ICE LOADS ON AN ELASTIC MODEL OF THE MOLIKPAQ

In 1986, the offshore structure Molikpaq experienced severe vibrations due to ice loading while drilling for hydrocarbons in the Canadian Be aufort Sea. These strong ice-induced vibrations were unprecedented for a wide structure in ice, and their cause is not yet fully understood. Motivated by this event and the ensuing. controversy over its cause, the Canadian Hydraulics Centre has conducted a series of physical mode l tests to gain further insight into the loading and dynamic response of wide structures in ice. A sophisticated segmented elastic model of the Molikpaq structure was designed and built for this study. The stif fness of the model can be adjusted to simulate both stiff and soft san d cores. This paper provides information on the test program, the desi gn of the elastic model and its behavior in a wide range of ice condit ions. Results on ice loads, foundation loads, and structural deformati ons are presented and discussed. Finally, global ice loads from the mo del study are favorably compared to available information on the full scale ice loads experienced by the real Molikpaq. This result highligh ts the usefulness of physical model tests to determine ice loads on Ar ctic structures. Crown copyright (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Scienc e Ltd. All rights reserved.