METHOD OF DESTRUCTION OF ICE COVER FOR MARINE ICE BREAKERS AND DEVICE TO ITS REALISATION Russian patent published in 2008 - IPC B63B35/08 

FIELD: transportation.

SUBSTANCE: method of destruction of an ice cover for the sea ice breakers, based on the of use consists in using an independent underwater device consisting of an empty 100 l-capacity vessel, a hollow 20 m³-capacity triangular-section fuselage fairing and an engine room connected with the ice breaker by an power electric cable. Submerging the device under the ice, using a control panel located onboard the ice breaker and a pump-jet propulsion unit moves the device to where the ice should be destructed. The gate is opened to fill the vessel with water. The fuselage fairing provides for buoyancy of the device leaning by the fuselage fairing against the ice lower edge. Air is released from the fuselage fairing, in filling the latter with water, through the return valve. By pumping the water out from the vessel through the pipe and return valve an Archimedean force equal to 100 ton is created to exceed the ice temporary shear resistance equal to 30 kg/cm by almost five times at the point the fuselage fairing sharp edge gets into contact with ice. Now, the pressure in the fuselage fairing is reduced to 0.2 atm. After formation of a fracture in ice, the ice breaker and the device move forward. The device consists of a vessel, a fuselage fairing, a pump-jet propulsion unit with turning nozzle, motor-driven water pump, a return valve to release water from the said vessel, water intake pipe, a gat to fill the vessel with water and a return valve to release air from the fuselage fairing on filling the vessel with water.

EFFECT: higher efficiency of breaking the ice.

2 cl, 1 dwg