Ship operation in brash ice: results of investigations

The paper gives a review of the studies concerned with operation of vessels in brash ice. Recently, the ice conditions have received an ever increasing attention of the researchers related to the fact that shipping in the Arctic regions and freezing seas, as well as in inland waterways has been scaled up. One of the important fields of brash ice studies is specifics of sailing under these conditions and primarily determination of the ship ice resistance. The paper shows that theoretical methods combined with physical modeling in ice basins are used for determination of the ship ice resistance under brash ice conditions. The paper traces the evolution of theoretical models utilized for calculations. It is mentioned that the models are mainly based on loose material mechanics. A rapidly developing computer modeling of ship motion in brash ice based on discrete element method is considered. Physical modeling techniques used for modeling brash ice in ice basin are described, and challenges of experimental investigations are discussed. It is pointed out that experimental studies in ice basin can provide valuable data not only about ship ice resistance but also about the mechanisms giving rise to ice channels filled with brash ice. The paper describes the methods for studying operation of ship propellers in brash ice conditions. It is concluded that further research into brash ice is needed.

Effect of water resistance on predictions of ship ice resistance using towing tests in ice basin

Object and purpose of research. The object under study is a method to determine ice resistance using towing tests of ship models. The purpose of the work is to develop a method that takes into account the water resistance effect on predictions of full-scale ship ice resistance. Materials and methods. The materials for development are model test data and earlier methods for determination of ice resistance on models, as well as recommendations of the International Towing Tank Conference (ITTC). Main results. The method is suggested to take into account the water resistance in analyzing the towing test data obtained in the ice basin, as well as the method for extrapolating the ice resistance due to hydrodynamic interaction of ice floes with underwater hull, including the scale effect. Conclusions. The methods that take into account the water resistance effect on predictions of ship ice resistance based on towing test data obtained in ice basins are reviewed and analyzed. An improved method to include the water resistance effect in a more correct way is suggested. For better comparison of test results in ice basin it is required to introduce a common method of including the water resistance effect using the method suggested in this work.

Models to predict the parameters of ship voyages in the Arctic: existing approaches and possible ways of development

Any information support system for Arctic shipping requires a ship transit model as one of the key elements that allows for strategic analysis, operational planning of vessel voyages, and ice routing of a ship. At the same time, there is no single recognized approach to develop such a model, due to the complexity of ice cover in terms of its impact on shipping. In this article, we have identified and analyzed three principal approaches to predict the parameters of vessel voyages in the Arctic. They are (1) semi-empirical models to estimate the vessel resistance in ice and then calculate propulsion performance, (2) numerical methods to model ship-ice interaction and calculate ice resistance, (3) statistical models to assess the ship speed based on regression equations or neural networks. Analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of each approach allowed us to propose a concept to develop the ship transit model for practical application.

An Approach to Determine Optimal Bow Configuration of Polar Ships under Combined Ice and Calm-Water Conditions

Selecting an optimal bow configuration is critical to the preliminary design of polar ships. This paper proposes an approach to determine the optimal bow of polar ships based on present numerical simulation and available published experimental studies. Unlike conventional methods, the present approach integrates both ice resistance and calm-water resistance with the navigating time. A numerical simulation method of an icebreaking vessel going straight ahead in level ice is developed using SPH (smoothed particle hydrodynamics) numerical technique of LS-DYNA. The present numerical results for the ice resistance in level ice are in satisfactory agreement with the available published experimental data. The bow configurations with superior icebreaking capability are obtained by analyzing the sensitivities due to the buttock angle γ, the frame angle β and the waterline angle α. The calm-water resistance is calculated using FVM (finite volume method). Finally, an overall resistance index devised from the ship resistance in ice/water weighted by their corresponding weighted navigation time is proposed. The present approach can be used for evaluating the integrated resistance performance of the polar ships operating in both a water route and ice route.