Effect of solid rubber fenders on the structural damage due to collisions between a ship-shaped offshore installation and an offshore supply vessel

The effect of solid rubber fenders on the structural damage due to collisions between a ship-shaped offshore installation and an offshore supply vessel was investigated. An LS-DYNA computational modelling technique was developed to simulate the kinetic energy absorption behaviour of solid rubber fenders. Physical crushing testing was performed on rubber fender models to validate the computational model under different collision speeds. Traditional LS-DYNA computational models to simulate the structural crashworthiness of ship-shaped offshore hull structures colliding with an offshore supply vessel were combined with the developed rubber fender model. The computational models were applied to a hypothetical very-large-crude-oil-carrier (VLCC) class floating production storage and offloading unit (FPSO) hull that collides with an offshore supply vessel equipped with rubber fenders in the forecastle deck area, and the effects of rubber fenders on the collision energy absorption characteristics were examined in association with the structural damage of both striking OSV and struck FPSO hull structures. The findings and insights derived from the study were summarised.

Automated summary

The effect of solid rubber fenders on the structural damage caused by collisions between ship-shaped offshore installations and offshore supply vessels was investigated. A computational modeling technique was developed to simulate the kinetic energy absorption behavior of the rubber fenders. Physical crushing testing was performed to validate the computational model. The findings of the study provide insights into the collision energy absorption characteristics and structural damage when using rubber fenders in ship-ship collisions.