When a polar cruise vessel collides with floating sea ice, the comfortability and safety of the passengers are affected.

A mechanical model of sea ice is established on the basis of the Johnson-Holmquist-2 (JH-2) model. The collision between a polar cruise vessel and sea ice is studied using the coupling method of the smoothed particle Galerkin-finite element method (SPG-FEM). The failure mode of sea ice in the collision process is explored in combination with the equivalent stress and plastic strain of sea ice.

The results show that the large crack propagation phenomenon will not appear during the collision process between a polar cruise vessel and sea ice layer when the ice is 1.6 m thick. The sea ice will only be damaged in a small range of direct contact with the bow. At both sides of the bow, local strain will appear in the indirect collision area.

The results of this study can provide technical support for analyzing the passenger's comfortability and safety design of polar cruise vessel.