The creep of ice measured with the pressuremeter

The pressuremeter has the potential to measure the creep parameters of ice in situ, that is to say, in the field, in ice at its natural temperature and natural stress environment, and in ice that has not been disturbed by sampling and handling. To prove that the pressuremeter can in fact be used to measure creep properties, a series of pressuremeter tests were run in the laboratory in poly crystalline ice at −2°C. It was found that (1) the particular pressuremeter used maintained an ability to measure creep deformation accurately over a period of 7 weeks, (2) the test results agree for the most part with the findings of other investigators who have used uniaxial compression tests, and (3) the pressuremeter brings into question at least one of the more common assumptions regarding primary creep.