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Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

Reviewer #1: Partly

Reviewer #2: Partly

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously? -->?>

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: N/A

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3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available??>

The PLOS Data policy

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: No

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4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English??>

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: It's interesting that this manuscript focuses on a nonlinear polycrystalline ice elastic-plastic contact model and its application,the research design is appropriate. What's more, the methods are adequately described and the results are clearly presented, so the conclusions are supported by the results. The analyses and the results reported in this manuscript are interesting and useful for future researches and preliminary design.

The following suggestions are needed to improve the scientificity and reliability of this manuscript.

1.There are problems with sentence structure, verb tense, and clause construction, the quality of English needs improving.It is noted that your manuscript needs careful editing by someone with expertise in technical English editing paying particular attention to English grammar, spelling, and sentence structure so that the goals and results of the study are clear to the reader.

2.Suggest reading these literature to expand research ideas, which may include (but are not limited to) the following, https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.54.3295.

https://doi.org/10.3311/PPci.15276. and https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2018.03.021.

3.Figure 8 shows the biaxial shear displacement cloud diagram of the 231 flexible membrane at -7°C. Why choose a temperature of -7 °C?And why not any other numerical value?

After minor revision, it can be considered to be accepted.

Reviewer #2: The authors integrated the derived discrete element polycrystalline ice elastoplastic contact model into PFC 2D and conducted bidirectional shear numerical simulations with sensitivity analysis. Finally, the dynamic evolution based on PFC 2D was realized using a glacier collapse case in Tibet. This manuscript provides valuable insights for disaster prevention and response in engineering. However, insufficient structural logic, improper language use, vague expressions, and the low credibility of validation limit its overall quality improvement. Therefore, a major revision is needed. Specific suggestions are as follows:

(1) In the first section, lines 45 and 46, “5.18×104, 4.7×103” seem to be typos.

(2) It is recommended to enhance English readability throughout the manuscript.

(3) Do the equations in the second section originate from the authors? If not, please specify the references cited.

(4) In the second section, what is the basis for Fig.1 and Fig.2?

(5) In the second section, “Fn” in line 154 does not appear in Equation (10).

(6) In the second section, line 169, “normal displacement…”—does “normal” apply correctly in this context?

(7) In the third section, the validation in Sections 3.1 and 3.2 is solely based on subjectively generated cases, which may lack representativeness and generality. It is recommended to provide reasons for selecting the target case.

(8) In the third section, Fig.7 presents an experimental comparison with literature data and model validation. However, noticeable discrepancies are observed. It is suggested to add a discussion part on the sources of these errors.

(9) In the fourth section, lines 264–265, “this paper consider…is homogeneous”—what is the basis for this assumption?

(10) In the fourth section, Fig.15 is highly unclear, making it difficult for the reviewer to observe the glacier collapse process properly.

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what does this mean? ). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

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A nonlinear polycrystalline ice elastoplastic contact model and its application

PONE-D-25-06117R1

Dear Dr. Chen,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

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If your institution or institutions have a press office, please notify them about your upcoming paper to help maximize its impact. If they’ll be preparing press materials, please inform our press team as soon as possible -- no later than 48 hours after receiving the formal acceptance. Your manuscript will remain under strict press embargo until 2 pm Eastern Time on the date of publication. For more information, please contact onepress@plos.org.

Kind regards,

Guojin Qin

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

Reviewer #2: All comments have been addressed

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2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions??>

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously? -->?>

Reviewer #2: N/A

**********

4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available??>

The PLOS Data policy

Reviewer #2: Yes

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5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English??>

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #2: The authors have addressed the previous feedback and made improvements to the overall quality of the work. I therefore recommend accepting the manuscript for publication.

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what does this mean? ). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy

Reviewer #2: No

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