Abstract
The structural analysis of large scale structures such as ship is usually carried out in several different stages, using different scales, and using different type of finite elements, varying from whole ship, cargo holds and to the detail structures. In conventional practice, the finite element models for different analyses are generated separately from different geometric models.
In this work, the method to generates finite element models for different analyses is considered. It is necessary to define the model so that it can exclude some parts of the structure which is not important in the analysis. Also, the model geometry need to change dimension depending on the analysis required, such as beam, shell, solid.
“Part Name”, which indicates whether the parts with that name are extracted in certain analysis, and “Part Type”, which indicates what type of finite elements are used to model the parts, are defined. Also, parentage relations between parts are defined. The techniques to transform geometry of the parts that are defined as shells into beams or into solids are developed. Finally, the interaction analysis techniques between beams, shells and solids are developed to generates parts that are used in mesh generation.
Using these techniques, the system is developed to generate finite element model for different structural analyses levels. The examples of generated finite element models of tanker structure in several analysis stages are shown.
