Springing Analysis of a Passenger Ship in Waves

Traditionally, the evaluation of global loads experienced by passenger ships has been based on closed-form Classification Society Rule formulae or quasi direct analysis procedures. These approaches do not account for the combined influence of hull flexibility, slenderness, and environmental actions on global dynamic response. This paper presents a procedure for the prediction of the global wave-induced loads of a medium-size passenger ship using a potential flow Flexible Fluid Structure Interaction (FFSI) model. The study compares results from direct long-term hydro-structural computations against Classification Society Rules. It is demonstrated that for the specific vessel under consideration: (a) the elastic contributions of the responses on loads are negligible as springing effects occur outside of the wave energy spectrum, (b) deviations of the order of 28% arise by way of amidships when comparing direct hydrodynamic analysis predictions encompassing IACS UR S11A hog/sag nonlinear correction factors and the longitudinal strength standard, and (c) the interpretation of the wave scatter diagram influences predictions by approximately 20%. Based on these indications, it is recommended that further parametric studies over a range of passenger ship designs could help draw unified conclusions on the total influence of global and local hydrodynamic actions on passenger ship loads and dynamic response.