Non-destructive testing method on the compressive strength of ice materials based on the rebound method

The uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of ice materials, as an important indicate to assess safety of ice and snow buildings, is difficult to measure quickly using existing methods. The rebound method is widely used for the Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) of the UCS of building materials. Therefore, firstly, rebound methods of ice materials were established. In this study, the Leeb hardness tester and Schmidt hammer were selected to test plain ice and fiber-reinforced ice (FRI), respectively. Then, the rebound test and uniaxial compression test were performed under different temperatures (− 20, − 15, − 10 and − 5 °C) and different fiber content (0, 1, 2 and 4%). The result of rebound showed that the rebound value of 1, 2 and 4% FRI was 1.33, 1.09 and 1.08 times, respectively, that of plain ice at – 20 °C. The rebound value of plain ice at − 20 °C was 1.32 times higher than that at − 5 °C. Secondly, the correlation between rebound value and UCS of the ice material was established. The UCS of plain ice has a linear relationship with rebound value, while FRI exhibited a power law relationship. Finally, the rebound method was applied to field NDT of ice and snow buildings in Harbin. The test results showed that the estimated UCS of ice materials was conservative due to freezing patterns, and the error between the estimated and the measured UCS of the FRI was about 10%. The NDT method for ice materials in this study has a positive effect on the safety assessment of ice and snow building.