Structural Analysis of Hybrid Ro-Pax Ferry

With the aim of improving the environmental sustainability in the field of maritime transport and with special reference to multimodality and 'green' solutions for coastal transport, within the METRO project (Maritime Environment-friendly TRanspOrt systems), funded under the Interreg VA CBC Programme Italy-Croatia, a project of a hybrid Ro-Pax medium range ferry for coastal navigation in the Adriatic area is developed. The paper presents a part of the conceptual design for the assessment of the global hull structure strength, which is not common for this phase of the project, and that is the structural analysis of the complete ship. For this purpose, a detailed computer model of the geometry of the whole ship was made, which includes all primary and basic secondary structural elements, with the aim that such a model can serve later as a good basis for classification and workshop documentation production during contract phase. Additionally, a preliminary calculation of the scantlings of the complete ship was performed according to BV rules and regulations using the MARS2000 software package, with regard to bending and buckling. Loads were modeled according to real conditions for two unfavorable loading conditions, and static linear analysis was performed using the LS-DYNA software package. The global analysis of bending strength in still water could reveal problematic areas in the structure.