Mathematical and Physical Model Studies of the Copeland Cut Test Ice Boom

摘要

The objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of predicting, with mathematical and physical models, the behavior of ice booms and their retained ice field in the Saint Lawrence River when these booms are modified to permit transiting by ships. The study reviews available mathematical theories on the subject and applies a finite element method of analysis to predict loads on a prototype test ice boom installed in the Copeland Cut of the St. Lawrence River. A complte and consistent set of hydro-mechanical scaling laws are developed for undistorted and distorted scale models for ship, ice and ice boom interactions in a river. A set of modeling criteria are also developed and applied to the design of two scale models of the Copeland Cut Test Ice Boom. Results from these two models (one undistorted with a scale of 1:60, and the other distorted with a horizontal scale of 1:60 and vertical scale of 1:24) are compared with prototype data. It is concluded that mathematical theories alone cannot presently predict all information needed in the design of navigable ice control structures but that properly designed physical models should be able to predict almost all of the needed design data.