Numerical and experimental comparison of the dynamic behaviour of superyacht structure

ABSTRACT

A new trend in motoryacht design is represented by Explorer vessels; as this new typology encountered a large appreciation among potential owners, many shipyards started to develop new projects in this regard. From the operative point of view the main characteristic, which differentiate Explorer vessels from traditional ones, is the higher strength required by the hull structures in order to be compliant with Ice class rules. On the other hand, in the owner’s perspective, the on-board comfort remains the driving parameter to be fulfilled. Therefore, more detailed studies on the dynamic structural behaviour, supported by experimental investigations, became mandatory. In this paper, a 40 meter ID Ice class superyacht built by Cerri Cantieri Navali (CCN), under delivery at the time being, has been elected as a study case and a comparison between experimental FE vibration analyses has been carried out during the construction period in order to validate the numerical procedure and highlight any criticisms in early design stages.

KEYWORDS:

• Superyacht structure
• FE vibration analysis
• experimental vibration analysis

Acknowledgements

This research has been carried out in the framework of the ‘Erasmus Mundus Masters Course in Integrated Advanced Ship Design’ (EMShip+) program and authors wish to thank Ms Maria Sol Massera and Ms Jessica Calzetta, whose thesis has been the starting point of this research. Authors are pleased to acknowledge also Ing. Guido Penco (Cerri Cantieri Navali) and Ing. Angelo Tonelli (RINA) for their precious availability and support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

G. Vergassola http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5462-7437

D. Boote http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7778-549X