Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

The Arctic contains a wealth of resources, and is believed to hold more than 20 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and gas. Canada encompasses a large share of arctic landmass and the longest coastline in the world, much of it in the arctic regions. There are vast resources, including oil, gas and metallic reserves in the northern areas. Canada has developed a Northern Strategy as a part of national policy. Promoting economic development, protecting the environment and assertion of sovereignty are important objectives. Development of Canada's north implies the economic exploitation of natural resources, including those offshore. The present application focuses on the development of technology to design facilities for safe offshore development, including structures and ships. Safety in this context refers to safety of human life and of the environment. The implication is that structural systems, the main focus of the present application, be designed with adequate resistance to loads and pressures imposed by ice.In the design of ships and offshore structures for ice conditions, understanding the mechanics of ice compressive failure is essential in allowing the designer to effectively model ice loads and risk. At present, empirical methods based on measured full scale data are used in design. The main objective of the proposed project is to develop a full understanding of the physics and mechanics of the process, including the all-important thermodynamic aspects. The research presented in this proposal would facilitate a better understanding of two main aspects of ice mechanics: first, the viscoelastic response, including the effect of microstructural change and associated softening of the material, and second, the fracture of ice reflecting its extreme brittleness. This is of great importance for design and will result in improved methods for the estimation of ice loads, leading to enhanced safety and increased economic benefits.