Two- and three-dimensional springing analysis of a 16,000 TEU container ship in regular waves

In recent years, the increase in world trade has resulted in a large expansion of sea traffic. As a result, market demands are leading to the development of Ultra Large Container Ships (ULCSs), with lengths of up to 400 m and increased flexibility of operational requirements. The multicellular open-decked thin-walled structural design of these ships means that flexible hull girder dynamics become important for the prediction of wave loads. This paper investigates the importance of various hydroelastic modelling approaches on the global symmetric and anti-symmetric response of a 16,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) ULCS design. Two- and three-dimensional linear and weakly non-linear flexible fluid–structure interaction models that respectively combine Vlasov beam and three-dimensional finite element analysis (FEA) structural dynamics with a B-spline Rankine panel and Green's function hydrodynamics are assessed and compared. Comparisons between rigid body and hydroelastic predictions demonstrate the importance of considering the effects of hull flexibility on the dynamic response and the suitability of different idealisations at preliminary or detailed design stages.