Residual ultimate strength assessment of submarine pressure hull under dynamic ship collision

Abstract

This study aims to develop numerical simulations and empirical equations to predict the ultimate residual strength of dented submarine pressure hulls. The collision scenarios considered in this study include accidents between submarine pressure hulls and attendant vessels or floating objects. First, numerical approaches were developed for dynamic collision and collapse simulations. The accuracy of the developed numerical method was validated by comparing its results with existing test results. Then, the parametric studies were conducted with a series of numerical simulations on the actual submarine pressure hull dimensions with various collision loading scenarios using ABAQUS v6.14 tools. Finally, empirical equations were established using the results from Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis (NFEA) database. The reliability of the derived equations was assessed by comparing their results with the NFEA results and the available test data. These equations are simple to use for the initial design and serviceability limit state of submarine pressure hulls subjected to collision accidents in real cases.