Long-term approach for assessment of sloshing loads in LNG carrier, Part I: Comparison of Short- and Long-term approaches

To assess the long-term sloshing loads of a liquefied natural gas carrier, Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co., Ltd., Hyundai Heavy Industry Co., Ltd, Samsung Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. (SHI), Korean Register, and Seoul National University conducted a series of joint industrial experiments using a six-degree-of-freedom irregular sloshing model test. SHI provides a 174 K S-LNGC and its cargo hold information. To consider the numerous test conditions of the long-term approach, the present study focuses on the upper regions of the cargo hold structure, and feasible operating scenarios are assumed. A total of 3870 h at a real scale are simulated based on 387 sailing conditions. Extensive experimental results of sloshing loads are analyzed based on different guidelines suggested by different maritime classification societies. Part I of this study provides an assessment of sloshing loads based on a comparison of short- and long-term approaches distinguished by the guidelines, and the possible reference values are presented. A practical solution for the long-term approach will be discussed in Part II. •A series of sloshing model tests were carried out for a LNG cargo.•Various wave conditions were considered for the experiment.•Short- and long-term predictions based on different analysis methods were carried out.•The predicted pressures for a sample LNG carrier are introduced, adopting the methods of classifications.•It is shown that the long-term prediction provides sloshing loads than short-term prediction.