Numerical study on the dynamic response of the large containership's bow structure under slamming pressures

The dynamic behaviors of the large containership's bow structures subjected to slamming pressures with different influence parameters are studied based on 3D finite element method. The slamming pressure is characterized as symmetrical and non-symmetrical half sine impact load, traveling over the side shell of the bow at a constant speed. The yield failure criterion is used to determine the critical slamming pressures of the bow structure under slamming pressures in the present paper. Various influence parameters which are relevant to the dynamic response of the bow structure are discussed, including the amplitude of slamming pressures, impact duration, rise time of slamming pressures, load attenuation coefficient, the position of maximum slamming pressures and traveling speed of the slamming pressures over side shell of the bow flare. The results show that the maximum stress responses of the bow structure increase with the increase of slamming pressures amplitude and with the decrease of the load attenuation coefficient, the other parameters also have a great influence on the dynamic response of bow structure. The safety margin coefficient is presented to evaluate the safety performance of large container ships under slamming pressures. The obtained results contribute to help the naval architect to design a ship which has a stronger capacity of resisting slamming. •The symmetric load shape in terms of time leads to smaller stress response compared with the unsymmetrical load.•The position of the maximum slamming pressure is an important influence parameter for the dynamic response of bow structure under slamming pressures.•The parameters analysis method presented in this paper can be used to study the dynamic response of containership's bow structures under slamming pressures.