Development of sea ice element and direct analysis method of predicting ice loads based on ABAQUS

With the global temperature continuing to rise, the Arctic ice is melting. The development of the Arctic route and exploitation of Arctic resources are drawing the wide attention of international society. Many countries are starting a new round of the construction of polar ships. In recent years, domestic and foreign researchers have begun to focus on the numerical study of ice loads on structure. However, the current commercial finite element software lacks a specialized element used for simulating the mechanical properties of sea ice. This lack increases the difficulty of the numerical study of ice loads on structure. In this paper, based on Reinicke and Remer's elliptic failure criteria and Winkler's elastic foundation, an element has been developed to simulate the bending failure of isotropic granular ice. The ice loads of typical marine structures, such as slope structure and conical structure, are calculated through the direct analysis method with the developed element. A comparison between the results of the direct analysis method and analytical method show good agreement. In brief, the proposed direct analysis method may provide tools and certain references for structural design in an ice environment.