ICE-CUTTING SHIPS AND HIGH-PRESSURE WATER JETS FOR CUTTING ICE
Abstract
The ice-cutting ship is a vessel equipped with a complex mechanism for cutting, breaking, and transporting the ice. It is designed to provide an open ice-free channel in fast ice for the passage and towing of ships. The special feature of the ice-cutting ship is that by its forward movement it cuts a strip of ice supported at one end (a cantilever beam) rather wider than the ship itself. The cutting may be achieved by means of mechanical cutters, high- pressure hydraulic jets, or other applied physical principle. Owing to the forward motion of the ship and the configuration of the bow, which slopes at an angle of 15 degrees to the sea surface, the ice strip is bent, reaches the critical point and breaks into pieces by its own weight. The ice-cutter has a number of advantages over the icebreaker. These advantages are as follows: (a) The ice-cutter forms a straight, even channel, wider than that cut by an icebreaker; (b) The ice-cutter expends less energy on the whole operation - cutting, breaking, and removing the ice - than does the icebreaker. (c) The channel left by the ice-cutter remains clear and suitable for the passage of even the most thin-skinned ships. Thus the ice-cutter would make it possible: (a) to cut channels in sea and river bays for the passage of ships into ports in winter; (b) to cut fast ice and so allow earlier navigation in arctic seas; (c) to cut channels in the autumn and so extend the navigation season after the ice forms; (d) to cut channels in reservoirs in winter.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1964
- Accession Number
- AD0613202
Entities
People
- I. S. Peschanskii