Nonlinear structural behaviour of membrane-type LNG carrier cargo containment systems under impact pressure loads at-163 °C

This paper is a sequel to the paper dealing with quasi-static responses previously studied by the authors. The structural failure of membrane-type liquefied natural gas carrier (LNGC) cargo tank is an important issue in the construction of ultra-large an LNG carrier. However, quasi-static analysis to investigate the structural failure is difficult and tends to give conservative results. To compensate the weak points of the quasi-static analysis, a procedure for the dynamic analysis was developed to assess the structural failure using nonlinear finite element method. A nonlinear finite element method is employed to model metal membrane, insulation and surface contacts. Various element formulations are tested at different points along a corrugated surface to optimise the accuracy of the model with respect to computation time. Material properties used in the model are calibrated based on experimentally measured values at cryogenic conditions (-163 degrees C). The model is used to predict the structural failure under different impact pressure loads and loading patterns. It is concluded that the structural damage is less likely to occur under 30 bar.