On Characteristics of Ice Ridges and Icebergs for Design of Ship Hulls in Polar Regions Based on Environmental Design Contours

Ice ridges and icebergs generally pose a major threat to both ships and offshore facilities that operate in Polar regions. In many cases these features will govern the structural design loads associated with the Ultimate Limit State (ULS) and the Accidental Limit State (ALS). In general, a large number of load cases must be considered in order to ascertain an adequate structural resistance. Alternatively, conservatively high values of the relevant design parameters can be applied, which implies cost penalties. Accordingly, it is natural to consider methods that can serve to reduce the number of relevant load cases. Based on relevant information about the statistical properties of the parameters that characterize ice ridges and icebergs, the most likely combinations of these parameters for design purposes are highly relevant. On this background, the so-called environmental contour method is applied. Probabilistic models of the key parameters that govern the ship and ice interaction process are introduced. Subsequently, the procedure referred to as inverse reliability methods (IFORM) is applied for identification of the environmental contour. Different forms (i.e., dimensions) of environmental contours are generated to reflect the characteristics of the interaction process. Furthermore, the effect of an increasing correlation between the basic parameters is studied. In addition, the increase of the design parameter values for increasing encounter frequencies is illustrated.