Parametric inversion of equivalent sea-ice bending-strength based on shipboard measurements and discrete element simulations

Sea-ice bending strength is a key parameter in ship–ice interaction analysis and ice-load prediction, but the strength corresponding to full-scale measured load cases cannot be obtained simultaneously during shipboard monitoring. Besides, mechanical properties of natural sea ice have strong randomness. Therefore, identification of the equivalent sea-ice bending-strength corresponding to the measured ice loads is of practical importance. A parameter inversion framework combining shipboard measurements and discrete element simulations is proposed. The compressive-to-bending strength ratio constraint is used to reduce the dimensionality of the inversion, while the Progressive Refinement Search (PRS) strategy is employed to organize candidate parameters. The equivalent parameter corresponding to the measured load condition is inverted using the error between simulated and measured ice loads. Numerical validation shows that the maximum error is less than 4%. Full-scale validation based on Xuelong ice-load data shows that the inverted bending strength is 0.35 MPa, which lies within the reference range estimated from the empirical ice temperature–strength relationship (0.24–0.42 MPa). The average relative error of the three load-characteristic indicators is 13.4%. The proposed method provides a feasible approach for inverting equivalent sea-ice bending strength from measured ice loads.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2026.128376
• Record URL:
  • http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0029801826042101
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00298018
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2026 Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies. Abstract reprinted with permission of Elsevier.
• Authors:
  • Fang, Qiujuan
  • 0009-0006-9628-458X
  • Dong, Haibo
  • Ji, Shunying
  • 0000-0002-1618-441X
  • Liu, Lu
  • 0000-0002-1613-4287
• Publication Date: 2026-11-15

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: References;
• Pagination: 128376
• Serial:
  • Ocean Engineering
  • Volume: 368
  • Issue Number: 0
  • Publisher: Pergamon
  • ISSN: 0029-8018
  • EISSN: 1873-5258
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00298018

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Discrete element method; Flexural strength; Loads; Measurement; Sea ice; Ships; Simulation
• Subject Areas: Marine Transportation; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 02004872
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Oct 2 2026 4:54PM