Strain-Rate and Grain‒Size Effects in Ice

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Abstract
This paper presents and discusses the results of constant deformation-rate tests on laboratory-prepared polycrystalline ice. Strain-rates ranged from 10−7to 10−1s−1, grain–size ranged from 1.5 to 5.8 mm, and the test temperature was −5°C.At strain-rates between 10−7and 10−3s−1, the stress-strain-rate relationship followed a power law with an exponent ofn= 4.3 calculated without regard to grain-size. However, a reversal in the grain-size effect was observed: below a transition point near 4 × 10−6s−1the peak stress increased with increasing grain-size, while above the transition point the peak stress decreased with increasing grain-size. This latter trend persisted to the highest strain-rates observed. At strain-rates above 10−3s−1the peak stress became independent of strain-rate.The unusual trends exhibited at the lower strain-rates are attributed to the influence of the grain-size on the balance of the operative deformation mechanisms. Dynamic recrystallization appears to intervene in the case of the finer-grained material and serves to lower the peak stress. At comparable strain-rates, however, the large-grained material still experiences internal micro-fracturing, and thin sections reveal extensive deformation in the grain-boundary regions that is quite unlike the appearance of the strain-induced boundary migration characteristic of the fine-grained material.

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