doi: 10.52899/24141437_2026_03_333
UDK: 629.5.015.4

Prediction of Ultimate Strength of Unstiffened Ship Hull Plates under Longitudinal Compression: A Combined Approach Based on Nonlinear Finite Element Method and Data‑Driven Models. Part 1: Development and Validation of a Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis Procedure

Ле Ч. ., Огай С. А.
Article language: русский
Citation Link: Ле Ч.Т., Огай С.А. Прогнозирование предельной прочности неподкреплённых пластин судового корпуса при продольном сжатии: комбинированный подход на основе метода нелинейных конечных элементов и моделей, основанных на использовании данных. Часть 1. Разработка и подтверждение достоверности процедуры нелинейного конечно-элементного анализа // Труды Санкт-Петербургского государственного морского технического уни- верситета. 2026. Т. 5, № 3. С. 333–343. DOI: 10.52899/24141437_2026_03_333 EDN: PVASMI

Annotation

BACKGROUND: Assessing the ultimate strength of unstiffened hull plates under longitudinal compression, considering potential failure due to plastic buckling, is a key task for ensuring the safety of ships and ship‑type offshore structures at the design and operational stages. The nonlinear finite element method enables highly accurate modeling of complex plastic collapse mechanisms, accounting for the interaction of geometric parameters, material properties, and initial imperfections. However, its application to multivariate analysis involves considerable computational effort and time, which necessitates the development of reliable and efficient numerical modeling procedures. AIM: To gain a combined approach based on data‑driven methods and machine learning algorithms for the fast and accurate prediction of the ultimate strength of long and wide unstiffened plates under longitudinal compression, specifically: to develop and validate a nonlinear finite element analysis procedure. METHODS: The study addresses in detail all stages of finite element modeling: determination of the geometric and mechanical characteristics of an unstiffened plate, selection of software and finite element type, specification of the computational domain size, justification of the solver type, application of boundary and loading conditions, determination of the finite element mesh size, and modeling of initial geometric imperfections and residual welding stresses. Validation of the developed procedure was performed by comparing the obtained results with benchmark data from the report of the Ultimate Strength Committee of the International Ship and Offshore Structures Congress (ISSC), as well as with the empirical formulas of Faulkner (1975) and Frankland (1940), which are widely used in the shipbuilding industry. RESULTS: The developed nonlinear finite element analysis procedure demonstrated good agreement with the ISSC data for six unstiffened plates of various thicknesses. The results obtained confirm the reliability of the proposed modeling technique and its suitability for generating a representative dataset that can be used to train machine learning models. CONCLUSION: The presented and validated nonlinear finite element analysis procedure provides a reliable basis for predicting the ultimate strength of unstiffened plates. It enables the generation of a representative dataset, which serves as a foundation for building machine learning models capable, in the future, of substantially reducing computational costs in multivariate analysis. This is especially valuable at the preliminary design stage and for the operational safety assessment of ships and ship‑type offshore structures. Keywords: ultimate strength; longitudinal compression; unstiffened plates; finite element method; initial geometric imperfections; welding residual stresses; ISSC; machine learning.

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