A Prony-series type viscoelastic solid coupled with a continuum damage law for polar ice modeling

A rigorous gradient-based constrained optimization approach is employed to calibrate the model parameters against some published experimental data. Validation tests which include tensile creep, compressive creep and biaxial failure contours under compression are then carried out and good agreement is demonstrated. Furthermore, the model is implemented in a finite element code and is used to investigate surface crevasse propagation in grounded marine-terminating glaciers. The simulations, on idealized rectangular ice slabs in contact with the ocean, examine the depth and rate of damage propagation with increasing seawater depth near the terminus. The predictions and computational efficiency of the proposed model are highlighted when compared to another recently published ice model.