News in Press-centre

The third Ice Mechanics International Workshop School opened in Far Eastern Federal University on February 13. Thirty undergraduate students, young scientists, and experts from Russia and abroad will study sea ice properties and mechanisms of its impact on engineering structures both in theory and in practice.

According to Alexander Becker, Director of the School of Engineering, two thirds of this year's Ice Mechanics School consist of international participants: representatives of China, the Republic of Korea, Norway, the UK, and Japan. The knowledge gained will enable young researchers to engage in the future implementation of large-scale projects for the development of the Arctic region.

“Our school has two key tasks—educational and scientific. On the one hand, we teach to work with ice, to better understand its properties—this is the reason in the first place international participants visit us,” said Alexander Becker. “On the other hand, we conduct real research—simulate ice breaking processes for further design of marine engineering structures.”

Ice Mechanics School was opened with the lectures by the leading academics of the School of Engineering and Anatoly Polomoshnov, the guest speaker, Hydrometeorology Chief Expert at Rosneft-Shelf-Arctic LLC. During the three-day course participants will learn about the classification, physics and properties of sea ice, its impact on offshore structures—platforms, pipelines, and ships—as well as about the features of the offshore oil and gas deposits development.

The young researchers will start for the test site in Novik Bay of Russky Island on February 16. This year they will conduct twice more experiments than in the past. The participants will explore the properties, structure, and heterogeneity of ice cover, conduct experiments on hardness and brittleness in natural conditions, and investigate the chemical composition and strength of ice in the laboratory. For the first time the students and young researchers will test ice for anisotropy (the ability of a crystal to show different properties diversely), and three-axis compression.