Modeling viscoplastic behavior and heterogeneous intracrystalline deformation of columnar ice polycrystals

A full-field formulation based on fast Fourier transforms (FFT) has been adapted and used to predict the micromechanical fields that develop in two-dimensional columnar Ih ice polycrystals deforming in compression by dislocation creep. The predicted intragranular mechanical fields are in qualitative good agreement with experimental observations, in particular those involving the formation of shear and kink bands. These localized bands are associated with the large internal stresses that develop during creep in such anisotropic material, and their location, intensity, morphology and extension are found to depend strongly on the crystallographic orientation of the grains and on their interaction with neighboring crystals. The predictions of the model are also discussed in relation to the deformation of columnar sea and lake ice, as well as with the mechanical behavior of granular ice of glaciers and polar ice sheets.