Abstract
In June 2012, Technip signed an agreement with Cervval (a specialist software company in Brittany) and Bureau Veritas (BV) to develop an ice-modelling simulation program. The long term aim was for the simulator to predict the flow of ice around both fixed and floating structures and calculate the ice-loadings on the platforms. The program would allow platform structures to be optimised, to minimise ice loadings and ice rubble build-up, prior to final design verification in an ice test basin.
Initially the program was developed to predict ice behaviour in shallow waters since there are several projects imminent in the North Caspian but would be equally applicable in Arctic regions. Cervval has developed the software with ice expertise input and verification from BV. The program is unique in the Artic industry in that it uses a multi-model simulator which is able to cope with the complexity of calculating the kinematic and failure behaviour for the ice sheet and for each newly created ice fragment that results from contact with the structure or due to collision with other ice rubble particles for ice mechanical properties.
At ATC 2014 , the program was first presented to the industry but was still under development. At that stage, the program was able to simulate the flow of an ice sheet as it encroached on a conical structure and to predict vertical and horizontal loads on the structure with good accuracy. It also predicted the geometry of the ice accumulation in front of the structure above and below the ice sheet.
Since ATC 2014, the software development has considered ice interaction with straight sloping wall structures, then vertical walled structures (such as artificial islands) and finally a range of floating structures.
This follow-up paper will present details of the completed simulator, the verification program and plans for the future. A typical set of ice simulations will be shown and a comparison with ice basin test results will be presented as a measure of the program's accuracy.
