Ice pressure measurements with tekscan sensors-behaviour, calibration and application limits

Article Number
V006T07A023
Citation
ASME 41st International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering (OMAE 2022)
Contribution to Conference
ASME 2022 41st International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering, OMAE 2022  
Publisher DOI
10.1115/OMAE2022-79035
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85140929394
Ships and offshore structures operating in ice-covered sea areas have to withstand ice loads. In particular, the distribution of ice pressure in the contact area is critical. The pressure dis-tribution changes temporally and spatially and depends on the ice failure behaviour. Experimental measurements of ice pres-sures are possible with pressure mapping systems. A commonly used system in academia uses sensors manufactured by TekScan. The resulting measurements can be used to gain insight into ice failure behaviour, to establish design pressure patches, and to develop numerical models. However, various issues emerge when using these pressure measurement systems, e.g., equilibra-tion and calibration, which result in measurement uncertainties. Hence, this paper summarize and discuss possible issues and gives recommendations to address them.