Numerical and experimental motion simulations of nonsymmetric ship collisions

A calculation model to simulate nonsymmetric ship collisions, implying an arbitrary impact location and collision angle, is described in the paper. The model that is introduced is based on the time integration of twelve equations of motion, six for each ship. The motions of the ships are linked together by a mutual contact force. The contact force is evaluated as an integral over the surface tractions at the contact interface. The calculation model provides full time histories of the ship motions and the acting forces. Physical understanding of the underlying phenomena was obtained by a series of model-scale experiments in which a striking ship collided with an initially motionless struck ship. In this paper, numerical simulations of four nonsymmetric collisions are presented and the calculations are validated with the results of the experiments.     

Model-scale experiments of symmetric ship collisions

This study was initiated due to the lack of experimental data on ship collisions. The feasibility of model-scale ship collision experiments was examined and a series of model-scale ship collision experiments is presented. The theoretical background for the analysis of experiments is given together with the principles of scaling. Proper scaling should assure physical similarity to the large-scale experiments conducted in the Netherlands. The Froude scaling law was followed, resulting in the improper scaling of some forces: the effects of this are discussed. The study concentrates on the dynamics of collisions. The structural response, properly scaled from the large-scale experiments, was modelled using polyurethane foam as the ship’s side structure. The collision process was analysed and the results of model-scale tests, large-scale experiments, and a simple analytical model were compared, showing that there was both quantitative and qualitative agreement in the results of the experiments conducted at different scales. The analytical model yielded good quantitative assessment of the deformation energy.     

Analytical modelling of ship collision based on full-scale experiments

This paper presents a theoretical model allowing us to predict the consequences of ship–ship collision where large forces arise due to the sloshing in ship ballast tanks. The model considers the inertia forces of the moving bodies, the effects of the surrounding water, the elastic bending of the hull girder of the struck ship, the elasticity of the deformed ship structures and the sloshing effects in partially filled ballast tanks. The study focuses on external dynamics. Internal mechanics, presenting the collision force as a function of penetration, was obtained from experiments. The model was validated with two full-scale collision experiments, one with a significant sloshing effect and the other without it. The comparison of the calculations and the measurements revealed that the model predictions were in good agreement, as the errors at the maximum value of penetration were less than 10%.