Ultimate longitudinal strength of ship hulls of composite materials

A progressive collapse analysis method is proposed to predict the ultimate longitudinal strength of ship hulls of composite materials. The load-average strain curve derived from a progressive failure nonlinear finite element analysis is adopted for representing the behavior of each stiffened composite panel forming a hull cross section. The bending moment of the ship hull under a prescribed curvature is achieved by integrating the reaction force of each stiffened panel over a hull cross section based on the load-average strain curves. The ultimate longitudinal strength of a ship hull is obtained from the moment-curvature relationship of the ship hull, which is established by imposing progressively increasing curvatures of a hull cross section. An all-composite ship is analyzed as an application.