Numerical Simulation of Ship Collision with Rafted Ice Based on Cohesive Element Method

The gradual increase in shipping and drilling activities in the Arctic regions has resulted in the increased importance of studying the structural safety of polar ships in various ice conditions. Rafted ice refers to a type of accumulated and overlapped sea ice; it is driven by external forces, such as wind and waves, and may exert high loads on ships and threaten their structural safety. Therefore, the properties of rafted ice and the construction of numerical models should be studied before exploring the interaction and collision between ships and rafted ice. Based on the nonlinear finite-element method, this paper introduces the cohesive element model for the simulation of rafted ice. The interaction between ships and rafted ice is studied, and the ice force of the hull is obtained. Numerical simulation results are compared with model test findings, and the effectiveness of the cohesive element method in the construction of the model of rafted ice materials is verified. On this basis, a multilayer rafted ice model is constructed, and its interaction with the ship is studied. The research unveils that rafted ice parts impede crack generation and slow down crack propagation to a certain extent.