Buckling Screening Analysis of Ship Plate Structures

Abstract

Sufficient strength of the ship’s structure is a significant factor to ensure safe shipping. Thus, it is important to study the failure modes of the structure, such as buckling. However, there are limited methods to perform buckling check efficiently, and it is often still con-ducted manually. The aim of the study was to create a new buckling check tool, making buckling analysis efficient and saving time for other work. This has solved by implementing a script that cal-culates the buckling of the unstiffened rectangular plate fields of the ship. The script is based on a screening method that is used to find critical plate fields. The criteria for the method are buckling guidelines by DNV. The functionality of the study method was tested by a case study for a generic global model part. The analysis was performed twice with a coarse mesh by subjecting a global load combination of still water bending moment and ice shear force to the model. The buckling capacity of the plate fields was estimated by examining their transversal and longitudinal compressive and shear stress. The initial model was strengthened according to the initial results, and then the analysis was carried out again. The main findings of the case study were the effect of the framing system selection and plate field size on buckling capacity. The location of the plate field in the ship was also found to influence the buckling resistance. The results of the case study were validated using manual calculation and a local model. Manual calculation proved the functionality of the study method and the validity of the results. In turn, the local model analysis ensured the result accuracy with a coarse mesh and the applicability of the study method to different models. The results obtained from the case study are reasonable. Although the development of the method is still necessary, the study method proves to be an effective and functional approach to buckling check analysis with potential for the future.