Evaluation of sloshing resistance performance for LNG carrier insulation system based on fluid-structure interaction analysis

ABSTRACTIn the present paper, the sloshing resistance performance of a huge-size LNG carrier's insulation system is evaluated by the fluid-structure interaction (FSI) analysis. To do this, the global-local analysis which is based on the arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) method is adopted to accurately calculate the structural behavior induced by internal LNG sloshing of a KC-1 type LNG carrier insulation system. During the global analysis, the sloshing flow and hydrodynamic pressure of internal LNG are analyzed by postulating the flexible insulation system as a rigid body. In addition, during the local analysis, the local hydroelastic response of the LNG carrier insulation system is computed by solving the local hydroelastic model where the entire and flexible insulation system is adopted and the numerical analysis results of the global analysis such as initial and boundary conditions are implemented into the local finite element model. The proposed novel analysis techniques can potentially be used to evaluate the structural integrity of LNG carrier insulation systems.