A numerical study to evaluate wave impact loads acting on ships/ocean structures employing a particle-based approach

To assess the ultimate strength of ships/ocean structures, it is important to estimate time-series distributions of pressure acting on the structures accurately. The structures are sometimes subjected to large wave impact loads under severe sea conditions arising from nonlinear wave/structure interactions such as slamming. In terms of design, quantitative evaluations of the wave impact loadings are needed because the loads may severely damage structural members. The fluid-structure interaction and elastic /elastoplastic bucking of the structures must be considered in modeling such phenomena. In recent years, particle-based methods have been adopted in science and engineering. A fluid motion is represented by Lagrangian formulation with particles, and grids or meshes are not needed in the computation. Taking this approach, it is relatively easy to treat free surfaces and moving discontinuities and it is possible to solve violent free-surface problems such as water breaking and splashing and the fragmentatio n of waves. The purpose of the project is to develop a simulation model and numerical code to solve fluid-structure interaction behaviors, which are used to evaluate wave impact loads, employing a particle-based approach. The structure is modeled employin g the finite element method (FEM), and the fluid is modeled employing a particle-based method. The two methods are coupled to solve the fluid-structure interaction problem. A simulation model considering elastic/elastoplastic bucking of the structures is developed on the basis of recent developments in particle-based approaches and fluid-structure interaction analyses. The numerical code is implemented and numerical experiments are performed to verify the proposed approach. Analysis of ships/ocean structu res is presented as a practical application. Keywords: ships/ocean structures, computational mechanics, particle-based methods, wave impact loading, fluid-structure interaction problem