Mechanical Properties of First Year Sea Ice in Saroma Lagoon
This paper deals with compressive strength vs temperature characteristics (-40 ºC to -2ºC), size effect (cross-sectional area of test specimen) and probability distribution of compressive strength and fracture toughness KIC (corresponding to notch effect in bending strength), of first year sea ice sampled from Saroma Lagoon. The main experimental results are as follows. (1) Temperature dependent compressive fracture modes: at temperatures of -20 ºC to 0ºC, crush fracture is dominant, and at temperatures of -40 ºC to -20 C, brittle fracture is dominant. (2) The larger the cross-sectional area of a test specimen, the lower the compressive strength becomes. It is inferred that the number of weak spots increases with increase in the cross-sectional area of the test piece, which thus becomes more susceptible to fracture. (3) The scatter of compressive strength can be approximated by a normal distribution curve. (4) The KIC values of sea ice are below 10 kg/cm2 cm, though they change slightly depending on the dimensions of test pieces, the relative angle between crystal growth direction and load direction, environmental condition (air or water), and testing method.