Comparison of the crashworthiness of various bottom and side structures

The purpose of this work is to compare the resistance with damage of various types of double bottom structures in a stranding event. The comparative analyses are made by use of a commercial, explicit finite element program. The ship bottom is loaded with a conical indenter with a rounded tip, which is forced laterally into the structures in different positions. The aim is to compare resistance forces, energy absorption and penetration with fracture for four different structures. Those four structures are: a conventional double bottom, a structure (presently protected through a patent) with hat-profiles stiffened bottom plating, a structure where all-steel sandwich panel is used as outer shell and a bottom structure stiffened exclusively with hat-profiles. The paper shows that it is indeed possible to elevate the crashworthiness of side and bottom structures with regards to the loading considered here without increasing the structural weight.