Characteristic of double bottom responses under powered-hard grounding scenario with idealised rock indenter

The grounding phenomenon included in a load-type accident has been classified as a top-two marine incident, particularly accounting for the oil spills that occur after it takes place. This study aims to present a numerical analysis for estimating ship responses under a hard grounding scenario. This analysis was validated through a pioneering penetration experiment that was re-calculated using the finite element method. In the grounding simulation, the sea floor rock was idealised as a conical indenter penetrating the ship structure. Crashworthiness criteria were considered as the structural response in this work. It was determined that the crushing of the centre girder opened tears in two of the double-bottom compartments. An estimation based on the indenter geometry showed that a steep angle of the conical indenter is capable of producing deeper damage and more visibly initial failures to the centre girder than a blunt indenter under a powered hard grounding scenario.