Experimental and numerical analysis of a tanker side panel laterally punched by a knife edge indenter

The paper presents finite element simulations of a small-scale stiffened plate specimen quasi-statically punched at the mid-span by a rigid indenter, in order to examine its energy absorbing mechanisms and fracture. The specimen, scaled from a tanker side panel, is limited by one span between the web frames and the stringers. The paper provides practical information to estimate the extent of structural damage within ship side panels during collision accidents. Moreover, the results of this investigation should have relevance to evaluate grounding scenarios in which the bottom sustains local penetration. This is possible since the structural arrangement of the double hull and the double bottom of tanker vessels is very similar. The experimentally obtained force–displacement response and shape of the deformation show good agreement with the simulations performed by the explicit LS-DYNA finite element solver. The numerical analysis includes aspects of particular relevance to the behaviour of ship structures subjected to accidental loads which could give rise to difficulties in interpreting finite element calculations. In particular, the paper comments on the material nonlinearities, the importance of specifying the precise boundary conditions and the joining details of the structure. The considerable practical importance of these aspects has been the focus of attention in previous publications of the authors which evaluate the experimental-numerical impact response of simple ship structural components, such as beams and plates. Therefore, this paper uses the definitions proposed in those references to evaluate its applicability in the scaled tanker side panel, as an example of a more complex ship structure.