Laboratory Investigations of the Bending Rheology of Floating Saline Ice and Physical Mechanisms of Wave Damping in the HSVA Hamburg Ship Model Basin Ice Tank

An experimental investigation of flexural-gravity waves was performed in the Hamburg Ship Model Basin HSVA ice tank. Physical characteristics of the water-ice system were measured in several locations of the tank with a few sensors deployed in the water and on the ice during the tests. The three-dimensional motion of ice was measured with the optical system Qualisys; water pressure was measured by several pressure sensors mounted on the tank wall, in-plane deformations of the ice and the temperatures of the ice and water were measured by fiber optic sensors; and acoustic emissions were recorded with compressional crystal sensors. The experimental setup and selected results of the tests are discussed in this paper. Viscous-elastic model (Burgers material) is adopted to describe the dispersion and attenuation of waves propagating below the ice. The elastic modulus and the coefficient of viscosity are calculated using the experimental data. The results of the measurements demonstrated the dependence of wave characteristics from the variability of ice properties during the experiment caused by the brine drainage. We showed that the cyclic motion of the ice along the tank, imitating ice drift, and the generation of under ice turbulence cause an increase of wave damping. Recorded acoustic emissions demonstrated cyclic microcracking occurring with wave frequencies and accompanying bending deformations of the ice. This explains the viscous and anelastic rheology of the model ice.