News in Press-centre

The VI International Winter School of Ice Mechanics finished at Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU). During the week, Russian and foreign students and young scientists jointly studied the properties and structure of natural ice. The results will be used to determine the load on structures and vessels that are operated in ice conditions in the Arctic, subarctic and on the Sakhalin shelf.

According to the organizing committee, in 2020, the Ice Mechanics school brought together students and young scientists from Pusan National University (Republic of Korea), the Northeast Federal University named after M.K. Ammosov (Yakutsk), Center for Marine Research, Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov and Far Eastern Federal University.

The educational course included theoretical classes and practice. The school began with lectures, at which the teachers of the FEFU Engineering School introduced the participants to the physics of ice and methods for studying its properties. In the process of training, they also gained experience with specialized testing equipment. The experiments were carried out in natural and laboratory conditions.

The main stage was field experiments in Novik Bay on Russky Island. Samples of a cylindrical shape (cores) were taken at an open test site, which were further studied in laboratories for salinity, heterogeneity, density, structure, growth direction and size of ice crystals, as well as compressive and bending strengths. The most spectacular experience - the compression test - was carried out at a special installation of SHIMADZU. At the end of the training, the researchers presented the results of a week's work, passed the exam and received certificates.

“Based on the results of the work, presentations were presented with a description of the experimental technique and the results of statistical processing. In addition, tests were carried out to determine the bending strength of ice and 180 ice samples were additionally selected and tested, resulting in data on the dependence of the change in ice strength on the load speed of the sample, said Tatyana Uvarova, FEFU Professor of the Department of Hydraulic Engineering, theory of buildings and structures.

Far Eastern Federal University has been conducting Ice Mechanics since 2015 as part of the Arctic International Scientific and Educational Center. The aim of the project is to develop a center of excellence in the field of Arctic technologies for the development of resources of the World Ocean. Statistical data obtained at schools are used in the construction of ships and drilling platforms for work in the Arctic.