Laboratory experiments of ice scour processes: buoyant ice model

A laboratory program was carried out to measure the loads and seabed response due to a buoyant ice block scouring sand and gravel representative of the Grand Banks seabed, offshore of eastern Newfoundland, Canada. The results complement previous experimental work carried out at the Canadian Hydraulics Centre (CHC), which used a rigidly affixed ice block to scour sediment material [Cold Reg. Sci. Technol. 35 (3)(2002a) 195]. The present study used the same sediment to create a model seabed; however, in this test series, the model was towed along an ice tank, free to move throughout the water column. Six tests were carried out. Freshwater ice, built up into a large block with an overall dimension of 0.76×0.76×0.71 m, was used to scour the seabed at depths up to 0.2 m. The scouring loads, displacement, angular movements and resulting trenches were measured. This paper provides a description of the test arrangement and the experimental results.