Design of a ship model for hydro-elastic experiments in waves

ABSTRACTLarge size ships have a very flexible construction resulting in low resonance frequencies of the structural eigen-modes. This feature increases the dynamic response of the structure on short period waves (springing) and on impulsive wave loads (whipping). This dynamic response in its turn increases both the fatigue damage and the ultimate load on the structure; these aspects illustrate the importance of including the dynamic response into the design loads for these ship types. Experiments have been carried out using a segmented scaled model of a container ship in a Seakeeping Basin. This paper describes the development of the model for these experiments; the choice was made to divide the hull into six rigid segments connected with a flexible beam. In order to model the typical feature of the open structure of the containership that the shear center is well below the keel line of the vessel, the beam was built into the model as low as possible. The model was instrumented with accelerometers and rotation rate gyroscopes on each segment, relative wave height meters and pressure gauges in the bow area. The beam was instrumented with strain gauges to measure the internal loads at the position of each of the cuts. Experiments have been carried out in regular waves at different amplitudes for the same wave period and in long crested irregular waves for a matrix of wave heights and periods. The results of the experiments are compared to results of calculations with a linear model based on potential flow theory that includes the effects of the flexural modes. Some of the tests were repeated with additional links between the segments to increase the model rigidity by several orders of magnitude, in order to compare the loads between a rigid and a flexible model.