3D Finite Element Analysis of a Ship Grounding Problem

The ever expanding world trade necessitates larger container ships and increases the demand for sea transports. However, the increasing occurrence of shipping accidents, such as ships running aground, threaten the safety of freights and ships. Due to the complex contact mechanisms between ships and structures or the ground, it is very difficult to predict the collisional force and stopping distance when applying classical mechanical theory. In the related project `Hochdonn' of BAW (Federal Waterways Engineering and Research Institute, Germany) collision experiments were performed to analyze the impact mechanisms in grounding problems. This paper describes the simulation of the collision of the ship "Gerda" with a sandbank using a coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian (CEL) method. Numerical analysis were conducted and compared with the experimental results.