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How was the Fram designed to survive pressure from Arctic sea ice?
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Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Nansen, 1915.
The Fram was specifically designed with a unique hull shape intended to survive the crushing forces of Arctic sea ice. Rather than being built to resist the pressure head-on, the vessel was engineered so that when it was caught in the pack ice, the lateral pressure would cause the ship to be lifted upward, effectively allowing it to rise above the ice rather than being crushed by it.12