Russian and Chinese students explore ice properties for the Arctic

The ICE MECHANICS International Workshop School has started at the Far Eastern Federal University. Students from FEFU Polytechnic Institute and Harbin Institute of Technology will spend a week attending a series of lectures and engaging in field tests and laboratory sessions to discover the properties of ice and its impact on structures in Arctic conditions. The program graduates will use the research evidence for designing Arctic offshore engineering structures.

During the training, students will be looking into the global practices of the Arctic and Subarctic shelf development, investigating the factors that affect the architecture and design of offshore oil and gas facilities, and learn to identify the physical and mechanical properties of ice. Field tests will be conducted in Novik Bay of Russky Island. The school participants will independently take ice samples and perform tests on thickness, salinity and uniformity of the ice cover.

“Our country is now placing a great emphasis on the Arctic exploration, so it is important to teach the new generation and build up our scientific and technological potential. Participants of the School will be able to solve economic and defense tasks, study global processes, use the rich natural resources of the extreme north in a rational and environmentally safe way”, said Dr. Alexander Bekker, scientific director of the FEFU Polytechnic Institute and member of the Russian Academy of Architecture and Construction Sciences.

The School participants include FEFU students pursuing the Master's degree in Offshore and Coastal Construction and Harbin Institute of Technology graduate students.

The program will be beneficial for its students and instructors alike. For example, Denis Gogoladze, a senior lecturer of FEFU Polytechnic Institute and a postgraduate student, will be using the test results for his dissertation, subsequent defense and obtaining a PhD degree at Harbin Institute of Technology under the academic exchange program with FEFU. Young engineers are tasked with determining ice thickness to estimate deformation and strength parameters of beams in structures. These data will be applied to the design of offshore hydraulic structures in the oil and gas industry.

At the end of the week, students will present the results of their work and receive a certificate of completion of the international Winter School 2025.

The annual ICE MECHANICS International Workshop School is held by the FEFU Polytechnic Institute at the premises of the ice research laboratory within the Arctic International Research and Education Center (Department of Marine Arctic Technologies) for undergraduate and graduate engineering students and researchers studying the ice impacts on engineering structures. The training is conducted in English.

The FEFU Arctic Project is aimed at building a center of excellence in the field of Arctic exploration technologies, capable of performing a full range of engineering services and providing scientific support to Arctic and Subarctic offshore projects. The Department of Marine Arctic Technologies students have a unique opportunity to go on a scientific expedition to the Arctic. During 5 to 9 months, they study the Arctic ice and put their knowledge to practical use.