Numerical study on the damage of floating ice by high-pressure bubble loads

Abstract

Floating ice can be damaged by the bubble loads generated by releasing high-pressure gas underwater using an air-gun, so ice-breaking by underwater high-pressure bubble loads is becoming one of the effective ice-breaking technologies. A numerical model was established to study the motion and damage of floating ice subjected to high-pressure bubble loads. Empirical formulas were used to calculate the initial shock wave load. The boundary element method (BEM) was used to simulate the bubble motion and second shock wave load/jet impact load of the underwater bubble under the ice plate, during which the Green's formula was used. The potential flow theory was used to solve kinematic and dynamic problems during the bubble motion process. A breakable floating ice plate was established based on peridynamics (PD). A coupling scheme was proposed to solve the load transfer problem between BEM and PD. The numerical results of the bubble motion stage and the ice-breaking stage were in good agreement with the literature results. The motion response of floating ice was obtained and analyzed. Focusing on studying the damage process of the floating ice, the influence of bubble initial internal pressure and ice mechanical parameters (Young's modulus) were studied. Results showed that the dimensionless distance parameter H, dimensionless ice thickness parameter T, and ice mechanical parameters cause significant effect on ice damage. This study provided a numerical model for ice-breaking by high-pressure bubble loads, which may provide reference for parameter optimization design and help to guide the engineering application.