Experimental investigation of the strength and stability of submarine pressure hulls with and without artificial corrosion damage

A submarine may have to operate for a period of time with local corrosion damage in the pressure hull if a suitable repair method is unavailable or too expensive for implementation. This paper describes collapse tests on twenty ring-stiffened aluminium cylinders, which were conducted to study the effect of corrosion damage on hull strength and stability. Artificial hull thinning was found to reduce the collapse strength of experimental models through high local stresses in the corroded region, leading to early onset of yielding and inelastic buckling. Bending associated with the eccentricity due to one-sided thinning was found to further increase the local stresses in the hull. Overall collapse pressures were more severely affected by corrosion damage than interframe collapse pressures. The percentage reduction in overall collapse pressure, compared with intact experimental models, was found to be closely related to the percentage depth of thinning. The accuracy of conventional collapse pressure predictions for the experimental models was significantly better for intact than for corroded cylinders.     

Numerical computation of motions and structural loads for large containership using 3D Rankine panel method

In this paper, we present the results of our numerical seakeeping analyses of a 6750-TEU containership, which were subjected to the benchmark test of the 2 nd ITTC–ISSC Joint Workshop held in 2014. We performed the seakeeping analyses using three different methods based on a 3D Rankine panel method, including 1) a rigid-body solver, 2) a flexible-body solver using a beam model, and 3) a flexible-body solver using the eigenvectors of a 3D Finite Element Model(FEM). The flexible-body solvers adopt a fully coupled approach between the fluid and structure. We consider the nonlinear Froude–Krylov and restoring forces using a weakly nonlinear approach. In addition, we calculate the slamming loads on the bow flare and stern using a 2D generalized Wagner model. We compare the numerical and experimental results in terms of the linear response, the time series of the nonlinear response, and the longitudinal distribution of the sagging and hogging moments. The flexible-body solvers show good agreement with the experimental model with respect to both the linear and nonlinear results, including the high-frequency oscillations due to springing and whipping vibrations. The rigid-body solver gives similar results except for the springing and whipping.     

Validation of a dynamic mooring model coupled with a RANS solver

Standard design procedures and simulation tools for marine structures are aimed primarily for use by the offshore oil and gas. Mooring system restoring forces acting on floating offshore structures are obtained from a quasi-static mooring model alone or from a coupled analysis based on potential flow solvers that do not always consider nonlinear mooring-induced restoring forces, fluid structure interactions, and associated hydrodynamic damping effects. This paper presents the validation of a dynamic mooring system analysis technique that couples the dynamic mooring model with a Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations solver. We coupled a dynamic mooring model with a RANS equations solver, and analyzed a moored floating buoy in calm water, regular and irregular waves and validated our motion and mooring force predictions against experimental measurements. The mooring system consisted of three catenary chains. The analyzed response comprised decaying oscillating buoy motions, linear and quadratic damping characteristics, and tensile forces in mooring lines. The generally favorable comparison of predicted buoy motions and mooring forces to experimental data confirmed the reliability of our implemented coupling technique to predict system response. Additional comparative results from a potential flow solver demonstrated the benefits of the coupled dynamic mooring model with RANS equations. The successful validated tool of coupling the dynamic mooring model with the RANS solver is available as open source, and it shows the potential of the coupled methodology to be used for analyzing the moored offshore structures.     

半潜式平台极限状态评估

对某半潜式钻井平台,采用ANSYS建立有限元计算模型,进行了典型波浪荷载作用下平台非线性垮塌性分析,不考虑几何非线性和初始缺陷的影响。分析结果表明,平台最终的失效形式和水动力荷载作用形式十分相关,初始失效部位和最终失效状态各不相同。文中对ANSYS计算模型和SESAM计算模型进行了对比,在相同的荷载条件下分别计算了两个模型,比较ANSYS计算结果和SESAM计算结果及ABS和DNV规范理论结果,三者结果吻合较好。对非线性垮塌分析结果进行了讨论,通过对截面力作用形式的分析,建立了两类半潜式平台极限状态方程。文中半潜式平台非线性垮塌分析结果可以作为基于ABS和DNV规范的半潜式平台极限状态的基准性研究。     

水下爆炸载荷下舰船结构的多目标优化

水面舰船对轻量化和抗爆性能均有特殊的需求，而这两个目标此消彼长的关系又使得实现它们的途径相互矛盾。为找到能同时提高轻量化和抗爆性能的满意解，建立以板厚为变量的多目标优化模型。在优化过程中，通过参数化建模技术实现建模的自动化，数值模拟采用船体三舱段有限元模型，使用ABAQus／ExPLIcIT求解器进行非线性有限元分析，并在优化流程中引入实验设计和近似模型进行响应预报，在此基础上，还通过NSGA—II遗传算法进行多目标优化，得到优解。通过对优化后的船舯舱段与优化前的进行对比分析，发现重量和抗爆性能这两个目标分别有0．46％和22．51％的改进，实现了轻量化和抗爆性能的双向提升。     

Fully 3D ship hydroelasticity: Monolithic versus partitioned strategies for tight coupling

This paper analyzes the partitioned and monolithic strategies to simulate tightly coupled hidroelastic problems. The seakeeping hydrodynamics solver used is based on a first-order linear time-domain FEM model with forward speed and double-body linearization. The structural dynamics solver is based on a full 3D time-domain FEM with corotational shell elements accounting for the geometric non-linearity. Both solvers are implemented under the same programming framework, which allows to implement the monolithic strategy, and to minimize the communication overheads of the partitioned strategy. Two case studies are used to test and compare the partitioned and monolithic coupling: a flexible catamaran in oblique waves, and a large floating reticulated structure made of fiber reinforced plastic. In both cases, the monolithic strategy is between three and four times faster than the partitioned strategy.This project has been developed under the H2020 project FIBRESHIP aimed at developing the technology to design and build the structure of large-length vessels in fiber reinforced polymers.     

Predicting the collapse of externally pressurised ring-stiffened cylinders using finite element analysis

This paper describes the application of finite element (FE) analysis to the prediction of the non-linear elasto-plastic collapse of ring-stiffened cylinders under hydrostatic loading. A range of legacy experimental test models have been analysed using FE idealisations generated using measured as-built shape data including out-of-circularity (OOC), frame alignment and tilt and other scantlings. The FE models also explicitly included the residual stresses caused by cold bending. Short and long ring-stiffened cylinders, which were designed to isolate interframe and overall collapse modes, respectively, were considered as were some intermediate length cylinders where the possibility of interactive collapse was also present. In general, the collapse pressures were predicted to within 6%. However, for some of the interframe collapse models, it was necessary to use the minimum measured plate thickness to achieve this. This was largely attributable to the limited measured plate thickness data.     

Comparisons of calculations with experiments on the ultimate strength of wide stiffened panels

Five specimens of wide stiffened panel with four stiffeners under axial compression until collapse are studied with a nonlinear finite element analysis and Common Structural Rules to compare with the experimental results. The stiffened panel models have two longitudinal bays to produce reasonable boundary condition at the end of edges. Tension tests have been conducted to obtain the material properties of the steel that are used in the finite element analysis. Three boundary condition configurations are adopted to investigate their influence on the collapse behaviour of the stiffened panels. A displacement transducer was used to measure the initial geometrical imperfections of the stiffened plates. The collapse behaviour of the stiffened panels is analysed in finite element analysis with the measured initial imperfections and with nominal imperfections. An equivalent initial imperfection is validated for the ultimate strength of stiffened panel under compressive load until collapse for the panels under consideration. With the same imperfection amplitude, the shape of the column-type initial deflection of stiffeners affects significantly the collapse shape, but only slightly the ultimate strength and the mode of collapse of the stiffened panels. The 1/2 + 1 + 1/2 bays model with restrained boundary condition BC3 gives an adequate FE modelling and is possible to be fabricated in experiment.     

Simulation on progressive collapse behaviour of whole ship model under extreme waves using idealized structural unit method

To ensure the safety of navigating ship, working loads and structural load-carrying capacity are two important aspects. In the present paper, a total simulation system combing load calculation and structural collapse analysis is applied to simulate progressive collapse behaviour of a single-hull Kamsarmax type bulk carrier. A three dimensional singularity distribution method is adopted to calculate pressure distribution with time history. A mixed structural model, collapse part simulated by ISUM elements and remaining part by elastic FEM elements with relative coarse mesh, is proposed for collapse analysis. Progressive collapse behaviour obtained by ISUM is good agreement with that by nonlinear software package, MARC. However, the calculation time of ISUM analysis is about 1/70 of MARC analysis. The applicability to structure system, high accuracy and sufficient efficiency of ISUM had been demonstrated.     

Structural response of a flexible pipe with damaged tensile armor wires under pure tension

This article studies the structural response of a 6.0” flexible pipe under pure tension considering intact and damaged conditions. In the damaged condition, several wires of the tensile armor layers are assumed to be broken. A three-dimensional nonlinear finite element (FE) model devoted to analyze the local mechanical response of flexible pipes is employed in this study. This model is capable of representing each tensile armor wire and, therefore, localized defects, including total rupture, may be adequately represented. Results from experimental tests validate the FE predictions and indicate a reduction in the axial stiffness of the pipe, a non-uniform redistribution of forces among the remaining intact wires of the damaged tensile armor layers and high stress concentrations in the wires near the broken ones. Moreover, the FE model indicates that significant normal bending stresses may arise in the pressure armor and inner carcass due to an uneven pressure distribution on these layers. Finally, the results obtained are employed to estimate the pull out capacity of the studied flexible pipe.     

Non-linear dynamic analysis of the response of moored floating structures

The complexity of the dynamic response of offshore marine structures requires advanced simulations tools for the accurate assessment of the seakeeping behaviour of these devices. The aim of this work is to present a new time-domain model for solving the dynamics of moored floating marine devices, specifically offshore wind turbines, subjected to non-linear environmental loads. The paper first introduces the formulation of the second-order wave radiation-diffraction solver, designed for calculating the wave-floater interaction. Then, the solver of the mooring dynamics, based on a non-linear Finite Element Method (FEM) approach, is presented. Next, the procedure developed for coupling the floater dynamics model with the mooring model is described. Some validation examples of the developed models, and comparisons among different mooring approaches, are presented. Finally, a study of the OC3 floating wind turbine concept is performed to analyze the influence of the mooring model in the dynamics of the platform and the tension in the mooring lines. The work comes to the conclusion that the coupling of a dynamic mooring model along with a second-order wave radiation-diffraction solver can offer realistic predictions of the floating wind turbine performance.     

大开孔圆柱壳极限载荷的有限元分析

利用有限元法分析大开孔加强的圆柱壳在外压作用下的屈曲性能,采用非线性有限元法对结构进行弹塑性分析,通过结构上最大塑性变形点的载荷位移曲线,用两倍弹性斜率法确定其极限载荷值,根据数值计算结果提出大开孔圆柱壳的稳定性设计建议.     

Propagating buckles in corroded pipelines

Rigid–plastic solutions for the steady-state, quasi-static buckle propagation pressure in corroded pipelines are derived and compared to finite element predictions (ABAQUS). The corroded pipeline is modeled as an infinitely long, cylindrical shell with a section of reduced thickness that is used to describe the corrosion. A five plastic hinge mechanism is used to describe plastic collapse of the corroded pipeline. Closed-form expressions are given for the buckle propagation pressure as a function of the amount of corrosion in an X77 steel pipeline. Buckles that propagate down the pipeline are caused by either global or snap-through buckling, depending on the amount of corrosion. Global buckling occurs when the angular extent of the corrosion is greater than 90°. When the angular extent is less than 90° and the corrosion is severe, snap-through buckling takes place. The buckle propagation pressure and the corresponding collapse modes also compare well to finite element predictions.     

深海载人潜水器耐压球壳极限强度研究

对现有的潜水器耐压壳的研究主要都围绕薄壳结构,而深海载人潜水器耐压球壳,已属于厚壳的范围.国际上还没有均匀外压下厚球壳的解析解,只有美国海军泰勒水池耐压球壳设计公式及俄罗斯相应的公式可以参考.因此本文基于有限元的分析方法,对大深度载人潜水器耐压球壳极限强度进行了研究.通过对有限元参数的比较,提出了一个合理的有限元分析模型,计算结果与实验数据相符,而泰勒水池公式及俄罗斯公式的误差较大.然后计算了一系列半径厚度比下的耐压球壳的极限强度,并研究了初挠度的影响.本文认为对于深海载人潜水器耐压球壳可以直接根据有限元计算确定其极限强度,泰勒水池公式和俄罗斯公式偏于保守;耐压球壳经过精加工,初挠度对于其极限强度的影响不大.为了实用起见,本文还给出了完善耐压球壳极限强度与经典值的比值曲线,以及初挠度效应曲线.     

Selection of appropriate numerical models for modelling the stresses in mooring chains

Mooring chains are key components for floating platforms. The failure of these components can be catastrophic in terms of the economic and environmental impacts, especially when dealing with the potential failure of FPSOs. However, mooring failures have been regularly occurring much earlier in their service lives than expected, with almost 50% of the reported failures happening in the first 3 years of 20-year design lives. Although the operating stresses play a major role in determining the failure mechanisms of mooring chains, the methods of predicting the operating stresses in mooring chains vary in the openly available literature, and the accuracy of these different numerical methods for predicting types of mooring failures is unknown. There is currently little evidence provided for when one model is appropriate for a particular scenario. Therefore, this paper benchmarks the different available methods for modelling mooring chains under tension, including FE models found in the literature. These models are calibrated and verified against previous studies and compared with experiments and a developed FE explicit model. There is a significant difference in the way that the numerical models behave, which are discussed in terms of their applicability and limitations in modelling mooring chains. The results of this study show that the explicit modelling approach should be utilised for accurate assessment of mooring lines, as it provides the most realistic response, with a substantial reduction in the computational cost and without any convergence problems.     

Predicting the wet collapse pressure for flexible risers with initial ovalization and gap: An analytical solution

As offshore hydrocarbon production moves towards ultra-deep water, flexible risers have to withstand the huge hydro-static pressure without collapse. They are designed with strong collapse capacities, allowing them to operate under the condition where their annuli are flooded by the seawater. However, initial imperfections can weaken the collapse capacity under such a flooded condition, triggering the so-called “wet collapse”. Two common initial imperfections, the carcass ovality and the radial gap between the carcass and pressure armor, would reduce the collapse strength of flexible risers significantly. Mostly, collapse analyses are performed through numerical simulations, which are less feasible for the design stage of flexible risers comparing with analytical models. To date, there are few analytical models available in public literature to predict the wet collapse pressure of flexible risers accounting for initial ovality and gap. To meet this demand, an analytical model is established in this paper to address these issues. This model is developed as a spring-supported arch, solving the collapse pressure with stability theories of ring and arched structures. This analytical model is verified by numerical simulations, which gives prediction results that correlate well with the numerical ones.     

Study on the preciseness of hot spot stress of web-stiffened cruciform welded joints derived from shell finite element analyses

A new simple and accurate shell FE-based structural Hot Spot Stress (HSS) determination method for web-stiffened cruciform joints has been proposed. Local stress of welded joints in full-scale bulk carrier (BC)’s lower stool models subject to bending and pressure loadings are examined. HSSs determined by the proposed method are compared with those derived by Lotsberg’s method and the conventional 0.5t-1.5t extrapolation. As results, following are found:

(1)

The local stress of full-scale BC lower stool models with various stool angle and plate thickness can be calculated accurately solely from shell FE results by means of the proposed method.

(2)

HSSs of welded joints in full-scale BC lower stool models subject to bending and pressure loadings derived by the proposed method show good agreement with the target HSSs determined from fine solid models. This demonstrates the validity of the proposed method for actual ship structures under the real load.

(3)

The excessive safety allowance of HSS determined by the conventional 0.5t-1.5t extrapolation can be reduced substantially by adopting Lotsberg’s method or our proposal. The proposed HSS determination method gives more accurate estimates compared to Lotsberg’s method under the conditions chosen, and the application range of the proposed method is equal to or wider than Lotsberg’s method.

     

同心球壳-球体系感应磁场的解析解

考虑薄壳体和非薄壳体结构的感应磁场可提高舰艇感应磁场数值建模精度,开发相应的磁场数值程序包时,磁场解析解模型是验证程序包数值准确性的有效手段。同心球壳-球体系模型是验证同时考虑薄壳体和非薄壳体感应磁场数值准确性的理想模型。基于分离变量法推导了该模型感应磁场的解析解,以积分方程法和有限元法为参照,解析解误差均在5%以内,表明了导出解析解表达式的准确性。     

加肋轴对称壳非线性分析方法的探讨

将Sanders-Koiter几何非线性壳体理论与理想弹塑性本构关系结合,建立了加肋轴对称壳体结构的非线性有限元计算方法,并对加肋锥-环-柱组合壳塑性力学现象进行了观测,发现加肋锥-环-柱组合壳在失稳破坏时,环壳屈服厚度占壳体厚度的44%。     

纵环加筋圆柱薄壳的塑性屈曲试验与分析

本文进行了纵环加筋圆柱薄壳在均布外压作用下的屈曲试验和分析研究。采用塑性形变理论和Misos屈服准则，在能量原理基础上导出了壳体简明的屈曲分析公式。给出了四个铝合金模型的屈曲破坏试验结果，描述了模型的破坏特征和破坏过程。试验及数值分析结果表明，在一定参数范围内，壳体将发生总体塑性屈曲破坏，且破坏表现为一个过程，局部屈曲将影响到总体屈曲临界压力。本文提供的总体屈曲简明分析方法具有较好的精度，可供初步设计时使用。