A Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics Framework for Interaction Between Ice and Flexible Pile

In this paper, the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) is extended to simulate the ice-structure interaction by coupling the ice model with the structural model through a simple but effective interfacial contact model. The ice model embeds the softening elastoplastic model with the Drucker-Prager yield criterion to simulate the failure progress of the ice, and a dynamic model is imposed in the structural phase to account for its deformation. The developed SPH model is employed to simulate the level ice interacting with a vertical compliant structure. The ice loading on and the response of the structure are evaluated. The result is compared with the experimental data and a satisfactory agreement is achieved. It is further compared with the corresponding result without considering the structural deformation and concludes the significance of the structural vibration during the ice-breaking process, as well as the necessity of including the structural dynamics in ice-structure modelling.