Experimental Research on Compressive Mechanical Properties of Ice under Low Strain Rates

Abstract A series of uniaxial compressive tests was performed on ice samples at strain rates ranging from 10−4 s−1 to 10−2 s−1 and at a constant temperature of −18 °C. The resulting mechanical behavior, including ice failure mode and compressive strength properties, were investigated. Experimental results indicated that ductile-to-brittle transition occurred in the failure modes of ice with a transition strain rate of approximately 10−3–5×10−3 s−1. An interesting “cosine-shaped” signal was observed in the stress–strain curve of compressed ice in the ductile region. This phenomenon may be explained in terms of the competition between the crack sliding and refreezing rates during crack propagation. The scatter in the measured compressive strength data of ice was also investigated. This study proposes that more than six repeated tests should be conducted to obtain an available average compressive strength of ice. Although scattered, the compressive strength of the test ice is sensitive to strain rate and reaches a maximum value at the ductile-to-brittle transition region.