Ultimate strength assessment of hull structural plate with pitting corrosion damnification under biaxial compression

It is well known that pitting corrosion occurring on surface of hull structural plate will surely result in a significant degradation of the ultimate strength of the hull structural plate. This report aims at development of an assessing formula for ultimate strength of hull plate with pitting corrosion damage under the biaxial in-plane compression loading. The ultimate strength assessment model that is in terms of the corroded volume loss was deduced in theory, and which was then completed through numerical experiment by employing nonlinear finite element analyses for series of corroded plate models. Meanwhile, pitting corrosion in actual ship hull was analyzed and simulated, which ensured that all the assumptions for the finite element model parameters were in accord with the actual hull plate with pitting corrosion damage. Furthermore, the effects of plate slenderness, the linear factors at the plate edges and the ratio between the transverse and the longitudinal in-plane stresses on the ultimate strength reduction related to the corroded volume loss were discussed. The ultimate strength assessment formula being in terms of corroded volume loss developed in this research is expected to be applicable to assess the ultimate strength of the hull structural plate with pitting corrosion damage.