Quantifying Icebreaker Performance in Ice Management Operations by High-Fidelity Numerical Simulations

Abstract

In the study presented in this paper, the problem of quantifying the performance of icebreaker operations within ice management (IM) has been targeted, using the capabilities of high-fidelity simulations by a discrete element simulation model. An accurate geometric and dynamic model of the icebreaker IB Oden, as well as the characterization of a realistic multi-domain ice environment, has been numerically modeled within the simulator. The simulator includes features to easily vary parameters such as ice thickness, ice concentration, floe size distribution, and ice drift velocity and direction. The protected structure is modeled as a cylindrical structure, acting as a measurement probe of the ice loads, ice actions, ice-ice and ice-hull friction resulting from various simulated operations and scenarios. In overall, this give us the tools we need to numerically model, with high-fidelity, complex icebreaker operations on realistic ice conditions in order to quantify the performance of IM strategies under various scenarios. This can give us better insight into which IM strategies that are effective, thereby enabling better planning and online guidance of icebreaker operations.