An experimental and numerical study on nonlinear impact responses of steel-plated structures in an Arctic environment

• Material tensile tests on high tensile steel are performed at low temperature and high speed loading.
• Dropped-object tests on unstiffened and stiffened plates are performed at different low temperatures and strain rates.
• Nonlinear finite element analyses are performed by comparison with experiments.
• The characteristics of material and structures are investigated in association with low-temperature and strain rate.
• The possible application to collisions with iceberg is discussed.

Ships and offshore platforms that operate in Arctic regions at low temperatures are likely subjected to impact loads that arise from collisions with icebergs. The aim of this paper was to examine the nonlinear impact response of steel-plated structures in an Arctic environment. In addition to material tensile tests for characterisation of the mechanical properties of polar-class high-tensile steel of grade DH36, an experimental study was undertaken in a dropped-object test facility on steel-plated structure models under impact loads and at low temperatures equivalent to those in Arctic regions. LS-DYNA nonlinear finite element computations were also performed for the corresponding test models. We conclude that nonlinear finite element analyses are useful in the analysis of the nonlinear impact structural responses involving yielding, crushing and brittle fracture at low temperatures as long as the modelling techniques are adequate. The conclusions and insights developed in this paper should be useful in the safety design of ships and offshore platforms intended for operation in Arctic regions.