Ultimate strength assessment of simply supported pitted platings: A new stochastic approach based on Monte Carlo simulation

The ultimate strength assessment of platings affected by random corrosion wastage is a key factor for the reliable design of new ships and the structural health monitoring of aged structures, as pitting corrosion wastage significantly affects the ultimate capacity of platings under compression. In this respect, significant efforts have been undertaken in the last decade to assess the ultimate strength drop-off of pitted platings under compression and several interpolating design formulas, based on a large number of FE simulations, have been developed. Nevertheless, current Rules and guidelines don't provide any explicit strength check criterion for pitted platings. Hence, the main aim of current research is the development of a new framework for the ultimate strength assessment of pitted platings, based on a stochastic approach and the endorsement of Monte Carlo simulation. A new formula, which allows evaluating the statistical properties of the plating ultimate strength in presence of random corrosion wastage, is developed. Subsequently, a benchmark study is carried out, to compare the new formula with the existing ones available in literature and a wide set of FE simulations, carried out by Ansys APDL. Current results are discussed, and the effectiveness of the new formula is verified.