DIPOL ACTIONS IN THE FRENCH POLAR TECHNOLOGY

The paper deals with DIPOL, a French group for the development of industries in polar regions. The main topics of the DIPOL programme are: – site analysis (geotechnical and environmental) – ice-structure interaction – materials – ships – structure concepts (onshore and offshore) The site analysis relates to atmospheric conditions, iceberg occurrence distribution, iceberg behaviour during impacts, soil modelling taking into account salt migration and the structure of an artificial stone breakwater. In the material programme, the correlation between the external and internal temperatures of steels and composite materials is studied. The long term behaviour of concrete and composite materials exposed to the harsh environment of the Antarctic has also been the subject of experiments. With respect to steels and ships, the project aims to develop a new Arctic steel and to optimise the structure and form of a large merchant ice-breaker. Three offshore projects are briefly described.