PARTICLES 2023

Mesh-free particle methods for ice dynamics

  • Shakibaeinia, Ahmad (Polytechnique Montreal)

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The interaction between ice and water in northern rivers and seas has an important role in the planetary processes and human life. The dynamic this multiphysics problem, which involve multi-body solid-fluid interaction, is highly complex and can be difficult to model and predict. Particle methods offer unique opportunity to deal with the highly dynamic interfacial deformations involved in these systems. Here, we present two particle-based numerical approaches for ice-water interaction. The first approach is a discrete-continuum method, which predicts the dynamic behavior of the solid (ice) using a multi-sphere DEM method, coupled with SPH and MPS for fluid (water) dynamics. The second approach is a continuum-continuum method, which simulates both the solid and fluid using single- and multi-resolution MPS. It utilizes a one-layer multi-viscosity, multi-density continuum, with a visco-plastic constitutive equation to predict ice behavior. To validate our models, we tested them against several benchmarks, including wave-ice interaction and river ice jams with hundreds of ice blocks, in comparison with experimental measurements. Our results demonstrate the accuracy and effectiveness of these particle-based methods in modeling and predicting the complex dynamics of ice-water interaction. Although the discrete-continuum approach presents accurate dynamics, such as water surface profile and block trajectories, it is relatively expensive and unscalable, making it challenging to apply to larger systems. In contrast, the continuum-continuum approach shows to be more affordable, but it requires more tuning, especially concerning the rheological parameters. Despite this, both approaches provide valuable insights into the physics of ice-water interaction and can be used to study various situations, such as ice jam formation and wave-ice interaction.