The adhesive behavior of the polyethylene component in the “GP-ice” for studying the ice propulsion of the promising Arctic icebreakers

The maritime constituent is the crucial component of the Artic transport and logistics system. In the modern period of the development of science and technology, the ice model experiment in the experimental model basin is the main instrument of the research engineer, who creates and develops the existing arctic vessels forms. The article is dealt with the one of the aspects of the composite model ice ("GP-ice") consisting of the polyethylene granules frozen into natural ice. The crucial factor providing the modelling conditions is the model ice strength reduction due to lower adhesion forces on the granules. The aim of this investigation was to assess the reliability of the existing data and to obtain the one's own results in terms of the adhesion strength value at the normal fracture. The experimentation procedure in the NNSTU small ice tank is presented. The adhesive compound strength of the high-pressure polyethylene and ice at the normal fracture was determined. The analysis of results, which has satisfactory statistical characteristics, is presented. As the experiments results, the dependence of the adhesion strength value on the temperature inside the heat chamber (-20, -10) was revealed. The influence of the frozen surface boundaries was also significant and had a negatively impact on the results of the samples separation of a smaller dimension-type. In further the obtained results will be used in the mathematical models of the "GP-ice" deformation and fracture, as well as for improving the ice cover composite model for testing the promising Arctic icebreakers forms in the experimental model ice basin.