It might be a good idea to put on your survival suit if you're thinking of taking your vehicle out on 10cm's of ice
As long as ice stays well below freezing, its thickness is directly related to the weight it can support, this table, provided by the National Research Council of Canada, shows. Ice loses its strength as it warms to 0ºC and cannot support as much weight, regardless of its thickness.
Safe Load Lake ice Sea ice
One person at rest 8 cm 13 cm
Snowmobile weighing 0.4 tonnes moving slowly 10 cm 18 cm
Pickup truck weighing two tonnes moving slowly 25 cm 40 cm
Tracked vehicle weighing 10 tonnes moving slowly 43 cm 66 cm
Cargo plane weighting 13 tonnes parks 61 cm 102 cm
SOURCE: E.R. POUNDER, McGILL UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS
|