A Moored Arctic Floater in First-Year Sea Ice Ridges

Abstract

First-year sea ice ridges are a major concern for structures operating in the Arctic and will in many cases give the design mooring load. In this paper, a moored conical floater, somewhat similar to the well-known Kulluk, is studied in first-year ridges. The study is based on model tests performed at HSVA in several ridges with different properties. Mooring forces and floater response resulting from interaction with different ridges were compared with respect to ridge properties, ridge behaviour and simulated ice management. Clearance of accumulated rubble upstream the structure was the dominating physical process in the ridge-structure interaction. Accumulation of rubble caused large mooring forces. The amount of accumulated rubble depended on the ridge cross-sectional area, thus the mooring forces increased with ridge cross-sectional area. Large mooring forces were also experienced after the initial position of the ridge was passed due to difficulties with clearing of accumulated rubble.