Small-scale physical modelling of ice sheets to determine effect of ice thickness on bearing capacity

Alanna Carreira, Ryley Beddoe

In the proceedings of: GeoOttawa 2017: 70th Canadian Geotechnical Conference; 12th joint with IAH-CNC

Session: Cold Regions II

ABSTRACT: Ice roads in Northern Canada provide vital access for the transportation of supplies to remote communities and mining operations which are otherwise inaccessible by road. Accurately defining the allowable loads is essential for safety and requires: sufficient ice profiling to confidently determine the ice thickness, confidence in ice integrity, and confidence in loading conditions. However, current methods of assessing bearing capacity may be overly conservative as they use the minimum operational ice thickness measured for bearing capacity calculations. This study aims to analyse the relationship between ice thickness and bearing capacity using small scale physical modelling of a freshwater ice sheet in a cold room laboratory. A total of four tests were conducted with ice sheets approximately 1 m2, where Tests 1-3 had average ice thicknesses varying from 5 mm to 6.6 mm, and Test 4 was created with a thin section 3.4 mm thick. All tests were vertically loaded until breakthrough occurred, from which the results show a positive linear correlation between the thickness of the ice and bearing capacity. Test 3 was conducted at air temperatures above the melting point which resulted in measurable deflection of the ice sheet during loading and a lower bearing capacity than expected. Future testing will consist of larger ice sheets with varying ratios of ice thickness and size to further analyze the effect of thin ice areas on bearing capacity.

RÉSUMÉ: Dans le Nord du Canada les routes de glace fournissent un accès vital pour le transport de fournitures aux collectivités charges admissibles est essentiel pour la sécurité et nécessite : une caractérisation du profil de la glace suffisante pour charge. Cependant, les méthodes actuelles sont trop conservatrices, car elles utilisent lopérationnelle minimale mesurée pour les calculs de capacité portante. Cette étude vise à analyser la relation entre g-3 avaient des épaisseurs de glace moyenne variant de 5 mm à 6,6 mm, et le test 4 avait aisseur. Tous les tests étaient chargés verticalement jusqu'à ce que la percée ait lieu. test 3 a été réalisée à une température supérieure au point de fusion ce qui a résulté en qui a donné lieu à des

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Cite this article:
Alanna Carreira; Ryley Beddoe (2017) Small-scale physical modelling of ice sheets to determine effect of ice thickness on bearing capacity in GEO2017. Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Geotechnical Society.

@article{geo2017Paper707,author = Alanna Carreira; Ryley Beddoe,title = Small-scale physical modelling of ice sheets to determine effect of ice thickness on bearing capacity,year = 2017}