Global strength analysis for a split hopper barge subject to head equivalent design wave

Due to the Classification Societies’ regulations, in the preliminary design stage for new ship constructions it is necessary to prove with calculations that the stress and deformation distributions in the ship structure do not exceed the stress limit values, regardless the sea state such as calm water, sagging or hogging wave conditions. Normally, it is consid-ered that the hogging and sagging conditions are the worst head wave conditions, when the vertical shear forces and bending moments can reach high values and the risk of ship structure collapse can be high. The main purpose of this study is to assess, using the Finite Element Method (FEM), the global strength for a split hopper barge in three sea state conditions: calm water, hogging and sagging head design waves.