Investigation of the Effect of Managed Ice Field Parameters on Global Forces of a Dynamically Positioned Drillship

摘要

An approach for evaluating the performance of dynamically positioned vessels in managed ice is proposed. The approach is based on implementing two Design of Experiments techniques to determine the influence of the pertinent ice field parameters on the vessel's time-averaged thruster forces. A set of ice basin experiments was used to illustrate the manner of determining the relationship between ice forces and ice field parameters and to examine the effects of the interactions between those parameters. The results determined relationships between ice forces and ice concentration, thickness, floe size, and velocity. Future research requires examining broader sets of experimental data to increase the confidence and accuracy of thruster force predictions.