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SAMC
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• ANNUAL REPORT 2013
Kuiper shares this vision. “From the start of SAMCoT
I have clearly indicated that I will consider SAMCoT a
success if a numerical ice tool is developed that can
reliably calculate ice loads on floating structures,” he
said. Such a tool, he said, “will be used in the industry as
THE standard tool, and SAMCoT is working hard on this.”
Professor Sveinung Løset is the leader of the Work
Package that is dedicated to the study of Floating
Structures and their interactionwith ice. He understands
the focus that the IPs have on this particular research
topic and works closely with each of the EIAC members,
such as Per Kristian Bruun, Arctic Technology Manager
at Aker Solutions. Bruun says Aker Solutions would like
SAMCoT to help them assess the level of loads from ice
drifting against floating structures. “The industry needs
a good and agreed-upon method and tool to estimate ice
loads acting on floating structures,” he said.
The interaction of a floating structure with different ice
features is a complex dynamic phenomenon and clearly
a topic of great relevance to the industry. The use of float-
ing solutions will most probably dominate the on-going
activities of the offshore industry in the Arctic, which is
why the topic is one of SAMCoT´s research priorities.
Monitoring Ice
Ice management is another of SAMCoT´s key research
areas where the industry is eager for innovative results.
Annie Audibert-Hayet from TOTAL E&P explains, “The
field of ice management has also seen insights into
design models, but much could be developed between
the interface with operations, with greater full-scale
information, and industry guidelines.”
Hilde Benedikte Østlund, Vice President of Research
& Development at Kværner Concrete Solutions and
one of the EIAC’s more recent members, agrees with
Audibert-Hayet on the importance of ice management
and underscores the need for a new tool, a “forecast-
ing observation tool that would allow simulations to
be performed on ever-changing ice conditions along a
region.” Such a tool will help SAMCoT IPs predict what
ice conditions they will encounter in a certain area so
they can then design their structures to withstand loads
in the best way possible.
Technology used in 2013 by SAMCoT: The 360º camera
and the Polar Sea-Ice Topography Reconstruction System
(PSITRES). Both are used to quantify the ice conditions
including icebergs, crack propagation in the floes and
efficiency of ice management operations.
Photo: Tatjana Zmushko
Photo: Tatjana Zmushko
Technology used in 2013 by SAMCoT: A drone used in the mapping of ice ridge topography.