Derivation of plastic framing requirements for polar ships

A new International Association of Classification Societies standard for polar ship design, in the form of a unified requirement is being developed by an international committee with representatives from many classification societies and with the active participation of many polar nations. The framing structural requirements have been developed by a combination of analysis of existing rules and ships, finite element (FE) analysis and analytical solutions of plastic collapse mechanisms. This paper describes the derivation of the 3-hinge and asymmetrical shear plastic collapse mechanisms using work–energy principles. Energy methods are robust and well suited for developing design standards. The results are shown to compare well with non-linear FE analyses of frame strength.