Modelling of Dynamic Crack Propagation in Ice Subjected to Impact Load using Peridynamics

Both marine and terrestrial ice sheets have been dramatically retreating in response to climate warming during recent years. One of the principal ablation mechanisms in an ice shelf is the calving process which is a consequence of crack propagation of pre-existing fractures. Iceberg calving occurs along ice sheets perimeter depending on various crevasses' parameters such as the location, form, and distribution. In this study, a simple rectangular ice structure subjected to impact load is analysed and dynamic crack propagation in the structure is modelled using bond-based Peridynamics (PD) which is a non-local form of classical continuum theory. To investigate the effect of surface crevasses on glacier fracture mechanism and dynamic crack propagation, the proposed material modelling of ice fracture is discussed. Both the amount and depth of crevasses as effective parameters in the fracture of an ice structure have been seen from numerical results obtained by our PD model. Thus, it can be said that Peridynamic theory is a simple and robust method to model and analyse the relation between surface crevasses and crack propagation in a glacier.