FAST EVALUATION OF SHIP-BRIDGE COLLISION FORCE BASED ON NONLINEAR NUMERICAL SIMULATION

The max collision force of ship-bridge collision is one of the most important factors for bridge design. By means of nonlinear finite element simulation method, the collision forces of the collisions between rigid bridge pile and ship bow are calculated for four different ships with tonnages of 5000, 10000, 50000 and 60000 DWT, respectively. Curves of collision force-penetration and absorbed energy-penetration are obtained, and the data of the max loads are then summarized. On the basis of these curves and data, a set of curves describing the relationships between max collision forces and tonnages of ships is presented, by which the max collision forces of ships with different tonnages and velocities can be estimated easily and reliably.