Crack growth analysis in ship structures using spectral methods

TL;DRAbstract

The structural flexibility of modern (container) ship structures subjected to wave loading conditions has increased as a result of larger ship sizes. Cyclic variations of relatively large displacements in these structures may result in local fatigue damage problems. It is known that there are large uncertainties in the prediction of fatigue crack initiation life using fatigue design methods from classification societies. As a consequence, cracks are often observed in ship structures earlier than expected. The existence of cracks in a ship can affect the ship structure’s integrity. Depending on the location of a found crack and its length, it may propagate quite fast to a critical length which could endanger the safety of the entire vessel; cf. MSC Carla and MOL Comfort (under investigation). Furthermore, it may not be realistic to repair all cracks immediately when they have been found in a vessel; some of them may not be critical at all. Therefore, it is of great importance to have kn

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