Design of Ice Booms

Abstract : This technical digest provides basic engineering design guidance for floating ice retention structures or ice booms. Basic types of booms and their ice control objectives are described briefly. The basic theory and equations used in ice boom design are then presented and typical structural components described. The report addresses other design considerations, such as boom - layout, geometry, and anchor systems, as well as the selection of wire rope and connection systems, and concludes with an example ice boom design at a specific site. This technical digest not only incorporates and builds on ice boom design information found in EM 1110-2-1612, Ice Engineering (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 1982), but describes the actual design steps in greater detail, and elaborates on boom geometry and the forces acting on ice boom components.