Analytical and experimental modellng of iceberg scours

Prasad, Kavuri Siva Rama (1985) Analytical and experimental modellng of iceberg scours. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

The discovery of oil and gas in the iceberg infested waters off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador has generated increased interest in icebergs. There is a need to find solutions to potential iceberg hazards in order to optimize the production schemes. This thesis is a continuation of the ongoing research on geotechnical aspects of iceberg scours. -- The earlier analytical model has been extended to incorporate the nonlinear velocity of the iceberg during scouring. This study examines the scouring potential of icebergs which roll due to instability, increase their draft, and penetrate the seabed before scouring. For a given iceberg, if such initial penetration depth is more than a certain upper bound, only a pockmark will be left on the seafloor. For the initial penetration depths smaller than a certain lower bound, the resulting maximum scour depth would be as if there were no initial penetration of the seafloor. -- The influence of keel shape on the maximum depth gouged by an iceberg was studied experimentally. Six models of different keel shape were instrumented and pushed horizontally into a sloping sand bed. The measured front face resistance for each model was correlated with the computed values using available theoretical methods. The experimental results were extrapolated to the scour model. It is shown that the influence of keel shape on the estimated scour depth is within an acceptable range of variation and thus scour depths predicted using an idealized shape are realistic.

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