Mechanics of Iceberg and Sea Ice Failure in Offshore Engineering Applications

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Canada has a wealth of natural resources, including vast potential mineral and hydrocarbon reserves in arctic and subarctic regions. Canada’s Northern Strategy also serves as a vital part of national policy in which promoting economic development, protecting the environment and assertion of sovereignty are important objectives. The assertion of sovereignty will necessitate a fleet of ice-breaking vessels capable of year-round operations in the Arctic. The research proposed herein will promote greater understanding of extreme ice loads and associated failure processes and is highly relevant to future construction of such vessels. Moreover, the development of Canada's north implies increased shipping activity, oil and gas exploration, as well as northern infrastructure projects. The presence of sea ice and glacial ice is a dominant consideration in the safe, economic design of ships and structures for such developments. For regions such as the Labrador Sea and eastern Canadian Arctic (e.g. Baffin Bay), which are highly prospective for offshore oil and mineral developments, the presence of embedded massive ice features (e.g. multi-year ridges, icebergs and ice island fragments) frozen into the sea ice cover presents designers with significant new challenges. While established methods and best practices are available for either operations in sea ice or for operations in regions with icebergs in open water, new approaches are needed to improve the modelling of interactions with embedded massive ice features in sea ice.