An Experimental Study on the Material Properties of the EG/AD Model Ice Used for Ice Model Basins

The EG/AD/S model ice, originally developed by Timco (1986), was selected as the primary model ice material for the newly built MOERI Ice Model Basin in Korea. However, the existence of a sugar component in the EG/AD/S mixture may cause a serious maintenance problem, as described in certain references. This study focuses on the tests of the mechanical properties of the EG/AD/S and the EG/AD model ice. In order to understand the influence of sugar in the original EG/AD/S model ice and to find a possible substitute for sugar, a series of tests with the EG/AD model ice were performed, and the results were compared to those of the EG/AD/S model ice. The relatively large size of the MOERI Ice Model Basin made it difficult to control the initial strength of model ice, so it took a much longer time to achieve the target strength. In order to obtain a lower strength and stiffness for the model ice, the amount of chemical additives may be varied to achieve the desired strength level. This paper is a preliminary study aimed at seeking a possible substitute for the original EG/AD/S model ice for utilization in a large-scale ice tank. To understand the influence of sugar in the original EG/AD/S model ice, the mechanical properties of the EG/AD/S and EG/AD model ice, such as flexural strength, compressive strength, and elastic modulus, were tested in the laboratory condition and compared to each other. The warm-up procedure seems to be an important factor to reduce ice strength in the tests, so it is discussed in detail.