P4 3 Snowpiercer: Ice Impact Analysis

Abstract

n this paper we investigate the Icepiercing ability of the ’Great Ark’ train in Snowpiercer (2013)
by modelling the shear forces required to carve a train size hole through an ice wall, assuming
rigidity dominates in the harsh cold conditions. We determine that the average force applied
by the speeding train through its collision, 2.069 × 10^10N, would meet the threshold of shear
separation of the required volume of ice, 1.05 ×10 ⁸ N, and break through.