Numerical prediction of wave-induced long-term extreme load effects in a flexible high-speed pentamaran

The theory and procedure established by Wu and Moan in 1996 and 2005 and Wu and Hermundstad in 2002 were applied to a high-speed transatlantic pentamaran containership. Nonlinear time-domain simulations of ship motions and load effects were carried out in different sea states. The simulated responses were validated against model tests with satisfactory results. The short-term probabilities of exceedance were estimated by using different stochastic analysis procedures. The long-term probabilities of exceedance were obtained based on the short-term results. These served as information about loading in a reliability-based design approach. The load effects in a semiprobabilistic design were also calculated at an appropriate probability of exceedance level.