Analysis of collision performance of anticollision box made of steel–polyurethane sandwich plates

Abstract

A finite element collision system model was established by using ANSYS/LS-DYNA for a new type of bridge anticollision device with stiffeners made of steel–polyurethane sandwich plates. The model is composed of the anticollision box, the bridge pier, and the ship. In this paper, a numerical dynamic calculation method was used to calculate the impact force of the box and the pier column, the collision depth of the ship, and the energy absorbed by various parts of the system in the most unfavorable frontal collision condition. Then, the influence of the different types and numbers of stiffening ribs on the anticollision performance of the system was analyzed, so as to properly arrange the stiffeners inside the box. The result shows that this kind of anticollision box can effectively protect the pier. When a frontal collision occurs, it can absorb >70% of the impact energy, while the pier only bears <10% of the impact energy. Among the various components of the anticollision box, the outer steel plate of the sandwich plate absorbs the most energy, and the inner steel plate absorbs the second most. The effect of setting the horizontal stiffeners on the impact force, impact depth, and absorption energy of each part of the system is larger than that of the vertical stiffeners, and the effect of improving the rigidity of the anticollision box is also better.