ABSTRACT

The ultimate moment supported by the hull is achieved after some of the elements have already collapsed, so the knowledge of the shedding pattern after buckling of such elements is of great importance. Usually these methods ignore the interaction between adjacent elements thus the calculated ultimate moment may be considered as an upper limit for the maximum bending moment. The main problem associated with such structures is the nonlinear behaviour of the components under compression, which is a source of uncertainty on the determination of the ultimate carrying capacity of the structure, especially in a situation of overall bending where some parts are in compression and others in tension.