The effects of geometric detail on the vibratory responses of complex ship-like thin-walled structures

Hydroelasticity of ships and studies in coupled antisymmetric vibrations have become increasingly important with container ships becoming faster and more slender. In this investigation, a ship-like structure is modelled and an equivalent backbone with a U-shaped cross section is designed. Their responses are compared, and limitations of various modelling approaches are discussed. It is demonstrated that scaling of the natural frequencies is insufficient to ensure scaling of the antisymmetric mode shapes and the relevant differences are quantified. Consequently, the backbone model should be viewed as a separate structure for validation purposes rather than a scaled model of a ship.