Analysis of hull girder ultimate strength for cruise ship with multi-layer superstructures

ABSTRACT

A cruise ship has multi-layer superstructures, and superstructures design is extremely important for obtaining more passenger space and controlling the height of gravity centre. Owing to non-continuous structures, such as window openings and side shell recess above lifesaving deck, superstructure’s effectiveness on longitudinal strength is difficult to determine. It is necessary to study the effect of superstructure on hull girder ultimate strength in order to evaluate the true safety margin. In this paper, one simplified modelling method of whole ship structures is proposed to calculate the hull girder ultimate strength by nonlinear FE analysis, and the variation characteristics of superstructure’s effectiveness from elastic state to limit state are analysed in detail. Then, a safety factor is proposed to cover the effect of double bottom bending on ultimate strength. The conclusions obtained in this paper will provide a reference for assessment of hull girder ultimate strength in cruise ship design.

KEYWORDS:

• Cruise ship
• superstructure’s effectiveness
• hull girder ultimate strength

ORCID

Shi Gui-jie http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7707-8821

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 51809168].