Comparison of computational methods for evaluation of wave-load-induced fatigue damage accumulation in a containership structure detail

Paper in proceeding, 2013

In this study different methods, from linear strip theory to more complex non-linear panel methods, are employed to estimate the hydrodynamic loads on a 4400TEU container ship. Subsequently, the structural stresses are computed using the finite element method and engineering beam theory. The calculated stresses are used to evaluate the fatigue damage in a detail of the ship structure using the rainflow counting method and different spectral methods. It is concluded that, for the studied part of the structure with governing uniaxial stresses due to wave loading, disregarding vibrational responses, it is sufficient to evaluate the fatigue damage using a spectral method, i.e. the so-called narrow band approximation, without any compensation.