Ultimate bending moment of the SHIP hull girder

This paper describes a methodology to calculate the ultimate longitudinal bending moment of the hull girder and reports comparison between numerical and experimental activities. Suggestions for the use of such an approach for design purposes are also included. The methodology to determine the ultimate limit state of the hull girder is not a well established process ; uncertainties originate from the assumptions on loads and loading conditions and on the strength assessment. The paper discusses different approaches for the ultimate collapse computation. The CETENA procedure to assess ship design for the Italian Navy includes calculation of the ultimate bending moment as a requirement of the design process. This methodology can be used to estimate deterministic values of the ultimate bending moment of the ship varying the structural parameters most affected by uncertainties, in order to supply data for a reliability based strength assessment.