Longitudinal strength of ships with accidental damages

This paper presents an investigation of the longitudinal strength of ships with damages due to grounding or collision accidents. Analytical equations are derived for the residual hull girder strength and verified with direct calculations of sample commercial ships for a broad spectrum of accidents. Hull girder ultimate strengths of these sample vessels under sagging and hogging conditions are also calculated, based on which correlation equations are proposed. To evaluate a grounded ship, using the section modulus to the deck would be optimistic, while using the section modulus to the bottom would be conservative. On the contrary, to evaluate a collided ship, using the section modulus to the deck would be conservative, while using the section modulus to the bottom would be optimistic. The derived analytical formulae are then applied to a fleet of 67 commercial ships, including 21 double hull tankers, 18 bulk carriers, 22 single hull tankers and six container carriers. The mean values, standard deviations and coefficients of variation for the coefficients in these new analytical formulae are obtained. The ship length exhibits little influence on these coefficients because they are close to the mean values although ship length spans from 150 to 400 m. The ship type shows some influence on the residual strength. Uniform equations are proposed for commercial ships which do not depend on a ship's principal dimensions. These formulae provide very handy tools for predicting the residual strength in seconds, without performing step-by-step detailed calculations, an obvious advantage in cases of emergency or salvage operation.     

Plate tearing and bottom damage in ship grounding

A theoretical method for plate tearing by a rigid wedge is developed in this paper. The studied model is an idealization of ship-grounding and collision damage. The analysis model postulates that the plate curls up into two curved surfaces behind the wedge tip and that the plate material ahead of the wedge is tensioned and ruptured due to the direct pushing. Based on a parametric study, a semi-empirical formula is proposed for determining grounding force in the event of a ship running onto rocks in a high-energy grounding. The bottom strengths of single hull structures and double hull structures in ship-grounding incidents are compared. Finally, simple formulae for determining damage resistance and the extent of damage in ship grounding, expressed in terms of the ship principal particulars, are developed.     

高能搁浅下双层底结构的损伤特性研究

船舶搁浅事故会引起船体破损、环境污染和人员伤亡等严重后果.研究船舶搁浅,不仅有利于海上生命安全、防止海洋污染,还可为船体结构的抗冲击设计及规范航运繁忙区域中船舶的航速、操作规程提供一定的依据.本文用数值仿真法研究了船舶高能搁浅中的内部力学问题,分析了典型双层底结构的损伤变形、受力和能量耗散等结果,提出了一种新式的抗搁浅YF双层底结构,并与原结构进行了比较.研究表明,损伤变形集中于结构与礁石相接触的区域,高能搁浅内部力学问题的研究可以主要考虑局部的船体结构;肋板的存在显著增加了船底结构的抗搁浅能力;高能搁浅过程中,由于垂直方向的接触力,礁石对双层底的垂向贯入量会略有减小;当纵桁远离搁浅区域时,它的吸能能力无法发挥,抗搁浅作用很弱;YF双层底结构比原结构具有更大的吸能能力和抗搁浅力.     

考虑弹塑性土体作用的船舶搁浅损伤特性研究

船舶软搁浅是指船舶搁置在由较软粘土构成的海床或者在柔软的浅滩上的事故。航运业的发展与船舶的大型化趋势使船舶发生软搁浅的风险大大增加,研究船舶的软搁浅性能对船舶设计与制造具有重要意义。本文基于有限元分析软件ABAQUS,选取典型的软搁浅场景,以12,000DWT油船舱段结构为分析对象,研究舱段结构在搁浅过程中的变形、吸能、加速度响应等性能参数。通过系统分析不同速度对船体结构的搁浅性能的影响,全面分析其搁浅性能。本文的相关结论可以为分析船舶软搁浅事故及设计抗冲击舱段结构有一定指导作用。     

Understanding ship-grounding events

The paper presents a simple procedure to estimate the damage to a ship bottom and the associated seabed topology that results from a dynamic grounding event. The seabed is modeled as a rigid body and parameterized by a quadratic surface, i.e., a paraboloid, which can in principle model a wide range of seabed topologies. A nonlinear finite element program (LS-DYNA) is used to simulate the contact force versus the lateral penetration, from which the horizontal force component of powered grounding is estimated. The simplified procedure for analyzing dynamic and static grounding events is outlined. Simulations are performed for different ship speeds and for different initial levels of obstruction over the keel. It is shown that a static approach may replace the dynamic grounding simulation, thereby considerably reducing the computational work. The static approach allows for the quick estimation of the energy absorption during powered grounding, which is imperative for decision making during critical situations. The ultimate goal of the study is to provide a near real-time prediction of the risk of rupture of the cargo tanks and hull girder failure. Moreover, the residual strength of damaged ships is an important issue that is related to operations involved in the salvage of wrecked vessels, such as re-floatation and towing.     

A simplified grounding damage prediction method and its application in modern damage stability requirements

This paper presents the analyses and results aimed at developing damage stability requirements which take into account the structural vulnerability to grounding damage, i.e. the kinetic energy available to generate damage and the structural resistance. The paper presents analysis of new damage statistics in order to determine impact scenarios, in particular in terms of impact speed, impact location, and width and height of damage. Furthermore a new empirical damage prediction formula is developed based on a combination of full-scale testing and extensive non-linear finite element analyses. This deterministic prediction method is validated against grounding experiments and then used in a probabilistic (Monte Carlo) simulation framework. First the simulation method is calibrated and validated against the real statistical damage data for conventional ships and then it is used to generate damage statistics for high-speed craft. It turns out that the grounding damage statistics for all ships can be characterized by a single parameter; the Grounding Damage Index, GDI, which includes the ship kinetic energy and its structural resistance to grounding damage. Simple, closed-form expressions are developed for the GDI and it is shown how the probability of exceeding a box-shaped damage is a simple function of the GDI and the size of the box. The paper therefore gives the background and the results for a new generation of damage stability rules where the structural crashworthiness is taken into account and where the passive safety level is explicitly expressed. It furthermore gives simplified prediction tools and data for actual ships, i.e. a toolbox that is readily available for risk analysis regarding grounding damage.     

船舶结构的搁浅数值仿真研究

文章用数值仿真法研究了船舶结构搁浅中的内部力学问题,分析了典型双层底结构的损伤变形、受力和能量耗散结果。研究表明,损伤变形集中于搁浅的区域,搁浅力学问题主要考虑局部的船体结构;肋板的存在显著地增加船底结构的抗搁浅能力,使礁石的垂向贯入量会略有减小;当纵桁远离搁浅区域时,它的吸能能力无法发挥,抗搁浅作用明显削弱。     

Finite element damage analysis of an underwater glider–ship collision

Underwater gliders, which are profiling autonomous underwater vehicles designed to make oceanographic measurements, are increasingly used in the coastal ocean. As they regularly surface for data transmission, gliders increasingly pose a risk for fast ships. In order to estimate the extent of damage due to collision, 3D finite element simulations of collisions between a glider and a high-speed craft with a glass-fiber reinforced plastic hull are performed. Different collision scenarios such as impact locations, angles of attack and speeds are examined. The results are compared to an analytical solution based on simplifying assumptions. Although both methods reveal consistent results, it is shown that finite element simulations are required to account for the 3D shape of the ship. The results indicate that at ship velocities exceeding 7.5 m/s (14.6 kt) the glider penetrates the ship’s hull causing severe damage to its structure.     

Numerical study of viscous wave-making resistance of ship navigation in still water

The prediction of a ship＇s resistance especially the viscous wave-making resistance is an important issue in CFD applications. In this paper, the resistances of six ships from hull 1 to hull 6 with different hull forms advancing in still water are numerically studied using the solver naoe-FOAM-SJTU, which was developed based on the open source code package OpenFOAM. Different components of the resistances are computed and compared while considering two speed conditions （12 kn and 16 kn）. The resistance of hull 3 is the smallest while that of hull 5 is the largest at the same speed. The results show hull 3 is a good reference for the design of similar ships, which can provide some valuable guidelines for hull form optimization.     

Grounding experiments on soft bottoms

To verify a theoretical analysis procedure for calculation of the hull girder response of ships running aground, a series of large-scale ship grounding experiments was performed on an artificial island made of engineered fill. The tests were conducted by running a condemned fishing vessel up on selected beaches of the island with velocities ranging between 2m/s and 5.5m/s. During the tests, surge, heave, and pitch accelerations were measured and also the deformations of the beach and the ship bow. Based on these accelerations, rigid body velocities and motions were determined. The forces arising from the interaction between the bow of the vessel and the seabed were determined by solving the equations of motions. This article describes the analysis of the measured results and a comparison of the results from the full-scale measurements with results from a recently developed analysis procedure for grounding on soft bottoms. Presented at the International Conference on Technology for Marine Environment Preservation (MARIENV '95), Tokyo, Japan, September 24–29, 1995.     

A numerical investigation of the squat and resistance of ships advancing through a canal using CFD

As a ship approaches shallow water, a number of changes arise owing to the hydrodynamic interaction between the bottom of the ship’s hull and the seafloor. The flow velocity between the bottom of the hull and the seafloor increases, which leads to an increase in sinkage, trim and resistance. As the ship travels forward, squat of the ship may occur, stemming from this increase in sinkage and trim. Knowledge of a ship’s squat is necessary when navigating vessels through shallow water regions, such as rivers, channels and harbours. Accurate prediction of a ship’s squat is therefore essential, to minimize the risk of grounding for ships. Similarly, predicting a ship’s resistance in shallow water is equally important, to be able to calculate its power requirements. The key objective of this study was to perform fully nonlinear unsteady RANS simulations to predict the squat and resistance of a model-scale Duisburg Test Case container ship advancing in a canal. The analyses were carried out in different ship drafts at various speeds, utilizing a commercial CFD software package. The squat results obtained by CFD were then compared with available experimental data.     

Dynamics of ships running aground

A comprehensive dynamic model is presented for analysis of the transient loads and responses of the hull girder of ships running aground on relatively plane sand, gravel, or rock sea bottoms. Depending on the seabed soil characteristics and the geometry of the ship bow, the bow will plow into the seabed to some extent. The soil forces are determined by a mathematical model based on a theory for frictional soils in rupture and dynamic equilibrium of the fluid phase in the saturated soil. The hydrodynamic pressure forces acting on the decelerated ship hull are determined by taking into account the effect of shallow water. Hydrodynamic memory effects on the transient hull motions are modeled by application of an impulse response technique. The ship hull is modeled as an elastic beam to determine the structural response in the form of flexural and longitudinal stress waves caused by the transient ground reaction and hydrodynamic forces. A number of numerical analysis results are presented for a VLCC running aground. The results include bow trajectory in the seabed, time variation of the grounding force, and the maximum values of the sectional shear forces and bending moments in the hull girder.     

Verification of a simplified analytical method for predictions of ship groundings over large contact surfaces by numerical simulations

In this paper, a verification is presented of a simplified analytical method for the predictions from numerical simulations of structural performance during ship groundings over seabed obstacles with large contact surfaces and trapezoidal cross-section. This simplified analytical method was developed by Lin Hong and Jørgen Amdahl and calculates grounding characteristics, such as resistance and distortion energy, for double-bottomed ships in shoal grounding accidents. Two finite-element models are presented. One was built for a hold, and the other was built for a hold and a ship hull girder and also considers sectional properties, ship mass, added mass and the hydrodynamic restoring force. The verification was completed by comparing horizontal and vertical resistances and the distortion energy between seven numerical-simulation cases and a set of corresponding cases computed by a simplified analytical method. The results show that the resistances obtained by the simplified analytical method are close to the mean values of the resistance curves obtained by numerical simulations. The comparisons prove that the energy dissipation-prediction capability of the simplified analytical method is valuable. Thus, the simplified analytical method is feasible for assessing ship groundings over seabed obstacles with large contact surfaces and trapezoidal cross-section. Furthermore, studies of the influence of ship motion during groundings ascertained that ship motion affects structural performance characteristics. Resistances are lessened at the end of the grounding due to the reduction of indentations caused by heave and pitch motions of the ship hull girder. Finally, a new method for predicting the structural performance of the time-consuming complete-ship model by applying a combination of normal numerical simulations and ship-motion calculations is proposed and proven.     

A practical method for torsional strength assessment of container ship structures

Container ship structures are characterized by large hatch openings. Due to this structural property, they are subject to large diagonal deformations of hatch openings and warping stresses under complex torsional moments in waves. This necessitates torsional strength assessment of hull girder of container ships in their structural design stage. In this paper, a practical method for torsional strength assessment of container ship structures with transparent and consistent background is discussed based on the results from up-to-date analyses. In order to estimate the torsional response characteristics as accurately as possible, three-dimensional Rankine source method, after being validated by tank tests, is employed for estimation of wave loads on a container ship, and FE analyses are conducted on the entire-ship model under the estimated loads. Then, a dominant regular wave condition under which the torsional response of the container ship becomes maximum is specified. Design loads for torsional strength assessment that give torsional response equivalent to the long-term predicted values of torsional response are investigated based on the torsional moments on several container ships under the specified dominant wave condition. An appropriate combination of stress components to estimate the total hull girder stress is also discussed.     

破损散货船剩余极限强度的评估与分析

船体发生破损后.其剩余有效剖面是非对称的,船体还可能倾斜.根据IACS共同规范(CSR),采用逐步破坏分析法计算船体梁在不同破损情况下的剩余极限强度,同时编制了计算程序.对1艘散货船在完整和不同破损状态下的船体结构安全性进行了系统评估,并得到了一些有意义的结论.     

A simplified method to predict grounding damage of double bottom tankers

This paper presents a set of analytical expressions for the calculation of damage opening sizes in tanker groundings. The simplified formulas were given for the grounding force, longitudinal structural damage and the opening width in the inner and outer plating of a tanker's double bottom. The simplified formulas derived are based on a set of numerical simulations conducted with tankers of different dimensions- 120, 190 and 260 m in length. The simulations were performed for five penetration depths and for several rock/ground topologies.The formula for the horizontal grounding force was derived provided the grounding force is proportional to the contact area and the contact pressure. By use of regression analysis it was shown that the contact pressure for any combination of ship and rock size can be expressed with a single normalized polynomial. The actual contact pressure was found by scaling the normalized pressure with the structural resistance coefficient. Given the formulation for the normalized contact pressure, the actual contact force for a ship can be found as a product of average contact pressure and the contact area.The longitudinal length of the damage was evaluated based on the average contact force and the kinetic energy of the ship. The damage opening widths in the outer and inner bottom of the ship were derived separately for two ranges of relative rock sizes as they have strong influence on the deformation mode. The damage widths were given as a function of rock size, penetration depth and double bottom height. To improve the prediction of the onset of the inner bottom failure, a critical relative penetration depth as a function of the ratio of the rock size and the ship breadth was established.Comparison to the numerical simulations showed that the derived simplified approach describes the horizontal grounding force and the damage length well for the penetration depths above 0.5 m. For the range of specified relative rock sizes, the damage width in the inner and outer bottom deviates from numerical simulations approximately up to 25%, which was considered sufficient for the analyses where rapid damage assessment is needed. Comparison was also made to real accidental damage data and to the results of several simplified formulas.     

Bottom damage scenarios for the hull girder structural assessment

This article covers the reliability assessment of the hull girder of a crude oil tanker, referring to a scenario in which the ship is exposed to sea loads after a damage to the bottom of the hull has occurred. A number of possible flooding configurations are examined, each one caused by a group of damage cases, characterized by different location and extent. Static loads, wave loads and residual structural resistance are determined for each damage case, with the objective of obtaining a prediction for the probability of the hull girder's failure. The various damage cases are compared to each other and unconditioned to derive the probability of failure extended to the ship's life due to a generic bottom damage.A probabilistic Bayesian Network model has been created to deal with these variables and with the dependency relationships existing between them. The results provided by the model are analyzed with the aim of identifying the parameters most influencing the problem. The work is intended to contribute to the development of a more rational treatment of accidental conditions in design structural requirements for ships.     

破损船体剩余强度衡准研究

本文研究了船体破损非对称淹水和刚度损失引起的船体外载荷变化,并利用破损船体非对称弯曲极限强度计算方法详细分析碰撞、搁浅和爆炸破损对船体极限强度的影响.然后基于破损船体极值载荷和极限强度,给出破损船体剩余强度衡准,并对破损船体临界海况进行预报.     

On the time for the abandonment of flooded passenger ships due to collision damages

The time dependency of the survivability of passenger ships in flooding accidents leading to ship’s loss is shown to be confined within short times after the flooding initiation. RoRo ferry and cruise type ships demonstrate similar behaviour, though vessel types differ with respect to the subdivision and the flooding process. The presented research is based on numerical simulations of the flooding of two sample passenger ships in collision damages and the estimation of the probability to capsize. The systematic fast character of capsize events is shown to be primarily a consequence of the extent of hull breaches. The IMO regulatory concept for orderly abandonment of damaged passenger ships, in addition to the safe return to port regulatory provisions, are discussed in view of the present results. The timely onboard damage identification by ship’s master and the enhancement of the SOLAS survivability requirements for passenger ships appear to be the most effective operational and design measures leading to improved survivability of the ship and to enhanced safety of people onboard.