Cold Regions Science and Technology 26 Ž1997.

215–229

Mechanical strength of polycrystalline ice under uniaxial

compression
Masahiko Arakawa ) , Norikazu Maeno
Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido UniÕersity, Kita-ku Kita-19 Nishi-8, Sapporo 060, Japan
Received 5 February 1997; accepted 26 September 1997

Abstract

Mechanical strength of polycrystalline ice I h was investigated by uniaxial compression tests at wide ranges of
temperature, y10 to y1738C, and of strain rate, 4 = 10y4 to 4 = 10y6 sy1. A systematic change of the deformation type
from brittle fracture to ductile deformation was observed to take place at a critical strain rate and temperature. A systematic
increase of the strength was also found with decreasing temperature and increasing strain rate. In both the ductile and brittle
regions, a similar relation was found to hold: ´˙ s A s nexpŽyErRT . where ´˙ is the strain rate, s is the peak stress for
ductile deformation and failure stress for brittle fracture, R is the gas constant and T is the absolute temperature. The
apparent activation energy E and exponent n are 48 kJrmol and 6.5 in the brittle region and 64 kJrmol and 3.4 in the
ductile region, respectively. The maximum stress Ž smax : peak and failure stress. has a good correlation with the strain Ž ´ max .
at that stress irrespective of the temperature and strain rate. An empirical equation, ´ max s 0.41 q 0.015smax , where the unit
of smax is MPa, can be applied to both the ductile and brittle regions. q 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.

Keywords: brittle–ductile boundary; flow law; rheology; icy satellites

1. Introduction closely related to the mechanical properties of water

ice at low temperature because the surfaces of these
The mechanical properties of ice I h have been
satellites are believed to be made of volatile materi-
extensively investigated in special reference to vari-
als such as water ice. Then, the strength and viscos-
ous glaciological phenomena on the Earth ŽCarter,
ity of water ice at low temperature should be of use
1971; Weertman, 1983.; however, temperature ranges
to understand the origin of these geological struc-
dealt with were narrow and confined to near the
tures. Impact craters are the most major and relevant
melting point Ž0 to y308C..
structures of icy satellites ŽMelosh, 1989.. Recent
Recently, many icy satellites were observed by
results on the impact experiment showed that the
space crafts and the details of geological structures
impact crater size of low temperature ice was smaller
such as fault, ridge and many lineaments were recog-
than that of ice near the melting point ŽKato et al.,
nized. The tectonics forming these structures was
1992.. Thus, detailed strength data for low tempera-
ture ice is desired to study the effect of material
)
Corresponding author. Tel.: q81 Ž11. 706-5500; fax: q81 strength on crater formation. Knowledge of the vis-
Ž11. 706-7142; e-mail: arak@lowtem.hokudai.ac.jp cosity of ice at low temperatures is also necessary to

0165-232Xr97r$17.00 q 1997 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

PII S 0 1 6 5 - 2 3 2 X Ž 9 7 . 0 0 0 1 8 - 9
216 M. Arakawa, N. Maenor Cold Regions Science and Technology 26 (1997) 215–229

estimate the time scale of the crater relaxation and
physical conditions of the crust Že.g. temperature
gradient in the crust. ŽThomas and Schubert, 1986..
The measurements of mechanical properties of ice
I h at temperatures lower than y308C were carried
out by Jones and Glen Ž1969., Parameswaran and
Jones Ž1975.. Jones and Glen Ž1969. conducted creep
measurements of single crystals of ice at tempera-
tures of y30 to y908C to derive a flow law show-
ing the mechanism of the plastic deformation.
Parameswaran and Jones Ž1975. obtained the brittle
compressive strength of polycrystalline ice at
y1968C under uniaxial compression and revealed
that ice at that temperature was brittle and several
times or by one order stronger than ice near the
melting point. Schulson Ž1990. also studied the brit-
tle compressive strength of ice at temperatures be-
tween y10 and y508C. He made uniaxial compres-
sion tests using granular ice with different grain sizes
and found that the brittle strength was proportional

Fig. 1. Sketch of the experimental apparatus for the deformation experiment at low temperatures and unconfining conditions.
 M. Arakawa, N. Maenor Cold Regions Science and Technology 26 (1997) 215–229 217

Table 1 Table 1 Žcontinued.

Experimental conditions and results Run number T ´˙ sma x ´max Type
Run number T ´˙ sma x ´max Type Ž8C. Žsy1 . ŽMPa. Ž%. Žb or d.
Ž8C. Žsy1 . ŽMPa. Ž%. Žb or d.
C.H.S. s 0.2 mmrmin.
C.H.S. s 0.01 mmrmin. R910402-2 y9.6 8.21=10y5 4.47 0.58 d
R910625-2 y51.2 4.02=10y6 7.97 0.49 d R910507-1 y32.8 8.15=10y5 9.45 0.53 d
R910625-1 y74.2 4.02=10y6 25.5 0.83 b R910508-1 y42.0 8.32=10y5 14.2 0.58 d
R910702-1 y83.5 3.98=10y6 38.1 1.03 b R910501-2 y51.2 8.13=10y5 22.3 0.78 d
R910701-1 y92.8 4.12=10y6 45.9 1.22 b R910419-1 y60.4 8.32=10y5 30.7 0.82 b
R910509-1 y74.2 8.00=10y5 47.2 1.09 b
C.H.S. s 0.02 mmrmin.
R910401-1 y10.6 8.21=10y6 3.43 1.29 d C.H.S. s 0.5 mmrmin.
R910416-2 y30.1 8.23=10y6 4.25 0.57 d R910430-1 y11.6 2.06=10y4 5.84 0.56 d
R910413-1 y40.2 8.21=10y6 6.83 0.42 d R910502-1 y32.8 2.06=10y4 11.8 0.62 d
R910326-2 y51.2 8.23=10y6 12.4 0.47 d R910418-1 y42.0 2.06=10y4 17.1 0.72 d
R910329-1 y60.4 8.16=10y6 17.3 0.60 d R910501-1 y51.2 2.04=10y4 25.5 0.78 b
R910415-1 y60.4 7.94=10y6 16.1 0.60 d R910619-1 y60.4 2.03=10y4 38.5 0.94 b
R910411-1 y69.6 8.17=10y6 23.8 0.88 d R910624-2 y65.0 2.01=10y4 37.8 0.95 b
R910326-1 y74.2 8.05=10y6 35.7 0.97 b R910509-2 y72.4 2.05=10y4 52.4 1.16 b
R910415-2 y78.8 8.06=10y6 40.1 1.15 b R910620-2 y83.5 2.00=10y4 59.2 1.28 b
R910412-1 y83.5 8.19=10y6 44.3 1.15 b
R910619-2 y92.8 8.21=10y6 52.4 1.13 b C.H.S. s 1 mmrmin.
R910320-3 y102.1 8.48=10y6 65.3 1.47 b R910430-2 y10.0 4.20=10y4 6.60 0.50 d
R910502-2 y32.8 4.36=10y4 15.0 0.64 d
C.H.S. s 0.05 mmrmin. R910502-3 y42.0 4.00=10y4 20.5 0.82 d
R920521-1 y21.0 2.12=10y5 3.93 0.38 d R910417-1 y51.2 4.12=10y4 25.6 0.69 b
R920508-1 y31.9 2.07=10y5 6.85 0.54 d R910417-2 y71.4 4.11=10y4 41.8 0.94 b
R920422-1 y46.6 2.07=10y5 11.5 0.65 d
R920420-1 y55.8 1.87=10y5 17.7 0.68 d b and d in the column Type mean brittle failure and ductile
R920421-1 y55.8 2.07=10y5 19.5 0.68 d deformation, respectively.
R920421-3 y65.0 2.08=10y5 29.8 0.92 d sma x is the maximum stress of the stress–strain curve, which is a
R920604-1 y69.6 1.99=10y5 33.6 0.99 b failure stress or peak stress.
R920422-2 y74.2 2.09=10y5 42.7 1.04 b ´ma x is the corrected strain at the maximum stress.
R920603-1 y78.8 2.10=10y5 46.2 1.05 b C.H.S. is a cross head speed of a mechanical testing machine.
R920521-3 y83.5 2.06=10y5 50.5 1.23 b
R920522-1 y83.5 2.05=10y5 53.7 1.10 b to the square root of the grain diameter. He also
R920603-2 y88.1 2.14=10y5 62.6 1.33 b
found that the strength increased with decreasing
C.H.S. s 0.1 mmrmin. temperature from y10 to y508C. Through these
R910401-2 y10.2 4.03=10y5 3.73 1.07 d experiments, the brittle failure of ice has been known
R911111-1 y10.5 4.06=10y5 2.65 1.45 d to occur at lower temperatures and higher strain rate
R911112-1 y13.5 4.03=10y5 3.37 0.73 d under uniaxial compression. However, the brittle
R910323-1 y31.0 4.24=10y5 8.07 0.52 d
R910320-1 y42.0 4.00=10y5 12.0 0.58 d
strength obtained in previous works under the uniax-
R910315-1 y51.2 4.01=10y5 20.4 0.73 d ial compression was so scattered that the distinctive
R910323-2 y55.8 4.07=10y5 24.4 0.73 d relation between strength, temperature and strain rate
R910318-2 y65.0 4.04=10y5 34.0 0.86 b could not determined as it was obtained for the
R911113-1 y65.0 4.07=10y5 38.5 0.98 b failure of ice at confined conditions ŽDurham et al.,
R910322-1 y74.2 4.02=10y5 46.6 0.97 b
R910319-1 y78.8 4.08=10y5 44.2 1.03 b
1983; Kirby et al., 1985.. Therefore, systematic ex-
R910315-2 y83.5 4.04=10y5 54.5 1.25 b periments on the brittle failure of unconfined water
R910322-2 y92.8 4.16=10y5 65.4 1.30 b ice are desired at low temperatures.
R910325-1 y102.1 4.04=10y5 64.4 1.30 b The conditions for the brittle–ductile transition of
R910604-1 y102.1 4.15=10y5 60.8 1.28 b ice is of interest to planetary scientists because the
R910318-1 y130.2 4.03=10y5 65.0 1.40 b
R900926-1 y172.7 3.97=10y5 76.5 1.62 b
major geological structure of icy satellites such as
crust thickness is determined by this transition. Batto
218 M. Arakawa, N. Maenor Cold Regions Science and Technology 26 (1997) 215–229

and Schulson Ž1993. experimentally studied the con- 2. Experimental procedures

dition for the brittle–ductile transition using colum-
nar ice with a grain size of 1.5 to 15 mm at y108C.
They found that the transition condition varied with
the grain diameter. The strain rate of the brittle–
ductile transition compiled by Gold Ž1977. is about
10y3 sy1 at y108C. Durham et al. Ž1983. and Kirby
et al. Ž1985. found the pressure dependence of the
brittle–ductile transition of ice by means of deforma-
tion tests at high confining pressures and showed
that the boundary moved to lower temperatures at
higher confining pressures at a constant strain rate.
The temperature dependence of the transition has not
been determined in spite of its importance.
Thus, we carried out systematic experiments on
the mechanical strength of polycrystalline ice I h at
low temperatures. We propose empirical laws suit-
able for the failure and the ductile deformation at
low temperatures and show the temperature–strain
rate relationship of the brittle–ductile boundary in
the uniaxial compression tests.
Polycrystalline ice samples were prepared by
compacting in several minutes fine ice particles in a
vessel of 20 cm in diameter and 15 cm in height at 7
MPa and 08C, and by allowing them to solidify at 3
MPa and y108C; in the procedure the vessel was
evacuated at 100 Pa. The ice samples thus made
were almost bubble free, their average grain size was
0.9 " 0.4 mm and their crystallographic c-axis ar-
rangements were random. However, tiny pores
smaller than 10 mm were observed within grains by
microscope. The samples were stored in a cold room
Žy108C. for a week to allow remaining stress to
relax.
A cylindrical sample was formed by a cutting
machine with dimensions of 20 " 0.1 mm in diame-
ter and 40.0 " 0.1 mm in length. It is well known for
the deformation test that the brittle strength is af-
fected by the lengthrdiameter ratio of the sample.
Mogi Ž1966. showed that the strength of a granite

Fig. 2. Stress–strain and tangent modulus–strain curves of the ductile deformation at 2 = 10y4 sy1 and y428C. The correction method to
exclude the error of the strain caused by the icerplate interface is shown.
 M. Arakawa, N. Maenor Cold Regions Science and Technology 26 (1997) 215–229
sample increased when decreasing this ratio from 2.5
to 1, and Paterson Ž1978. recommended a sample
ratio larger than 2.5 for the deformation test. Our
sample ratio is about 2, which is slightly smaller than
the recommended value because the temperature dif-
ference in the sample becomes larger for the large
lengthrdiameter ratio to severely affect the sample
strength. According to the result of Mogi Ž1966., the
strength at a ratio of 2 becomes 2–4% larger than the
strength at a ratio larger than 2.5. Thus, our obtained
strength includes an artificial effect of the lengthrdi-
ameter ratio of several percents.
Unconfined uniaxial compression tests under con-
stant strain rates were conducted on a mechanical
testing machine ŽTENSILON UCT-10-UW. set in a
cold room at y108C. The available maximum load
was 10 5 N. Stress and strain were measured by a
load cell and a displacement gage, respectively, at
every 10 mm displacement or 2.5 = 10y5 strain by a
micro-computer with a 12 bit ArD converter. The
raw strain is calculated by the displacement between
Fig. 3. Stress–strain and tangent modulus–strain curves of the brittle failure at 2 = 10y4 sy1 and y728C. The correction method to exclude
the error of the strain caused by the icerplate interface is shown.
219
the loading plates and the initial sample length, thus
this calculated strain includes unexpected errors con-
tributed by the icerplate interface. Thus we must
exclude these errors from the raw strain to derive the
correct intrinsic strain. The effect of this interface on
the deformation and the correction method is noted
in a later section. As it is unavoidable that the
surfaces of a cylindrical sample can be slightly un-
parallel, a pair of ball seats were set on the upper
cooling plate for correction. These copper seats were
bonded to the ice surfaces and slightly constrained
the sample at both ends. The cryostat consists of a
stainless-steel chamber and pistons with copper cool-
ing plates ŽFig. 1.. The ice sample was set in vacuum
ŽF 100 Pa. and its temperature was controlled by
regulating a flux of liquid nitrogen flowing into the
copper cooling plates. The samples could be cooled
to a temperature from y10 to y1738C without
forming cracks and were kept at this temperature
during each deformation experiment. Temperatures
measured by using thermocouples located at the
220 M. Arakawa, N. Maenor Cold Regions Science and Technology 26 (1997) 215–229

center, upper and lower ends of the sample and both
cooling plates showed that the temperature differ-
ence between the ends was within 18C.
Transparent windows were used to observe the
deforming sample. This observation enabled us to
exclude the unparallel compression data. However,
the precise parallel compression was rather difficult
to determine at strain rates faster than 10y3 sy1 . The
experimental conditions of temperature and strain
rate are y10 to y1738C and 4 = 10y3 to 4 = 10y6
sy1 , respectively, and the testing conditions are listed
in Table 1.

Fig. 4. Ža. Photograph of the deformed sample with many internal cracks sub-mm size in R910702-1. The deformation type is brittle failure.
Žb. Disrupted ice fragments made by brittle failure in R910702-1. The fragment size is in the order of mm to sub-mm. The unit of scale is 1
mm.
 M. Arakawa, N. Maenor Cold Regions Science and Technology 26 (1997) 215–229
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Deformation types
An example of a stress–strain curve at 2 = 10y4
y1
s and y428C is shown in Fig. 2 Žsolid line.. The
dashed line is the tangent modulus, which is a local
slope of the stress–strain curve and calculated by
using the least-square method on five successive data
points. This modulus varies with the strain according
to the rheological response of the ice to stress, so it
is a useful indicator of the visco-elasticity. At the
initial stage of deformation, the stress gradually in-
creases until the ends of the sample are in good
contact with the piston and at 0.8% of raw strain it
rapidly increases with a sharp increase of the tangent
modulus from 0 to 3 GPa. The tangent modulus
becomes maximum at 1% raw strain, then it de-
creases with increasing strain. A raw strain smaller
than 1% is significantly affected by displacement at
the icerplate interface so that the stress–strain curve
Fig. 5. Maximum tangent modulus versus reciprocal of temperature at various strain rates.
221
must be corrected. The curves are reconstructed with
the slope of the maximum tangent modulus ŽFigs. 2
and 3. and we redefine the zero strain at the point
where the extrapolated line crosses the axis. The
correct strain is measured from this redefined zero
point. After this strain correction, the intrinsic strain
at the peak stress can be obtained. The same correc-
tion on the strain is applied in Fig. 3.
The maximum stress occurs at 0.72% corrected
strain where the tangent modulus becomes 0 GPa.
We define this as the peak stress. The corrected
strain at the peak stress is shown in Table 1. After
the peak, the stress rapidly falls and the tangent
modulus reaches a minimum value at 0.9% corrected
strain. Then the decreasing rate of the stress becomes
much smaller. This type of deformation with a drop
of stress is referred to as ductile deformation al-
though it is not purely ductile because of the cracks
that appear. According to the observation of the
deformation process through the optical window,
small cracks were generated homogeneously within
222 M. Arakawa, N. Maenor Cold Regions Science and Technology 26 (1997) 215–229
the samples. This result suggests that the mechanism
of this ductile deformation is a dislocation glide with
cracks ŽDGC. as studied by Shoji and Higashi Ž1978..
The generated cracks accelerate the formation of
new dislocations from the crack surfaces and soften
the ice sample. Ductile deformation was frequently
observed at relatively high temperatures and low
strain rates.
A stress–strain curve at a lower temperature of
y728C and 2 = 10y4 sy1 is shown in Fig. 3. At
first, stress increases slowly with strain, and beyond
about 0.5% of raw strain increases rapidly. The
tangent modulus also increases and then becomes
almost constant, about 4.2 GPa between 0.4 and
1.1% of corrected strain. The failure occurred at 52.4
MPa and 1.16% corrected strain Žfailure stress and
strain for other experiments are shown in Table 1..
The tangent modulus just before the failure de-
creased because the stress was relaxed by the rapid
generation of cracks. This deformation type is re-
Fig. 6. Maximum stress versus reciprocal of temperature at 4 = 10y5 sy1 and y10 ; y1738C. The data in each region are fitted by Eqs.
Ž2. and Ž3..
ferred to as brittle failure and is often observed at
lower temperatures and higher strain rates. By direct
observation of the deforming sample it can be seen
that the number of cracks increases gradually and
homogeneously at low stresses ŽFig. 4a., and then
rapidly increases just before the failure. The ice
sample broke into small pieces, with an average size
of several mm ŽFig. 4b., although at high confining
pressures an ice sample usually breaks into two
pieces by a shear fracture ŽDurham et al., 1983..
The elastic modulus can be obtained from a slope
of the stress–strain curve of a deformation test at a
constant strain rate. This method was applied to a
single ice crystal by Higashi et al. Ž1964., who found
that the modulus was dependent on temperature and
strain rate. Gold Ž1977. reviewed the strain-rate-de-
pendence of the modulus for values between 10y3
and 10y6 sy1 at y108C. We here give relations
between maximum tangent modulus and temperature
for each strain rate. Fig. 5 shows the temperature-de-
 M. Arakawa, N. Maenor Cold Regions Science and Technology 26 (1997) 215–229
pendence of a maximum tangent modulus at three
different strain rates. Though the strain-rate-depen-
dence is not apparent, there is a large temperature-
dependence: the maximum tangent modulus in-
creases linearly from 1 to 5 GPa with the increasing
reciprocal of temperature. This result implies that the
viscous property of ice is contributing to the modu-
lus above y738C. The elastic modulus of ice derived
from ultrasonic experiments is about 10 GPa at a
strain rate larger than 10 2 sy1 ŽYamaji and Kuroiwa,
1956., but smaller than 5 GPa at y108C and a strain
rate lower than 1 sy1 ŽGold, 1977.. In our tempera-
ture conditions Žy10 to y1738C., the maximum
modulus is 5 GPa and does not seem to change much
at temperatures below y738C.
3.2. Brittle–ductile boundary
Fig. 6 shows the temperature-dependence of peak
and failure stresses Žmaximum stress. at 4 = 10y5
Fig. 7. Comparison of our results with previous results lower than y738C for the unconfined experiments. The lines of our data at
3.5 = 10y4 and 3.5 = 10y6 sy1 are calculated by using Eq. Ž3..
223
sy1 and y10 to y1738C. The circles and dots refer
to ductile deformation and brittle failure, respec-
tively. The slope of the lines discontinuously changes
at two temperatures, y638C and y1038C; the for-
mer almost corresponds to the boundary between
ductile deformation and brittle failure. The data of
brittle failure give two straight lines with different
slopes. We distinguish three regions at these two
temperatures: a ductile region, brittle region I and
brittle region II. The slope is steepest in the ductile
region and almost independent of temperature in
brittle region II where the stress is constant about 70
MPa. Kirby et al. Ž1985. divided the ductile region
into three sub-regions Žductile regimes A, B, and C.
in their high confining pressure tests. The ductile
region in Fig. 6 seems to correspond to the ductile
regime B. In a strain rate and temperature condition
where Kirby et al. Ž1985. observed their ductile
regime C, our brittle region I appeared and brittle
failure occurred instead of ductile deformation. This
224 M. Arakawa, N. Maenor Cold Regions Science and Technology 26 (1997) 215–229
apparent difference in deformation type is caused by
the difference of confining pressures.
The failure stress of unconfined low temperature
ice obtained by other studies is compared with our
results in Fig. 7. The earlier data are so scattered
between y73 and y1968C that a distinctive rela-
tionship between stress and temperature at the same
strain rate can not be recognized. The previous re-
sults show that the upper limit of the failure stress is
about 50 MPa. This stress is about 70% of our
obtained stress at temperatures lower than y1008C.
The difference between their upper limit and our
results may be caused by the crystal size of the
sample. In our experiments, the grain size of the
sample is almost the same in each experiment, thus
errors on the strength caused by grain size differ-
ences are ruled out. This may contribute to the
systematic variation of failure strength in the low
temperature region.
Fig. 8 shows deformation types for each strain
rate and temperature. The two deformation types are
clearly separated by a linear brittle–ductile bound-
Fig. 8. Deformation types of the ice sample at each experimental condition. The brittle–ductile boundary is also shown and given by Eq. Ž1..
ary. This boundary is expressed by the following
equation:
E bd
´˙ bd s A bd exp ž /
RT
Ž 1.
where ´˙ bd is the strain rate, A bd is a constant
Ž1.59 = 10 6 sy1 ., E bd is a constant Ž42.6 kJrmol.,
R is the gas constant and T is temperature. Accord-
ing to the data compiled by Gold Ž1977. the brittle–
ductile boundary at y108C appears at 10y3 sy1 ;
however, our results show that the transition can be
inferred to be at 10y2 sy1 from an extrapolation of
the data over an order of magnitude. Schulson and
Buck Ž1995. recently showed that a small amount of
confinement increases the transition rate quite signif-
icantly. As our sample is slightly confined at both
ends, the difference of the strain rate on the transi-
tion may be explained by this effect. Another impor-
tant effect on the transition is the grain size. Batto
and Schulson Ž1993. studied the systematic change
of the brittle–ductile boundary with the change of
ice grain size and they showed that the transition
 M. Arakawa, N. Maenor Cold Regions Science and Technology 26 (1997) 215–229 225

strain rate varied from 10y3 to 10y5 sy1 when the Table 2
grain size increased from 1 to 10 mm at y108C. Power index n d and n b in Eqs. Ž2. and Ž3. for the ductile region
and brittle region I
Thus, the strain rate found by Gold seems to be the
result of a grain size of about 1 mm. The grain size Ductile region Brittle region I
in our experiments is 0.9 " 0.4 mm, thus the extrap- T Ž8C. nd T Ž8C. nb
olated strain rate when using their results for our y32 3.3"0.3 y74 7.1"1.1
grain size is nearly 10y2 sy1 and may be consistent y42 3.6"0.3 y84 5.8"0.8
with our results.
While the ductile deformation found by Jones and
and n is the power law exponent. The power index n
Glen Ž1969. at 2 = 10y7 sy1 is consistent with our
is calculated by fitting the data sets at each tempera-
result, Durham et al. Ž1983. showed in their experi-
ture ŽTable 2. and the results show that n is quite
ments at confining pressures larger than 100 MPa
different for the two regions: it is about 3.4 for the
that the boundary at 3.5 = 10y6 sy1 was y1338C,
ductile region and 6.5 for the brittle region; this may
which is lower than our y838C. The ductile region
indicate different deformation mechanisms for the
is extended to lower temperatures by the increased
two regions. Fig. 10 shows the relations between the
confining pressure.
peak stress and temperature at different strain rates
together with least-square method lines. The peak
3.3. Deformation and failure mechanisms
stress data can be expressed by the following equa-
tion ŽHigashi et al., 1964.:
The maximum stress in both regions depends on
Ed
the strain rate as shown in Fig. 9. The relations can ´˙d s A d sdn d exp y
be described by a power law equation, ´˙ A s n, ž
RT / Ž 2.
where s is the maximum stress, ´˙ is the strain rate where sd is the peak stress, A d is a constant, Ed is

Fig. 9. Maximum stress versus strain rate at various temperatures. The lines are fitted by Eqs. Ž2. and Ž3..
226 M. Arakawa, N. Maenor Cold Regions Science and Technology 26 (1997) 215–229

Fig. 10. Peak stress versus reciprocal of temperature at various strain rates. The lines are fitted by using Eq. Ž2..

an apparent activation energy related to the yield where s b is the failure stress, n b and A b are
mechanism. The value of Edrn d is directly derived constants, E b is an apparent activation energy related
from the fitted lines shown in Fig. 9 and the results to the crack formation and growth. The least-square
range from 17.7 to 21.9 kJrmol ŽTable 3.. The method lines for the data in each strain rate show
averages of n d and Ed in the ductile region were that the value of E brn b ranges from 5.7 to 9.6
estimated as 3.4 and 64 kJrmol. According to kJrmol ŽTable 3.. The average numerical values in
Durham et al. Ž1983., Ed is 61 kJrmol and n d s 4.0
and Barnes et al. Ž1971. reports an Ed-value Žy34 ;
y458C. of 67.3 kJrmol and an n d of 3.18. Our Table 3
activation energy nearly equals their values. Activation energy Ed and E b in Eqs. Ž2. and Ž3. for the ductile
region and brittle region I
The temperature-dependence of the failure stress
in brittle region I is shown in Fig. 11 for each strain Strain rate Ductile region Brittle region I
Žsy1 . Ed r n d Eb r n b
rate. The data are scattered at strain rates higher than ŽkJrmol. ŽkJrmol.
2 = 10y5 sy1 ; however, a general trend of increasing
4=10y4 18.1"0.7 –
stress with decreasing temperature is clear and can 2=10y4 17.7"0.4 8.9"1.6
be written as: 8=10y5 18.7"0.7 –
4=10y5 21.9"1.2 6.6"0.9
2=10y5 19.6"0.7 9.6"1.0
Eb 8=10y6 18.0"1.2 6.0"0.2
´˙ b s A b s bn b exp y
ž / Ž 3. 4=10y6 18.5 5.7
RT
 M. Arakawa, N. Maenor Cold Regions Science and Technology 26 (1997) 215–229
Fig. 11. Failure stress versus reciprocal of temperature at various strain rates. The lines are fitted by using Eq. Ž3..
the brittle region are E b s 48 kJrmol and n b s 6.5
ŽTables 2 and 3. although the E brn b values are
somewhat fluctuating. The failure stress is known to
become several times larger at low temperatures
ŽParameswaran and Jones, 1975; Durham et al.,
1983.. Our results showed clear systematic changes
of stress with both strain rate and temperature.
Fig. 12 shows the relationship between the maxi-
mum stress and the corrected strain at that stress for
both the ductile and brittle regions. Except for three
data points around the lowest stress level, the strain
linearly increases with the stress according to the
empirical equation:
´max s 0.41 q 0.015smax
irrespective of the temperature and strain rate, where
the unit of smax is MPa. Thus, it is surprising that
both failure and peak stress can be described by the
227
same equation. This relationship is expected to pro-
vide very useful insight in the criteria of ice strength
in the deformation process with crack formation.
4. Conclusion
We studied the mechanical strength of polycrys-
talline ice I h by uniaxial compression tests at temper-
atures from y10 to y1738C and strain rates of
4 = 10y4 to 4 = 10y6 sy1 .
As a result, a systematic change from brittle
fracture to ductile deformation was observed to take
place at a critical strain rate and temperature. The
boundary bwteen ductile and brittle is expressed by
Ž 4. the equation:
´˙ bd s A bd exp Ž yE bdrRT .
where ´˙ bd is a strain rate, A bd is a constant Ž1.59 =
10 6 sy1 ., E bd is a constant Ž42.6 kJrmol., R is the
gas constant and T is temperature.
228 M. Arakawa, N. Maenor Cold Regions Science and Technology 26 (1997) 215–229
Fig. 12. Corrected strain at maximum stress versus maximum stress for both ductile deformation and brittle failure. The line is fitted by Eq.
Ž4..
We also found a systematic increase in strength
with decreasing temperature and increasing strain
rate. In both the ductile and brittle regions, a similar
relation was found to hold:
´˙ s A s n exp Ž yErRT .
where ´˙ is the strain rate, s is the peak stress for
ductile deformation and failure stress for brittle frac-
ture. The apparent activation energy E and exponent
n are 48 kJrmol and 6.5 in the brittle region and 64
kJrmol and 3.4 in the ductile region, respectively.
Finally, a correlation between the maximum stress
Ž smax : peak and failure stress. and the strain at the
maximum stress Ž ´ max . was revealed. The derived
empirical equation is ´ max s 0.41 q 0.015smax ,
where the unit of smax is MPa. This relationship is
suitable for all the data irrespective of temperature
and strain rate and can be applied to both the ductile
and brittle regions.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge S. Nakatubo
of the Institute of Low Temperature Science,
Hokkaido University for making the experimental
apparatus and for his technical support. Dr. H. Narita
of the Institute of Low Temperature Science,
Hokkaido University and Prof. T. Yamamoto of the
Department of Earth and Planetary Science,
Hokkaido University gave useful comments and ad-
vice for the experiments. This work was supported
by grants-in-aid for Encouragement of Scientist
Ž03740207. from the Ministry of Education, Science,
Sports and Culture, Japan.
 M. Arakawa, N. Maenor Cold Regions Science and Technology 26 (1997) 215–229
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