Grant: Engage Plus Grants Program

Ice roads, ice runways, and ice platforms provide vital access to remote areas of Canada for the resupply of*isolated communities as well as the exploration and development of natural resources for economic growth in*Canada. Accurately determining the safe bearing capacity for these ice covers is critical, and is closely*dependent on the ice thickness as a design parameter. Investigating this in a laboratory setting provides a*controlled and repeatable environment to examine the impact thin ice zones have on the bearing capacity of an*ice cover. The first studies of this focused on a stationary load applied at the centre of the ice sheet which had*a defined distance from the thin zone. In reality, the loads on ice roads will be moving trucks traveling along*the road. Therefore, it is essential that one investigates how a moving load will be impacted by localized thin*zones. And, how will a thin zone reduce the bearing capacity of an ice cover for a moving load? In order for*NOR-EX to apply the effective ice thickness results from a moving load directly to their ice road design*methodology there is a need to understand how a moving load will be affected by a thin zone. The results of*this research project will allow NOR-EX Engineering Ltd. to continue to build their understanding on how a*moving load will be affected by a thin zone and to develop methodology for ensuring safety of vehicles using*their ice roads.