Abstract
A full-scale field experiment is an important part in the design of ships and offshore structures. Full-scale tests in the ice-covered sea, however, are usually very expensive and difficult tasks. Model tests in a refrigerated ice tank may substitute this difficulty of full-scale field tests. One of the major tasks to perform proper model tests in an ice towing tank is to select a realistic material for model ice which shows correct similitude with natural sea ice. This study focuses on the testing material properties and the selection of model ice material which will be used in an ice model basin. The first Korean ice model basin will be constructed at the Maritime & Ocean Engineering Research Institute (MOERI) in 2009. With an application to the MOERI ice model basin, in this study the material properties of EG/AD/S model ice of IOT (Institute for Ocean Technology) Canada, were tested. Through comprehensive bending tests, the elastic modulus and the flexural strength of EG/AD/S model ice were evaluated and the results were compared with published test results from Canada. Instead of using an ice model basin, a cold room facility was used for making a model ice specimen. Since the cold room adopts a different freezing procedure to make model ice, the strength of the model ice specimen differs from the published test results. The reason for this difference is discussed and the future development for a making model ice is recommended.