Ice flexural strength is an important parameter in the assessment of ice loads on the hulls of ice-class ships, sloped offshore structures or sloped bridge piers. While scale effects are well known for compressive ice strength, there has been debate as to whether or not scale effects in ice flexural strength exist. To investigate scale effects during flexural failure of freshwater ice, a comprehensive up-to-date database of beam flexural strength measurements has been compiled. The data show a considerable decrease in flexural strength as the specimen size increases, when examined over a large range of scales. An empirical model of freshwater ice flexural strength as a function of beam volume has been developed using regression analysis.
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