Development of simplified method for prediction of structural response of stiffened plates under explosion loads

During their lifetime, marine structures may be exposed to accidental loadings such as from collisions or explosions, as well as environmental loadings such as from slamming, sloshing and green water. Such loadings can cause damage to structures. Therefore, to minimize such damage, advanced and robust design guidelines should be formulated. Among those loads, in this study, explosions imparting an impulsive pressure loading containing a rapid increase in pressure and a short duration that can cause serious casualties, property losses, and marine pollution were considered. In this paper, a practical and robust method for damage assessment of marine structures exposed to explosion loads based on a single degree of freedom (SDOF) system and numerical simulations is proposed. The SDOF method was improved by introduction of new and better idealization resistance for the system and consideration of the effect of strain-rate, and subsequently was verified by a numerical method developed using the commercial ABAQUS software package. The numerical method was itself validated by comparison with relevant pulse pressure test data available in the open literature (good correlation was shown). Based on the validated numerical models, a rigorous parametric study of the structural response of stiffened plates having actual scantlings of offshore structures was performed. The numerically obtained maximum deformations were compared with the results from the improved SDOF method in a parametric study, and the variation of both methods was verified. Finally, simple yet accurate and reliable formulations for prediction of structural response were empirically derived. These formulations are expected to be usefully employed as a first-hand tool for prediction of damage extent of marine structures (including offshore structures) due to explosion loads.