Discontinuous Galerkin Method for Simulating an Ice Floe Impact on a Vertical Cylindrical Offshore Structure

Abstract

An approach to simulate the impact of an ice floe on a vertical cylindrical offshore structure and a detailed review of its related complications are presented. The information on the ice rheology of the continuum mechanics model used, which makes it possible to achieve a balance between the accuracy of the simulation results and the computational resources required, is presented. A numerical method and some features of the simulation and techniques, which allow us to overcome difficulties associated with the resource intensity of calculations, are described. Typical destruction patterns of the ice floes and pressure distributions on offshore structures are discussed. The numerical results obtained in this work demonstrate the applicability of the ice model and the implemented software to problems of the safety of oil and gas platforms on the Arctic shelf.