An experimental study on the interaction between a bubble and an ice floe with a hole

A series of experiments concerning the interactions between a spark bubble and an ice floe with a hole were done. The principal focus were the dynamic responses of the ice floe, including crack growth and development, under the combined loads of bubble and free surface, involving initial shock waves, jet impact, secondary shock waves and water spike. The entire evolution of the ice specimens under these processes (bubble and free surface) were recorded simultaneously by two high-speed cameras from birds-eye and side views. An intact ice floe with the same parameters was chosen as a benchmark. The influence of dimensionless parameters was investigated, including bubble-ice distance gamma, radius of hole lambda and ice thickness tau. Three types of ice-breaking patterns were summarized versus combined parameters (gamma, lambda, tau). Among them, a unique pattern was found for the ice floe with a hole, which was just first damage on the ice floe with radial cracks but no secondary damage. This damage pattern only happened when the bubble bursts at the free surface in the ice hole for very small gamma and tau (at least gamma + 0.9 tau < 1). Once the bursting happened, the energy of a high-pressure bubble released in advance and no secondary shock wave and damage on ice was observed. This was a unique phenomenon for the ice floe with a hole.