ELASTO-DELAYED-ELASTIC SIMULATION OF SHORT-TERM DEFLECTION OF FRESH-WATER ICE COVERS

The simulations of short-term, time-dependent, fresh-water ice cover d eflections under variable loading conditions have been carried out usi ng a combination of an ''Elasto-Delayed Elastic'' model for primary or transient creep and Wyman's elastic theory. The calculated results we re compared with the load-deflection data of a 0.65 m thick Dows lake ice sheet, for loads up to 35.6 tonnes for durations up to about 3.6 h ours. The analyses indicate that elastic and the delayed elastic defor mation dominate the short-term deformation process. The results implie d that the short term bearing capacity problems of ice covers (such as aircraft landing or vehicles parking) can be handled by the grain-str ucture sensitive, time- and temperature-dependent elasto-delayed-elast ic theory. The major strength of the theory is its ability to estimate parking times based on practical operational criterion such as the av ailable freeboard.