STUDY ON THE ASSESSMENT OF IMPACT FORCE BETWEEN SHIP AND BRIDGE PIER

The bridge crossing water way is in the risk of impact by vessel, and thus it is very important to estimate the collision force for the safety of bridge. The impact force between bridge pier and vessel is investigated by numerical simulation and various empirical formulae. The collision response between a 5000t DWT bulk carrier with bulb bow and rigid bridge pier is simulated in the explicit finite element code of ANSYS LS-DYNA. The difference of the impact force between the empirical formulae and FE analysis are discussed. Based on the comparison of the results, the coefficient in the formulae is suggested for obtaining more accurate assessment of impact force.