An Experimental Study of Strength of Young Sea Ice

Values for the strength of sea ice are extremely sparse in the literature, and available values show a wide, unexplained variation. Results of in-place cantilever beam tests presented in this paper show a definite relationship between flexural strength and brine content. Values for Young's modulus are also experimentally determined. It is shown that the bearing capacity of a sea-ice sheet is dependent on the brine content and that thin ice sheets are capable of supporting a large 'super load' beyond the force necessary to form the first crack.