| Popis: |
Icebreaker construction that began to develop in Russia and Europe in the second half of the 19th century dictated the need for seafarers and shipbuilders to study the ice covers of the freezing waters as navigation environment. One of the most important characteristics on which the ships’ ice-breaking capabilities depend is ice strength. The problem of sea and freshwater ice strength was particularly urgent for Vice Admiral S. O. Makarov when he was putting the case for building the first Arctic icebreaker Yermak. It was for this reason that he initiated these studies. At about the same time, a renowned shipbuilder V. I. Afanasiev also came to the conclusion that it was necessary to study ice strength properties, and carried out a number of experiments together with his son. Makarov engaged A. N. Krylov, Superintendent of the Towing Tank, in the experimental data analysis. The article describes the history of, and analyzes the conclusions from, these experiments that for a long time remained the only source of data on strength properties of sea and freshwater ice. |
