Structural Analysis of a General Cargo Ship

The purpose of the calculations described in the paper is to analyse the structural behaviour of a General Cargo Vessels of 2240 dwt. Analysis procedure and most interesting results of the complete ship model (CSM) calculation are presented. The main concern of such study is to analyse torsional behaviour of the ship with a large deck opening and corresponding stress concentration at hatch corners. Global strength assessment is performed using "coarse mesh" finite element model, while the areas where stress concentrations occur are further analysed by the fine mesh analysis. The study demonstrates how 3D FEM (Finite Element Method) analysis may be employed as a tool for improving structural safety of general cargo ships.