Discrete Element Method Simulations of Ice Floe Dynamics

Samuel P Bateman1, Fengyan Shi2, Mark Orzech3, Jayaram Veeramony3 and Joe Calantoni4, (1)Naval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, MS, United States, (2)University of Delaware, Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, Newark, United States, (3)U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, United States, (4)U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, DC, United States
Abstract:
Ice floes were modeled using LIGGGHTS, an open source discrete element method (DEM) software, where individual elements were bonded together to make floes. The bonds were allowed to break with a critical stress calibrated to existing laboratory measurements for the compressive, tensile, and flexural strength of ice floes. The DEM allows for heterogeneous shape and size distributions of the ice floes to evolve over time. We simulated the interaction between sea ice and ocean waves in the marginal ice zone using a coupled wave-ice system. The waves were modeled with NHWAVE, a non-hydrostatic wave model that predicts instantaneous surface elevation and the three-dimensional flow field. The ice floes and waves were coupled through buoyancy and drag forces. Preliminary comparisons with field and laboratory measurements for coupled simulations will be presented.
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