Cantilever beam tests in an ice cover: Influence of plate effects at the root

Abstract The flexural behaviour of ice covers is often determined by in situ cantilever beam tests. Finite element analysis of such test geometries was used to investigate the influence of the elastic connection between the beam and the ice cover. Where beam lengths were short, i.e., less than ten times the ice thickness, the finite element analysis showed that deflection and moment distribution differ substantially from that predicted, assuming a clamped cantilever beam. Results of full-scale experiments performed on beams of various lengths and widths confirmed that the finite element solution best describes the measured deflections.