ce. For t he
same reasons, l oadi ng perpendi cul ar t o thi s di rect i on,
wi t h ei t her D or E- t ype c o nf i ne me nt results in failure
stresses whi c h are cons i derabl y higher t han f or hori-
zont al C- t ype l oadi ng, but very similar t o strengths
for A- t ype l oadi ng. With regard t o t he c onf i ni ng
stress, it is rel at i vel y small for D- t ype l oadi ng.
E f f e c t s o f l o a d i n g r a t e
Figure 8 s ho ws t he change in yi el d stress as a f unc-
t i on o f nomi nal strain rate ( e n) f or a c ons t ant t em-
perature o f - 2 C for each o f t he fi ve t ype s o f conf i ne-
me nt . For bo t h B and C- t ype c o nf i ne me nt , t here is
a def i ni t e i ncrease in strength wi t h i ncreasi ng l oadi ng
rate wi t h a f unct i onal f orm
o = 55( ~ n) '46 for B- t ype ( 1)
and
o = 8. 9@n) O' 26 for C- t ype ( 2)
where o is t he MPa and ~n is in s ~a. For t he ot her
three t ypes o f c o nf i ne me nt , ho we v e r , there is l i ttl e
LU 1 . 0
GO
C~
U
LU
> -
10
0 . 1
10 - 5
I I I I II111
D
A D
E A
E D A
D
I I I i 1 1 1 1 1 -
D A
o _
D
A
B
B
B C
C c C C ~ , , ~ ' " ~
B ~ " ~ " -
. c , : _
C 0 2 6
B c~= 8. 9( E n) - -
F OR C - T Y P E
= B RI T T L E F AI L URE
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
- 4
10 10 3
N OMI N A L S T RA I N RA T E ( S - 1 )
Fig. 8. Strength versus nominal strain rate for each of the five
confinement conditions at T = -2C.
evi dence o f any l oadi ng rate ef f ect s f or thi s i ce. The
strength val ues for A, D or E- t ype c o nf i ne me nt are
very similar for all strain rates. Figure 8 s hows that
wi t hi n t he range o f l oadi ng rates i nvest i gat ed, t he dif-
f erence be t we e n strength val ues decreases wi t h ei ther
t he t ype o f c o nf i ne me nt or l oadi ng di rect i on as t he
l oadi ng rate is i ncreased. A similar trend has been
not e d by Frederki ng ( 1 9 7 7 ) in his l aborat ory tests
s t udyi ng t he c onf i ne d compres s i ve strength o f fresh-
water i ce. No t e that at t he higher strain rates in thi s
test series, t he E- t ype test produce brittle failure o f
t he i ce.
The results have also been i nt erpret ed in t erms o f
average stress rate t o failure, i. e. d a = o/tf where o is
t he stress at yi el d and t f is t he t i me t o failure. This
was done si nce a c ompar i s on on a stress rate basis
l argel y el i mi nat es t he i nf l uence o f t he test machi ne
sti ffness t hereby al l owi ng a ready c ompar i s on wi t h
previ ous tests report ed in t he literature ( Si nha and
Frederki ng, 1979) . Figure 9 s hows the yi el d stress as
a f unc t i o n o f average stress rate for all fi ve t y pe s o f
c o nf i ne me nt for T = - 2 C. No t e the rel at i vel y l o w
stress-rates for t he A- t ype l oadi ng. This is a ref l ect i on
o f t he very l ong ti mes-to-fai l ure f or thi s t ype o f con-
f i nement . In general, t he results i nt erpret ed in t erms
o f stress rate s ho w t he same t endenci es e xhi bi t e d in
Figure 8 in t erms o f strain rate; vi z, dependence o f
strength on stress rate f or bo t h B and C t y pe conf i ne-
19
me nt wi t h f unct i onal f orms
O"= 3 . 3 ( Oa ) 0"29 f or B-type ( 3)
and
a = 1. 9( 6a) ' 22 f or C- t ype ( 4 )
where a is in MPa and 6 a is i n MPas-1; no stress rate
ef f ect for any o f t he ot her three t ype s o f c o nf i ne me nt ;
similar strength val ues f or A, D and E- t ype conf i ne-
me nt over t he who l e range o f stress rates and a
gradual decrease in t he di f f erence o f t he strength wi t h
t y pe o f c o nf i ne me nt or l oadi ng di rect i on wi t h in-
creasi ng stress rate.
q ,
10
Z I
- - A ~
I I I l l l l l I I I I IIIII I I I III
' ~ A ~ A A A DDD E D D~
D EA D D E E D D E D ~ D D E
A D
B B
03 B C
~ C Z
B
-m
,-, _ ,~= '1 9(o-' a~c ~ ~ -
uJ - - FOR C- T YP E
>- _ _~
I - : : B RI T T L E F AI L URE
0 . 1 I I i I I I I I I I I I l i l l l l i I I f l l l l J
- 3 0 - 2
10 1 10 -1 10 0
A V E RA G E S T RE S S RA T E [ MP a - s - ~ )
Fig. 9. Strength versus average stress rate for each o f t he fi ve
conf' mement condi t i ons at T = - 2 C.
E f f e c t s o f t e m p e r a t u r e
In addi t i on t o t he full set o f tests f or t he fi ve dif-
ferent c o nf i ne me nt c ondi t i ons f or t he warm col um-
nar i c e at - 2 C , a s e pa r a t e s e r i e s wa s p e r f o r me d at
- 1 2 C f o r t h e u n c o n f i n e d ( C a n d E - t y p e ) c o n d i t i o n s .
Th i s wa s d o n e p r i ma r i l y f o r c o r r e l a t i o n w i t h t h e e x -
i s t i n g i nf or mat i on on col umnar sea i ce at t hat t em-
perature. T h e r e s ul t s are p r e s e n t e d i n t e r ms o f ave r age
s t r e s s rat e i n Fi g s . 1 0 a n d 1 1 f o r C- t y p e a n d E - t y p e
r e s p e c t i v e l y . Fo r b o t h l o a d i n g d i r e c t i o n s , t h e s t r e n g t h
o f t h e i c e i s h i g h e r f o r t h e c o l d e r t e mp e r a t u r e s o v e r
t h e w h o l e r ange o f s t r e s s r at e s , as e x p e c t e d . At t h e
c o l d e r t e mp e r a t u r e s , r e l a t i v e l y f e w t e s t s we r e d o n e ,
s o c ur v e f i t t i n g o f t h e t e s t da t a i s n o t c o n s i d e r e d t o
be r e l i a b l e . Th e s e da t a are c o m p a r e d t o p r e v i o u s l y
p u b l i s h e d r e s ul t s at a s i mi l a r t e mp e r a t u r e . Fo r t h e C-
t y p e t e s t s , p r e v i o u s t e s t s i n w h i c h t h e s t r e n g t h i s
present ed in t erms o f average stress rate i ncl ude t hos e
o f Sinha ( 1 9 8 3 a , 1 9 8 4 ) and Frederki ng and Ti mc o
( 1 9 8 3 , 1 9 8 4 a ) , gi ven in Tabl e I , and pl ot t e d in Fig.
10. The present tests at - 1 2 C are in reasonabl e agree-
ment wi t h t hese curves. No t e that for bot h tempera-
tures, all C- t ype failures were duct i l e in nature. For
t he E- t ype t est , t he results can be c ompar e d t o prev-
i ous tests o f t he st rengt h o f vert i cal l y l oaded col umn-
nar sea i ce by Sinha ( 1 9 8 3 b ) and Frederki ng and
Ti mc o ( 1 9 8 4 a ) . The present tests are al so in reason-
abl e agreement wi t h t hese results. Not e that for t he
E- t ype l oadi ng, t he failure o f t he i ce was duct i l e for
6a ~< 0. 1 MPas -1 and bri ttl e for stress rates above this
value regardless o f test t emperat ure.
5

z 4
LU
CC
CO
3
w 2
1
o
0
I I I 1 1 1 1 t I I I I l l l l I I I I I I I I
C- TYP E
T : 11D
I ' z : ' 2 c ,F EOERK,NGAND - -
T I M C O 1984'
, - T= -10oC
( SI NHA 1983a}
I I l i l t I I I 111111 [ I I I I l l
;, n
10 10 10
AVERAG E STRESS RATE ( MP a - s ~)
Fig. 10. Strength versus average stress rate for t wo di fferent
temperatures for C-type loading.
Q-
5 : 1 2
T"
(.3 10
Z
~ 8
~ 6
r r
13.
~ 4
0
0
~ 2
- L
Z
D 0
t t l l l l t I t I I I I I I I I I I l l l l
DUCTILE BRITTLE TEMP O - -
FAILURE FAILURE [ C) J
O - 1 2 o
E - T Y P E
I L I I L i I I I I ] 1 1 1 1 i I I L J i l l
10 2 10 ~ 10 o
A V E RA G E S T RE S S RA T E ( MP a s i )
Fig. 11. Strength versus average stress rate for t wo di fferent
temperatures for E- t ype l oadi ng.
20
TABLE 1
Summary of previous tests
Temperature Ice Average
salinity density
(C) (700) (Mg m -3)
Test
type
Number Results* Investigators
of tests
-26 3- 5 (0.90) C
- 10 6 - 9 0.91 C
-11 4.5 +- 0.5 0.90 C
-11 3. 2-4. 5 (0.85) C
- 10 4- 7 0.91 C
-26 3 5 (0.90) E
-11 3. 2-4. 5 (0.85) E
-10 3.0 -4. 5 0.90 E
7 J =3.9 at Frederking and
6a = 0.074 Timco (1980)
30 a = 4.5 Sinha (1983a)
( h a ) '2'
10 a = 5.2 Frederking and
(ha) '36 Timco (1983)
18 cr = 4.1 Frederking and
(ha) '2 Timco (1984a)
10 cr = 4.6 Sinha (1984)
(6a) '29
16 ~ = 13 at Frederking and
6 a = 0.27 Timco (1980)
13 a = 14 Frederking and
(ha) '22 Timco (1984a)
20 a = 25 Sinha (1983b)
(ha) '34
*o = MPa, 6 a = MPas -1
Effects of brine volume and porosity
Results of st rengt h tests on sea ice are f r equent l y
present ed i n t erms of t he br i ne vol ume (or square
root of t he bri ne vol ume fr act i on) of t he ice. This is
done since sea i c e consi st s of a compl ex mi xt ur e of
ice, air, salts and l i qui d br i ne such t hat t he relative
a mount of each of these const i t uent s is det er mi ned
by t he t emper at ur e, sal i ni t y, densi t y and t he cor-
r espondi ng phase diagrams of t he various salts i n t he
ice (see e.g. Weeks and Ackl ey, 1982). With i ncreasi ng
t emper at ur e, t he l i qui d bri ne i ncl usi ons wi t hi n the ice
increase i n size. Since this increases the t ot al por osi t y
of the ice, t he st rengt h of t he ice shoul d exhi bi t a
f unct i onal dependence on bri ne vol ume such t hat it
decreases wi t h i ncreasi ng br i ne vol ume. When i nt er-
pret i ng t he test results i n t erms of br i ne vol ume, how-
ever, i t is not always possible t o do this di rect l y since
t he st rengt h of t he ice is also a f unct i on of the rate of
l oadi ng. As a first appr oxi mat i on t o el i mi nat e this ef-
fect, the present test results were nor mal i zed wi t h
respect t o average stress rate. This produces a "st r engt h
number (On)" whi ch is i ndependent of l oadi ng rate
and defi ned as
On = O( 6 a ~/ a a ) ~ ( S )
where o is t he measured compressive st r engt h, 6a t he
cor r espondi ng average stress rate, ba is a reference
average stress rat e, and b is some exponent . Based on
t he tests for t he warm sea ice, and consi deri ng past
tests on sea ice (see Figs. 10 and 11), a value of b =
0. 22 for t he exponent seems reasonabl e. As a refer-
ence stress rate, ba,r = 1 MPas -1 is chosen for simplic-
i t y i n compar i son, even t hough it is be yond the range
of act ual measur ement s. Using this approach, t he ef-
fects of l oadi ng rate are largely el i mi nat ed, t her eby
al l owi ng an eval uat i on of t he i nfl uence of br i ne
vol ume and t ot al porosi t y on t he st r engt h of t he ice.
It shoul d be not ed t hat Peyt on ( 1966) has i nt r oduced
a similar approach t o el i mi nat e stress rate effects (as
discussed by Weeks and Assur ( 1967) , Schwarz and
Weeks ( 1977) ) . His results have been nor mal i zed
using a mul t i pl e l i near regression analysis and t hey are
t herefore not compat i bl e wi t h t he present approach.
The reader is caut i oned not t o confuse t he present
st rengt h numbe r (On) wi t h Peyt on' s st rengt h i ndex.
Figure 12 shows t he st rengt h numbe r ( a n) versus
t he bri ne vol ume i n t he ice for t he present tests. In-
cl uded i n these results are a few tests whi ch were per-
21
f or me d at a t emperat ure o f - 4 C. In general, there is
a decrease in strength wi t h increasing brine vol ume ,
wi t h large scatter in t he data. For thi s i ce, whi c h had
u n d e r g o n e s o m e d e t e r i o r a t i o n , i t wa s e v i d e n t t h a t
there was a consi derabl e vol ume o f air wi t hi n t he i ce.
As such, t he t ot al poros i t y o f t he ice wo ul d be muc h
higher t han that predi cted sol el y on t he basis o f brine
vol ume al one (i . e. liquid i ncl usi ons) . Re c e nt l y, Cox
and Weeks ( 1 9 8 3 ) have derived si mpl e expressi ons
w h i c h c a n b e u s e d t o d e t e r mi n e t h e a m o u n t o f b o t h
brine and air wi t hi n t he i ce, i f t he t emperat ure, salin-
i t y and densi t y are kno wn. Using these equat i ons and
t hese measured quant i t i es, t he air and brine c o nt e nt
were det ermi ned f or each sampl e t est ed in t he present
t e s t s e r i e s . Th e r e s ul t s o f t h e C- t y p e c o mp r e s s i o n t e s t s
are s ho wn in Fig. 12 as a f unct i on o f t he t ot al poros-
i t y (air plus bri ne) in t he i ce. From thi s figure, there
are t w o t h i n g s t o n o t e . F i r s t l y , t h e r e i s a m u c h b e t t e r
correl at i on o f t he strength data wi t h t ot al poros i t y
than wi t h the brine poros i t y. Se c ondl y, t he a mo unt
o f air p o r o s i t y f o r t h i s i c e wa s h i g h e r b y a f a c t o r o f
3 t o 4 than t he brine poros i t y. This refl ects the re-
l ati vel y l o w salinities and densi t i es measured (Fi g. 2
a n d 3 ) . Th e r e s ul t s o f Fi g . 1 2 e mp h a s i z e t h e n e e d t o
k n o w t h e t o t a l p o r o s i t y o f t h e i c e i n o r d e r t o be a b l e
t o i n t e r p r e t p r o p e r l y t h e s t r e n g t h m e a s u r e m e n t .
Clearly, the densi t y o f t he i ce shoul d be measured
f or a n y s t r e n g t h t e s t o n sea i c e .
Since there was an apparent st rong correl at i on be-
t we e n t he uni-axial compressi ve strength and t he t ot al
T OT A L P OROS I T Y ( B RI N E + A I R) [ % o )
0 5 0 1 0 0 1 5 0 2 0 0
6 I ] ] I I I I
5 - . ~ . ~ ~, -
,~ ,
= \
b 4 - -
3 , , . .
z **t* ell
2
~,~,~ ~
I--
0 I I I I L I I I
0 5 0 1 0 0 1 5 0 2 0 0
B RI N E V OL U ME [ % 0 )
F i g . 1 2 . S t r e n g t h n u m b e r ( O n ) v e r s u s b r i n e v o l u m e ( a s t e r i s k s
- l ower axi s) and total porosi t y (circles - upper axi s) for t he
present tests.
p o r o s i t y , t h e s t r e n g t h n u m b e r wa s p l o t t e d ve r s us t h e
s qua r e r o o t o f t h e t o t a l p o r o s i t y f o r b o t h C- a n d E-
t y p e l o a d i n g . Th e s e are s h o w n i n Fi g s . 13 a n d 14
r e s p e c t i v e l y . Fo r b o t h t e s t t y p e s , t h e r e a p p e a r s t o
c
b
r r
f ~
Z
7 -
( - 9
z
LU
n-
o3
8 " ~ I I I I 1 I I I
7 __ ~ ~ E C ] . ~ ~z % C-TYPE _
6 - - - O- R : 8 4 14 9 ~ T - -
5 - - E ~ I o - -
l O
4 - i " ~ , ~ o -
-
3 T z 120C ( P RESENT STUDY)
T = 4 C (PRESENT STUDY) ~ I
2 ~ T- _ ~ 6Cc( I ~ RESENTSNTUDAY) D TI MCO 1 9 8 0 ~ . . q
[]]]Z~ T : - 1 0 C ( SI NHA, 1 9 8 3 a ) & ~ |
T: - 1 l e D ( F REDERK t NG AND T~MCO 19831 ~ [
1 ~ T : 1 l eD ( F REDERK I NG AND TF MCO 1E84a I
T: 1 0 o c ( S I NHA , 1 9 8 4 ]
o I I I I L I I I I J
0 0 10 0 . 2 0 0 . 3 0 0 . 4 0 0 . 5 0
+ - ] 1 1 2
r T OT A L P OROS I T Y [ B RI N E A I R)
Fig. 13. Strength number versus the square root o f t he total
porosi t y for t he present tests for C- t ype loading. Incl uded on
thi s figure are t he envel opes o f data f rom previ ousl y pub-
l i shed results expressed i n terms o f t he strength number. The
number besi de each box represents t he number o f data poi nt s
for each o f these studies.
r r
IdJ
t~3
!
Z
~ , , I I I I I I I I
E - T Y P E _
2 4 [ ' - ] 2 o
2 0 - - - - - - s = 3 2 6 E I 8 ~ - T - -
- - 1 " - 1 o " ~ - -
1 6 - - ~ 6 o - -
8 O T : - 1 2 e C (PRESENT STDDYJQ
- - ~ Tu-4etJ (PRESENT STUDY)
- - T : - 2 G (PRESENT STUDY] & ~ - -
T: - 260C (FREDERKING AND Tl MCC, 1980)
4 - - ~ T=- 11eC (FREDERKq NG,TIMCO, 1984 a) ~ - -
_ _ ~ T : - 10eC (SINHA, 1983b)
o ] I I I I I I I L
0 0 . 1 0 0 . 2 0 0 . 3 0 0 . 4 0 0 . 5 0
F T OT A L P OROS I T Y ( B RI N E + A I R) - ] 1 / 2
Fig. 14. Strength number versus the square root o f the total
porosi t y for t he present tests for E- t ype loading. Incl uded on
thi s figure are the envel opes o f data f r om previ ousl y pub-
fi shed results expressed i n terms o f t he strength number. The
number besi de each box represents t he number o f data poi nt s
for each o f these studi es.
22
be a good correl at i on for all t he t est dat a wi t h an
appar ent linear dependence bet ween On and X/UT.
The present appr oach, t her efor e, seems t o provi de a
met hod of compar i son of compressi ve behavi our of
sea ice in t erms of brine vol ume, air por osi t y and
l oadi ng rate. It is i nt erest i ng t o include in these
figures t he results of previous tests whi ch have been
made on col umnar sea ice wi t h di fferent salinities and
densities. For t he C-t ype loading, this includes t he
wor k of Sinha ( 1983a, 1984), and Frederki ng and
Ti mco ( 1980, 1983, 1984a) as summari zed in Table
1. For t hese, if t he funct i onal dependence bet ween
t he st rengt h and stress rate was given, t he st rengt h
number was t aken as t he value at 1 MPas -1 using t he
regression equat i on. If this rel at i onshi p was not given,
t he st rengt h values were nor mal i zed t o this stress rate
value using eqn. ( 5) and b = 0. 22. The resulting com-
presson st rengt h number is pl ot t ed versus t he square
r oot of t he t ot al por osi t y based on t he average salinity
and densities for t he ice. It shoul d be not ed t hat for
t he test series of Frederki ng and Ti mco ( 1980,
1984a), t he densi t y of t he ice was not measured.
Therefore, for these test series, t he densi t y was esti-
mat ed based on t he time of t he year and t he physi cal
descri pt i on of t he ice. The test results for vertically-
l oaded ( E- t ype) compressive st rengt h are shown in
Fig. 14 wi t h t he addi t i onal test results fr om Sinha
( 1983b) and Frederki ng and Ti mco ( 1980, 1984a).
Exami nat i on of these figures indicates t hat there is a
good correl at i on for all of t he test series using this
appr oach. A linear regression analysis of t he dat a,
wi t h appr opr i at e weighing accor di ng t o t he number
of dat a poi nt s f r om each test series yields, for t he C-
t ype
On = 8. 4 - 14.9 X~T (6)
and, for t he E-t ype
On = 32. 6 - 61. 8 V~T ( 7)
These equat i ons can be re-arranged as
On = 8.4(1 - vrffT/320) for C-t ype (8)
On = 32. 6(1 - ~ / VT/ 280) f or E- t ype (9)
where v T is in parts per t housand in eqns. ( 8) and (9).
Use can be made of eq. ( 5) t o re-express these
st rengt h number s (eqns. ( 8) and (9)) in t erms of t he
uni-axial compressi ve st rengt h of col umnar sea ice
for t he t wo l oadi ng di rect i ons. That is, since an =
a(6a, r/6a) b and da,r = 1 MPas -1, these equat i ons
become
o = 8. 4( Oa )0.22 ( 1 - N/VT/3 20 ) ( 10 )
for C-type, and
o = 3 2. 6(da) '22 (1 - X/fiT/280 ) (11 )
for E- t ype, where o is MPa, Oa is in MPas -1 such t hat
10-3 ~ Oa ~ 10 and PT is in part s per t housand.
These expressi ons relate t he uni-axial compressi ve
st rengt h of col umnar sea ice for bot h hor i zont al and
vertical loading in t erms of the t ot al por osi t y of t he
ice and t he average stress-rate for loading. These equa-
t i ons indicate t hat t he ratio of the uni-axial compres-
sive st rengt h for vertical and hori zont al loading is 3. 9
i ndependent of bot h t he por osi t y of t he ice and l oad-
ing rate. Moreover, ext r apol at i on of bot h equat i ons
t o high porosi t i es i ndi cat es t hat t he st rengt h of the
ice appr oaches zero for porosities above -~300%o.
Ext r apol at i on of t he equat i ons t o low porosities
suggests t hat for Vto t = 0, O = 8.4 (dra)' 22 and o =
32. 6( da) '22 for C-type and E-t ype l oadi ng respective-
ly. The for mer is in reasonabl e agr eement wi t h but
less t han t he st rengt h measured on col umnar f resh-
wat er ice l oaded hor i zont al l y at T = - 1 0 C where ac
= 1 1.7 (Oa) '3 (Sinha, 1981).
In many instances, it is mor e useful t o express t he
uni-axial compressive st rengt h in t erms of strain rate
rat her t han stress rate. This can be done for bot h
l oadi ng di rect i ons. For C-t ype loading, a compar i son
of t he r at e- dependence for bot h nomi nal strain rate
(eqn. (2)) and average stress-rate (eqn. ( 4) ) gives
o = 8.9 @n) 'z6 = 1.9 (da) '22 whi ch, when subst i t ut ed
i nt o eqn. ( 10) yi el ds
o = 39( gn) ' ~ (1 - X/UT/320) ( 12)
where o is in MPa, en is in s -a such t hat 10 -s ~< en ~<
10 -3 and VT is in parts per t housand. For t he E-t ype
loading, there was no rate dependence evident. In
compar i ng Figs. 8 and 9, it woul d seem t hat for each
individual test wi t h E-t ype l oadi ng, a t ypi cal rat i o of
t he l oadi ng stress-rate t o strain-rate is of t he order of
1 103 MPa. Thus for E-t ype l oadi ng, eqn. (11) be-
comes
o = 150(~n) '22 (1 - ~ ) ( 13)
where a is in MPa, en is in s -1 such that 10 -s < ~n <
10 -a and PT is in parts per thousand. These equations
express the strength of the ice in terms of the nomi-
nal strain rate and total porosity of the ice.
It is known that because conventional test ma-
chines are not significantly stiffer than the ice sample
under test, the applied strain rate is lower than the
nominal strain rate (Sinha and Frederking, 1979).
Recently, Timco and Frederking (1984b) have pro-
posed a simple model to account for this effect. They
found that the results of tests using conventional
machines were in good agreement with similar tests
performed on closed-loop machines at truly constant
strain rates if the results were interpreted in terms of
a sample strain rate (es). This is a function of the
nominal strain rate, physical size and strain modulus
of the ice, and stiffness of the test machine. For the
uni-axial tests' in this series, es ~0. 5 en and es ~0. 6
en for C and E-type confinement respectively. This
formulation can be used to convert these tests in
terms of sample strain rate. Thus eqns. (12) and (13)
become
a = 47(+s) '26 ( 1 - X/UT/3 20) (14)
for C-type, and
a = 168(~s) 0"22 (1 - X/TT/280 ) (15)
for E-type, where a is in MPa, es is in s -~ such that
5 X 10 -6 ~< es ~< 5 X 10 -4, and v T is in parts per
thousand. These two equations ((14) and (15)) pro-
vide a wealth of information. They relate the uni-
axial compressive strength of columnar sea ice ex-
plicitly in terms of loading direction, loading strain
rate and total porosity in the ice, and implicitly in
terms of ice salinity, temperature and density. This
approach, therefore, ties together a large number of
tests performed by different investigations over a
range of temperatures at several locations in the Cana-
dian Arctic.
THE F AI L URE ENVELOPE OF THE ICE
Having established the yield stress and confining
stresses for the ice with different confinement condi-
tions for varoius loading rates, temperatures and ice
porosities, it is possible to delineate the failure en-
velope of the ice. Both loads for any loading con-
23
figuration may be plotted as yield points in a two-
dimensional plane (the third principal stress is zero).
These then define the failure envelope of the material.
Using the reference system of Fig. 5, the points on
the failure envelope are shown in Fig. 15a for the
ax-ay plane (i.e. the plane of the ice cover) and in
Fig. 15b for the Ox-Oz or ay-Oz plane (i.e. perpen-
dicular to the plane of the ice cover) for a nominal
strain rate of 2 10 -4 s -1 and a temperature of - 2 C.
Included on the figure are stress paths which were fol-
lowed by hand-tightening the confining plates after
yield for one test each of B and D-type confinement.
These stress paths follow the failure envelope for
these cases and illustrate the general shape of the
surface in the ax- az or Oy-O z plane. This figure
also includes the results of some shear tests per-
formed on the same ice at the same time using the
experimental approach recently described by Freder-
king and Timco (1984b). These give points on the
failure envelope in each of the compressi on-t ensi on
quadrants at the point where the two are equal. For
this ice, the average value for the shear strength was
500 kPa at -2C (Frederking and Timco, to be pub-
lished). A general outline of the failure envelope
based on all of the available test data is indicated by
the heavy dashed lines for each of the Ox-Oy, ax-Oz
and ay- az planes in Fig. 15. The differences in the
size and shape for each plane emphasizes the struc-
tural and mechanical anisotropy of the ice. When
combined, the parts of this figure indicate the general
shape and extent of the three-dimensional failure en-
velope of columnar sea ice at a nominal strain rate of
2 X 10 -4 s -1 and a temperature of - 2 C. The shape is
complex, but similar t o an inverted, truncated cone
which is offset from the origin.
The results of the tests at different strain rates and
temperatures can be used to predict the change in size
and shape of the envelope with these parameters. For
example, Fig. 8 which shows the strain rate effect,
indicates that with a decrease in strain rate (at least
for the range investigated in the present test series)
the position of the A-type strengths does not change,
but the C-type decreases and thus moves in along the
ax and Oy axes. This results in a more "poi nt ed"
shape of the envelope in the ax-Oy plane. In a similar
manner, decreasing strain rate will result in a more
slender envelope in the Ox-O z and Oy-O z planes.
With regard to temperature effects, the present tests
24
(a) o'- x (MPa) - - ] 2
-10 -8 -6 -4 -2 , ~ I '~ 2
I I , I I I , / "~-_~ I
VON MISES ~ , " ~ "
EQUATION ( 26) { / ~ A -2
EQU:T:;PE(21 ) - %. - J "= --~ "' J~ ""] - 4(M;ya)
\ I -6
- 1
~ 1 0
T- 2"C - J
[ b ) Gx ORGy (MPa} _~ 2
-8 "6 -4 -2 . . ~ - r ~ 2
I I I I I I I ~ s ' ~ I
STRESS'PATH WITH / . I 1
HAND TIGHTENING [ "" I 11 ;
OF DONE'N'NG PLA'ES f I 1
AFTER YIELD i -~t
F O R B - T Y P E I
F O R D T P E t ;
!
~ 6 (Mpa)
// - 8
EQUATION [22) --I 10
J
T- 2C
Fig. 15. Test results showing points on the failure envelope for columnar sea ice in the (a) x - y plane and (b) x- z or y- z plane
at i n = 2 X 10 -4 s -1 and T = -2C. The solid light line represents the fit of the data to an n-type yield function. The dotted line
represents a fit of a yon Mises criterion to the A-type data in 15(a). The heavy dashed line is a modified n-type function which
gives a good representation of the total failure envelope.
and some pr evi ous wor k on t he conf i ned compr essi ve
s t r engt h of col umnar sea ice can be used t o pr edi ct
t he fai l ure envel ope at l ower t e mpe r a t ur e s . For exam-
pl e, at - 10 C, Ti mco and Fr eder ki ng ( 1983) f ound
t hat t he A- t ype conf i ned s t r engt h is ~ 4 t i mes hi gher
t han t he unc onf i ne d ( C- t ype) s t r engt h at t he same
nomi nal st r ai n r at e. This is in good agr eement wi t h
t he pr es ent dat a at t he hi gher ice t e mpe r a t ur e . Al s o,
t he C and E- t ype s t r engt hs have been meas ur ed and
t hese pr ovi de poi nt s on t he fai l ure envel ope. For a
nomi nal st r ai n r at e of 2 X 10 -4 s -1 and a t est t emper a-
t ur e of - 10 C, t he s t r engt h of t he ice is ~ 9. 5 MPa,
2.5 MPa and 10.5 MPa for A, C and E- t ype r espect i ve-
l y. The resul t s of shear t est s on col umnar sea ice at
t hi s t e mpe r a t ur e give values of 625 kPa for shear in
t he Ox-Oz or ay- Oz pl ane, and 750 kPa f or shear in
t he Ox-Oy pl ane ( Fr e de r ki ng and Ti mc o, t o be pub-
l i shed) . Assumi ng t hat t he r at i o of t he a ppl i e d t o con-
fi ni ng l oads for A- t ype t est s is i nde pe nde nt of t em-
per at ur e, t he fai l ure envel ope for ice at T = - 1 0 C
and en = 2 X 10 -4 s -1 can be pr e di c t e d as shown in
Fig. 16. I ncl uded on t hi s fi gure is t he out l i ne of t he
fai l ure envel ope for gr a nul a r / di s c ont i nuous - c ol umna r
ice at t he same t e mpe r a t ur e and l oadi ng r at e ( Ti mc o
and Fr eder ki ng, 1984a). Compar i ng Fi gs. 15 and 16,
it is clear t hat al t hough t he overal l shape of t he
fai l ure envel ope is t he same f or col umnar ice, i t is
s ubs t ant i al l y larger at t he l ower t e mpe r a t ur e . More-
over , a c ompa r i s on of t he fai l ure envel ope for col um-
nar ice t o t hat for gr anul ar / di s cont i nuous col umnar
sea ice i l l ust r at es t hat si gni fi cant l y hi gher stresses can
be sust ai ned by col umnar ice bef or e it wi l l fail. This
has i mpor t a nt i mpl i cat i ons wi t h r egar d t o t he l oads
whi ch an ice sheet can exer t on an i cebr eaker or an
Ar ct i c s t r uct ur e. It cl ear l y emphas i zes t he need t o
t ake i nt o account bot h t he uni -axi al compr essi ve
s t r engt h and t he grai n s t r uct ur e of t he ice in eval uat -
ing t he resul t s of i cebr eaker t r i al s, or in es t i mat i ng t he
l oads t ha t an ice sheet can exer t on a s t r uct ur e.
A P P L I C A T I O N O F R E S U L T S
The resul t s of t hese conf i ned compr es s i on t est s
pr ovi de i nf or ma t i on on t he mechani cal behavi our of
sea ice whi ch can be used in vari ous anal yt i cal ap-
pr oaches t o pr edi ct ice l oads on s t r uct ur es . For t hei r
use, a ppr opr i a t e r epr es ent at i ons of t he mechani cal
pr ope r t i e s are necessar y. These ar e usual l y pr es ent ed
in t er ms of ei t her a ma t he ma t i c a l des cr i pt i on of t he
fai l ure envel ope or t he cons t i t ut i ve r el at i ons hi p of t he
ice. The pr es ent t est s can be used t o eval uat e t he
t ype s of yi el d f unct i ons whi ch are mos t sui t abl e for
descr i bi ng ice st r engt hs and t o det er mi ne t he appr o-
25
GRANULAR/
DISCONTINUOUS
\
COLUMNAR
/ ---6 I
- -6
\
SEA ICE
I
\
\
4
4
- I
I
/ j\
- -8
, I
- -8
\
. /
iI
COLUMNAR
--* COLUMNAR
\
SEA ICE
- /
SEA ICE
- -IO
(EOUATION [28)) \
-/-10
\
DE
MODIFIED n-TYPE
(EOUATION c281) T=-10C \ , T=-1OC
Fig. 16. Outline of the failure envelope based on the present and previous tests on columnar sea ice at in = 2 X 10V4 s- and T =
-10C. The solid line represent the extent of the failure envelope for granular/discontinuous-columnar sea ice at the same tem-
perature and strain rate.
priate values of the yield function coefficients. In
whereas for f = 0, the material is at yield (i.e. in the
addition, the tests can be used to provide information
plastic state). For columnar ice which has transverse
on the constitutive relationships for ice. The general isotropy (i.e. isotropic in the plane of the ice cover),
procedure for using the present test results for the
Ralston (1978) has shown that a function of the fol-
former is briefly outlined below. For the latter appli-
lowing form can be used to describe the failure
cation, the reader is referred to the review article by envelope in terms of the normal stresses (a) and shear
Sanderson (1984). stresses (7)
Several different formulations have been used to
mathematically describe the failure envelope for ice
including the von Mises (Michel and Toussaint, 1977)
Tresca (Croasdale et al., 1977), n-type (Reinicke and
Ralston, 1977; Ralston, 1978)andmodified Drucker-
Prager (Karr and Das, 1983a, 1983b). Of all of these
methods, only the n-type yield function can represent
the anisotropic nature of the ice. An accurate descrip-
tion of the failure envelope is important since several
problems in ice mechanics can be treated analytically
using plasticity theory if the failure envelope for the
ice is known. Typical examples include the determi-
nation of the ice forces on a flat indentor (Ralston,
1978; Reinicke, 1980) or on a conical structure
(Ralston, 1980).
f(@ =a&, - ozY + (0, - o_#l +as(fJ, - (JyY
+ a.&$ + Qx2) +agg2 + c.77(ux + uy)
+agcJ, - 1
(17)
where a6 = 2(ar t 2~~). The values of the coefficients
6,
as, Q, u, and a9 can be determined from the
present test results. To represent the failure envelope
in the 2-dimensional uX-uY plane, u, = 0 and eqn.
(17) is simplified to
f(o) = fz 1 by2
+ ux2] + a3(u, - uy) + a&g
+a7(u, + uy)- 1
(18)
where it is assumed that rXz = 7vz = 0. In a similar
manner, for either the ~,-a, or uY-uz plane, eqn.
(17) reduces to
In brief, yield functions for elastic-perfectly plastic
materials are usually presented in the form
flati) = 0 (16)
where f(u~) is some algebraic combination of stress
components ad. For f<O, the stress state is elastic
f(o) = GJz2
+ (a, - ax)] + aa ox2 + a&*
+ a7ux +a9uz - 1
and
(19)
f(0) = ar [uz2 + (uy - uz)2] + aau/ + a4TyZz
+ a7uy t ago, - 1
(20)
26
respect i vel y. Using t he appr oach out l i ned by Ral st on
( 1978) and Ti mco and Frederki ng ( 1984a) , t he values
of t he coeffi ci ent s can be det er mi ned. For the Ox -
0.y plane, t he tests results for t he A- t ype, C-type and
shear tests are subst i t ut ed i nt o eqn. (18). Similarly
for t he 0. x-0. z and Oy- 0. z planes, t he results of the
E-t ype and shear tests are subst i t ut ed i nt o ei t her eqn.
( 19) or ( 20) . This gives five equat i ons for t he five un-
known coeffi ci ent s. Solving t he equat i ons t o fit ellip-
tical funct i ons yields a~ = 0.1 MPa -2, aa = 1.0 MPa -2,
a4 = 4. 0 MPa -2, a7 = 0. 9 MPa -1 and a9 = 1.2 MPa -1.
Subst i t ut i ng these values i nt o eqns. ( 17) gives t he
descri pt i on of t he failure envel ope in t erms of an n-
t ype yield funct i on. With these coeffi ci ent s, eqns.
( 1 8 ) - ( 2 0 ) become
f ( 0.) = O.l(0.x 2 + 0. y2) + ( 0.x - 0. y)2
+ 0. 9 (0.x + Oy) - 1 = 0 ( 21)
f ( 0 . ) = O. l O"z 2 + O.I(0.Z -- 0.x) 2 + Ox 2 + 0. 9 0.x
+ 1.2 0 . z - 1 = 0 ( 22)
f ( o ) = 0. 1 0z 2 + O. l ( oz - Oy) 2 + 0.y2 + 0. 9 o3,
+ 1.2 0.z - 1 = 0 ( 23)
for t he 0. x- 0. y, 0. x-0. z and 0. y-0. z planes respect i vel y.
These curves are shown assuming r = 0 as t he light
solid lines in Fig. 15 al ong wi t h t he test dat a used t o
det ermi ne t he coeffi ci ent s. In exami ni ng t he shape of
t he failure envel ope for t he col umnar sea ice as de-
rived using this appr oach, it woul d seem t hat al-
t hough t he fit is reasonabl e for t he 0. x-0. z and 0. y -
az planes, t he derived funct i on does not adequat el y
describe t he shape of t he failure envel ope in the
0. x-0. y plane. This occurs because t he general shape
of t he envel ope is not elliptical in this plane. Because
of this, using this curve fi t t i ng pr ocedur e t o fit t he
test dat a t o an elliptical shape pr oduces a poor fit.
Clearly, t he ellipse descri bed by eqn. ( 21) ext ends
much t oo far i nt o t he compr es s i on- compr es s i on
quadr ant . As such, it appears t hat al t hough an n- t ype
yi el d funct i on is a suitable descri pt i on of t he failure
envelope for gr anul ar / di scont i nuous col umnar ice
( Ti mco and Frederki ng, 1984a), it does not adequat e-
ly represent t he failure envel ope for col umnar ice.
Recent l y, Karr and Das ( 1983a, 1983b) have sug-
gested t hat a mor e accurat e descri pt i on of t he failure
envel ope for ice may be obt ai ned by combi ni ng t wo
di fferent yield funct i ons. This can be done in t he
present case. Fr om Fig. 15, it is evi dent t hat t he n-
t ype f unct i on gives a good represent at i on of t he en-
velope in t he region where t he stresses are equal t o or
less t han t he A- t ype st rengt h of t he ice. Thus, t he
failure cri t eri on coul d be expressed as a modi f i e d n-
t ype funct i on by combi ni ng the n- t ype failure crite-
ri on wi t h anot her t ype of failure cri t eri on whi ch
woul d limit t he envel ope in t he c ompr e s s i on- c om-
pression quadr ant . To do this, for exampl e, a yon
Mises cri t eri on can be used. The generalized yon Mises
cri t eri on can be expressed as
( 0 x - Oy ) 2 + ( Oy - Oz ) 2 + ( O z - Ox ) 2 = 6 K 2 ( 2 4 )
where K is a st rengt h par amet er const ant (Paul,
1968). This appr oach implies t hat t he yield behavi our
can be appr oxi mat ed by assuming t hat t he ice failure
is i nfl uenced by bot h the nor mal and shear stresses
under l ow hydr ost at i c pressure, but onl y by t he shear
stresses above a critical level of hydr os t at i c stress. In
or der t o obt ai n a cont i nuous f unct i on for t he failure
surface, it is necessary t hat an appr opr i at e value of K
be chosen. This can be done for t he plane of t he ice
cover where Oz = 0 and eqn. ( 24) becomes
( 0 x -- Oy ) 2 + (IX 2 + Oy 2 = 6 K 2 ( 25)
K can be det er mi ned by subst i t ut i ng i nt o this equa-
t i on t he appr opr i at e values for the applied and con-
fining stresses for t he A-t ype failure for t he ice. Fr om
Fig. 15, these woul d be - 5. 5 MPa and - 3 . 0 MPa
respectively. Thus, fr om eqn. (25), K = 2. 8 MPa and
eqn. ( 25) becomes
( 0 x -- Oy ) 2 + (Ix 2 + 0. y2- - 4 5 . 6 = 0 (26)
This curve is shown in fig. 15 as t he t hi n dot t ed line.
The failure envel ope in t he Ox- Oy plane for warm
( T = - 2 C) col umnar sea ice at en = 2 X 10 -4 s -1 can
be represent ed as
f l = 0.1(Ox 2 + Oy 2) + ( Ox - Oy ) 2 + 0.9(Ox + Oy ) - 1
f or ox + Oy >/ 7
f 2 = ( ox - Oy) 2 + Ox 2 + Oy2 _ 45. 6
for Ox + oy < 3' ( 27)
where 3' is the sum of t he applied and confi ni ng l oad
for A- t ype compr essi on (= - 8 . 5 MPa in this case).
This expressi on whi ch represents t he case of plane
stress is shown in Fig. 15a as t he heavy dashed line.
This modi fi ed n- t ype f unct i on appears t o be a reason-
27
able representation of the failure envelope for plane
stress conditions. In a similar manner, the full failure
envelope for colder ( T = - 10C) columnar sea ice can
be determined as
f l = 0.04 [(Oy - Oz) 2 + (Oz - Ox) 21 + 0.43(0x - Oy) 2
+ 2.52(ryz 2 + r xz : ) + 1.78rxy 2 + 0. 78(o x + ay)
+ 0.74Oz - 1 for Ox + Oy >1 3"
f 2 = (Ox - Oy) 2 + Ox 2 + Oy 2 - 136
for Ox + o 3, < 3' (28)
where 3' = - 14. 7 MPa in this case. This is shown in
Fig. 16.
CONCLUSI ONS
The results of the present tests indicate the general
behaviour and strength of columnar sea ice under
confined conditions. The test results indicate:
(1) Confinement conditions do not appreciably
affect the strength of the ice if the confinement is of
either B or D-type. For A-type confinement, how-
ever, the stress level in the ice can be over four times
higher than the strength of the ice with no confine-
ment.
(2) A-type confinement on columnar sea ice pro-
duces strain-hardening with correspondingly longer
times to failure.
(3) The ratio of the confinement stress to applied
stress at yield for the test apparatus used is of the
order of 58%, 10% and 4% for A-type, B-type and D-
type confinement, respectively.
(4) Comparison of unconfined tests indicates that
the strength of columnar ice loaded vertically is ap-
proximately four times higher than the strength of
the ice loaded horizontally.
(5) A "strength number" has been introduced
which ties together the results of the present tests and
a number of previous tests for uni-axial loading. This
leads to an empirical relationship which gives the
functional dependence of the uni-axial compressive
strength in terms of loading direction, loading rate,
temperature, salinity, density and total porosity.
(6) For columnar ice, over the range of loading
rates of 10 -s to 10 -3 S -1, there is a power law depend-
ence of the strength of the ice for B and C-type load-
ing only. For the other three types of confinement,
there is no apparent loading rate effect.
(7) The three-dimensional yield surface for colum-
nar ice changes bot h size and shape with changes in
loading rate.
(8) With changes in temperature, the failure en-
velope remains similar in shape, but becomes appreci-
ably larger as the temperature decreases.
(9) The results of confined compression tests can
be used to evaluate the general applicability of vari-
ous formulations describing the failure envelope of
the ice. Moreover, the results can be used to evaluate
the coefficients which give the best description of the
yield surface.
(10) The results of the present tests have been
analyzed and fit to a modified n-type yield function
for temperatures of - 2 and -10C at en = 2 X 10 r4
s -1. These expressions, together with an appropriate
representation of the rheological behaviour of the ice
should provide a solid basis for the use of plasticity
theory to analyze various problems in ice mechanics
and Arctic engineering.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank Joachim Schwarz
for the invitation to participate in these trials of the
"Polarstern". Appreciation is also extended to Tony
Gow for the use of some of his equipment, and t o
Guenther Hackbarth for technical assistance. The
voyage was funded by the German Ministry for Re-
search and Technology. The Polarstern was provided
for this mission of icebreaking research by the Alfred-
Wegener-lnstitute ffir Polarforschung. This paper is a
contribution of the Divisions of Mechanical Engineer-
ing and Building Research, and it is published with
the approval of the Directors of the Divisions.
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