Ice Boom Simulations and Experiments

A three-dimensional discrete element model (DEM) was developed to simulate ice boom operation in a rectangular channel. The model simulates the motion of each individual ice floe, the interaction between adjacent floes, the interaction of the floes with the walls and boom, and the water drag applied to the floes on the underside of the ice accumulation. The DEM simulations were compared with a parallel set of physical model tests using natural ice. The DEM successfully reproduced the observed magnitude and distribution of the forces on the boom and the channel sides as the boom retained a surge of drifting ice. Variations in channel side roughness produced similar changes in the division of forces between the boom and sidewalls in the simulations and model tests. Finally, the load distribution between the boom and the channel sides and the effect of channel side roughness in the context of granular ice-jam theory were analyzed.