Icebreaker - Required Propulsion Power

Required propulsion power for an icebreaker to maintain 3 kn in a given level-ice thickness - the classical rule-of-thumb.

IcebreakerPowerPolar

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This calculator requires JavaScript to compute its result. The formula, symbols, and regulatory sources are shown in the Formula section below.

Formula, assumptions, and limits

P \approx 0.8 B h^{2.5}

Symbol	Meaning	Unit
$B$	Beam at waterline	m
$h$	Level ice thickness	m

Source: Kashteljan et al. - LICES 1968

Required propulsion power for an icebreaker to maintain 3 kn in a given level-ice thickness - the classical rule-of-thumb.