The force exerted by a moving ice sheet on an offshore structure

A uniform ice sheet moves steadily against a flat-sided fixed offshore structure. The ice deforms in creep: the problem is to determine the relation between the force on the structure and the velocity of the ice. The problem cannot be solved analytically, but a conventient approximate solution can be found by the reference stress method of creep structural analysis, which makes systematic use of a small number of numerical and analytic solutions to related problems, including solutions to the corresponding problem for a perfectly-plastic material. The method is applicable to any observed relation between stress and strain rate. It is tested by comparison with additional numerical solutions, and with published data on indentation experiments.