Effect of solid rubber fenders on the structural damage due to collisions between a ship-shaped offshore installation and an offshore supply vessel

The effect of solid rubber fenders on the structural damage due to collisions between a ship-shaped offshore installation and an offshore supply vessel was investigated. An LS-DYNA computational modelling technique was developed to simulate the kinetic energy absorption behaviour of solid rubber fenders. Physical crushing testing was performed on rubber fender models to validate the computational model under different collision speeds. Traditional LS-DYNA computational models to simulate the structural crashworthiness of ship-shaped offshore hull structures colliding with an offshore supply vessel were combined with the developed rubber fender model. The computational models were applied to a hypothetical very-large-crude-oil-carrier (VLCC) class floating production storage and offloading unit (FPSO) hull that collides with an offshore supply vessel equipped with rubber fenders in the forecastle deck area, and the effects of rubber fenders on the collision energy absorption characteristics were examined in association with the structural damage of both striking OSV and struck FPSO hull structures. The findings and insights derived from the study were summarised.