Structural Resistance of Simplified Side Hull Models Accounting for Stiffener Design and Loading Type

Thin-walled stiffened panels are fundamental structural components that form the primary structure of the ship hull. The effectiveness of the stiffener configuration design needs to be assessed because members are unavoidably subjected to various load types during operations. In this situation, assessment is required to quantify the responses and determine the relationship between the structural resistance and input parameters. The aim of this work was to obtain structural resistance data on the stiffened side hull of a medium-sized tanker with various model configurations by using finite element analysis with different loading parameters, i.e., load type and angle, as the main inputs. The results indicate that stiffener configurations subjected to loads at the center and random positions influence the effectiveness in reducing the deformation. The results show that the stiffener is more effective when the location of the force is very close to the stiffener. Therefore, higher strength can be obtained with a design in which the area that is not supported by the stiffener is minimized.