Numerical simulation study on ice breaking by a submerged water jet

Based on the computational fluid dynamics-discrete element method (CFD-DEM) coupling method, numerical analysis of ice breaking by a submerged water jet is carried out. The submerged water jet model is established by the finite volume method (FVM) in the CFD method, while the ice plate model is composed of multi-layer spherical DEM particles bonded in a hexagonal closest packing manner. The results of numerical simulation are consistent with those of experiments, including the submerged jet morphology, stagnation pressure of the water jet, and different breaking cases of ice plate, which validates the numerical model. Based on the submerged jet model, the effects of the target distance, nozzle inlet velocity, and impact angle on the impacting load of the submerged jet are studied. Furthermore, through CFD-DEM coupling model, the mechanism of ice breaking by the submerged water jet is discussed, that is, the initial radial cracks first appear on the upper surface of the ice plate under the action of reflected expansion wave and the overall bending caused by jet loads, and then the circumferential cracks appear on the lower surface of the wedge ice plate under the bending action of water jet loads. Moreover, the effects of the water jet impact velocity and ice plate thickness on the ice breaking are also investigated. This paper studies the ice-breaking mechanism of the submerged high-speed water jet and presents a numerical model for the analysis of the interaction between the submerged water jet and ice plate.