Hoek–Brown model for ice breaking simulation

Arctic is an important region for science and economic projects. New infrastructure is required for the sustainable development of this region. The water transport infrastructure in Arctic is subject to extreme environmental impacts. One of the main loads on such structures is the ice load. Conventional way to assess ice loads is to use empirical equations from normative documents. Nowadays with the increasing complexity of designs the numerical calculations became more important. Modern software and material models become more common in design. Ice model is not incorporated in the common engineering software, therefore engineers have to choose among available models. The Hoek–Вrown model of ice is considered as one of the most suitable preinstalled material models in the Plaxis software package. As of today, the authors found no studies proving the applicability of the Hoek–Brown model to the destruction of ice by bending, so this problem is of interest. The Hoek–Вrown model was examined by using available results of the field ice bending tests. The authors compared the ice strength from the numerical calculation and field tests. Young's modulus was estimated with Vaudrey equation. The calculation results from Hoek–Brown model showed the possibility of the model application in general case. The convergence of the results was revealed, with an error that in most cases does not exceed 20 %. Bigger discrepancy for some result points can be explained by the presence of the excessive brine volume in ice.