SPSM and its application in cylindrical shells

Abstract

In naval architectures, the structure of prismatic shell is used widely. But there is no suitable method to analyze this kind of structure. Stiffened prismatic shell method (SPSM) presented in this paper, is one of the harmonic semi-analytic methods. Theoretically, strong stiffened structure can be analyzed economically and accurately. SPSM is based on the analytical solution of the governing differential equations for orthotropic cylindrical shells. In these differential equations, the torsional stiffness, bending stiffness and the exact position of each stiffener are taken into account with the Heaviside singular function. An algorithm is introduced, in which the actions of stiffeners on shells are replaced by external loads at each stiffener position. Stiffened shells can be computed as non-stiffened shells. Eventually, the displacement solution of the equations is acquired by the introduction of Green function. The stresses in a corrugated transverse bulkhead without pier base of an oil tanker are computed by using SPSM.