Abstract

Sea ice load on a marine structure is caused by the failure process of an ice feature against the structure. This failure process is affected by both, the structure and the ice, thus it is commonly called an ice-structure interaction process. Some ice failure processes comprise of large numbers of discrete failure events, which lead to formation of piles of ice blocks. Such failure process can be effectively studied by using the Discrete Element Method, DEM . As an example, when a continuous sea ice sheet is driven by the wind and current against a marine structure, the ice sheet gradually breaks into discrete blocks, which interact with each other and with the structure, and form a rubble pile against the structure. Our recent DEM simulations show that the force from the pushing ice sheet is transmitted to the structure through the rubble pile with chain-like groups of highly loaded ice blocks, force chains. The existence of force chains highlights the granular behavior of ic e rubble and calls for models that account for individual ice blocks. Other important problems where discrete ice blocks and their interactions have key roles, are the strength of sea ice ridges and rubble fields, and the interaction of ships and structures with ridges and rubble piles.