AGING EFFECTS ON SHIP STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY

The most important degradation effects of ship structures are corrosion and fatigue cracks. Both of these aging effects have clear consequences of increasing the level of stresses and degrading the strength of ship structures for almost all relevant failure modes. This study presents an overview of some recent developments on the aging effects on the ship structural integrity. The analysis of the thickness measurements has been undertaken to improve understanding of the corrosion degradation phenomena and to develop prediction models of aging effects suitable for practical applications in the ship structural design and analysis. The study also deals with the application of the non-linear finite element analysis as a suitable tool for a collapse assessment of uniaxially loaded plates and stiffened panels of ship structures weakened by non-uniform corrosion degradation and fatigue cracks. Experimental studies have also been reviewed to better understand the recently found degradation of mechanical properties of corroded steel, while theoretical calculations have been performed to evaluate consequences of such degradation on the ship structural integrity.