ABSTRACT
This chapter considers finite element analysis in the design of thin-walled ship structures. The type of ship which is primarily addressed is the conventional monohull; however, as Caldwell1 re cently illustrated, this is by no means the only form of marine vehicle. Even disregarding the steel-based thin-walled structures in the offshore industry dealt with in Chapter 7, this leaves a plethora of vehicle types, ranging from surface-effect vessels to large military submarines, of which the monohulled displacement craft happens to be the most common and diverse. In just about every category of marine vehicle, the finite element method (FEM) has been adopted for their structural design, with varying degrees of sophistication and success. This chapter indicates, through examples, the range of applications of FEM to thin-walled structures in ‘ships’ in the broadest sense. The chapter shows that there is a commonality in the application, regardless of ship type and the FEM, as the most common and powerful structural analysis tool, has to be seen within the context of the overall ship design task.
