UNIAXIAL CONSTANT COMPRESSIVE STRESS CREEP TESTS ON SEA-ICE

First-year columnar-grained sea ice from Resolute Passage (74 degrees 42'N, 94 degrees 50' W), off Barrow Strait in the Canadian High Arctic , was tested under constant uniaxial compressive stress applied normal to the length of the columns. Creep tests were performed at 263 K, 25 3 K, and 243 K in the stress range of 0.7 to 2.5 MPa, using prismatic samples with dimensions of 50 mm x 100 mm x 250 mm. Because three-dime nsional creep data are extremely useful for developing constitutive eq uations, axial strain was measured in conjunction with the measurement s of two lateral strains and acoustic emissions. The deformations were measured using displacement gages mounted on the samples. A descripti on of the experimental procedures and the observations are presented h ere. One-to-one correspondence has been obtained between the present r esults on the dependence of minimum creep rate on stress and previous data on the dependence of uniaxial compressive strength on strain rate under constant strain rate. The strain-rate sensitivity of compressiv e strength can, therefore, be obtained from creep tests which can be p erformed by using simple dead-load test systems.