Residual Ultimate Bending Strength of Double-Hull Oil Tankers Subjected to Combined Pitting Corrosion and Initial Imperfections

Abstract

A ship’s hull inherently contains initial imperfections that develop pitting corrosion over time, particularly in steel vessels. These factors directly affect and reduce the ultimate strength capacity of the ship. This study investigates the combined effects of these damage factors on the hull girder ultimate strength of double-hull oil tankers. In addition, the study investigates the residual ultimate bending strength of double-hull oil tankers under hogging and sagging conditions through a stress distribution method incorporating several modifications. Using the selected method, different levels of initial imperfections (including slight, average, and severe levels), and corrosion volume losses (ranging from 0% to 30%) are considered to represent the damage scenario. The analysis shows that the effect of initial imperfections on the residual ultimate bending strength under extreme load was negligible (approximately 8.5% at the severe level); however, when interacting with the pitting corrosion, significant reductions of up to 37.17% and 38.50% were observed in the average cases of hogging and sagging conditions, respectively. Further evaluation of the safety factors associated with the ultimate bending moment highlights the necessity of improved structural evaluation and maintenance to ensure operational dependability and safety.

Keywords

Residual ultimate bending strength / Ship structure / Initial imperfection / Pitting corrosion / Oil tanker hull

References

[1] Ahmadi F, Ranji AR. Reliability assessment of ship hull girders considering pitting corrosion and crack. Engineering Research Express, 2024, 6(1): 1-13

[2] Cui JJ, Wang DY, Ma N. A study of container ship structures’ ultimate strength under corrosion effects. Ocean Engineering, 2017, 130: 454-470

[3] Cui JJ, Wang DY, Ma N. Case studies on the probabilistic characteristics of ultimate strength of stiffened panels with uniform and non-uniform localized corrosion subjected to uniaxial and biaxial thrust. International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, 2018, 11(1): 97-118

[4] Faqih I, Adiputra R, Prabowo AR, Muhayat N, Ehlers S, Braun M. Hull girder ultimate strength of bulk carrier (HGUS-BC) evaluation: Structural performances subjected to true inclination conditions of stiffened panel members. Results in Engineering, 2023, 18: 101076

[5] Feng L, Hu L, Chen XG, Shi H. A parametric study on effects of pitting corrosion on stiffened panels’ ultimate strength. International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, 2020, 12(2020): 699-710

[6] Guedes Soares C, Garbatov Y. Reliability of maintained ship hulls subjected to corrosion. Journal of Ship Research, 1996, 40(3235-243

[7] Guedes Soares C, Garbatov Y. Reliability of maintained ship hulls subjected to corrosion and fatigue under combined loading. Journal of Constructional Steel Research, 1999, 52(1): 93-115

[8] Hughes OF, Paik JK. Ship structural analysis and design, 2010, Alexandria, USA, The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers

[9] IACS. Common structural rules for bulk carriers and oil tankers, 2024

[10] ISSC. Committee III. 1 Ultimate strength. The 18th International Ship and Offshore Structures Congress, Rostock, Germany, 2012

[11] Kakaie A, Garbatov Y, Guedes Soares C. Time-dependent ship hull reliability accounting for non-stationary stochastic degradation process. Reliability Engineering & System Safety, 2026, 265: 111602

[12] Kim DK, Liew MS, Youssef SAM, Mohd MH, Kim HB, Paik JK. Time-dependent ultimate strength performance of corroded FPSOs. Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering, 2014, 39(11): 7673-7690

[13] Liu B, Garbatov Y, Zhu L, Guedes Soares C. Numerical assessment of the structural crashworthiness of corroded ship hulls in stranding. Ocean Engineering, 2018, 170: 276-285

[14] Momčilović N, Ilić N, Kalajdžić M, Ivošević S, Petrović A. Pitting and uniform corrosion effects on ultimate strength of a bulk carrier. Procedia Structural Integrity, 2023, 48: 12-18

[15] Momčilović N, Ilić N, Kalajdžić M, Ivošević S, Petrović A. Effect of corrosion-induced structural degradation on the ultimate strength of a high-tensile-steel ship hull. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 2024, 12(5745

[16] Nouri Z, Khedmati MR. Progressive collapse analysis of an FPSO vessel hull girder under vertical bending considering different corrosion models. Journal of Marine Science and Application, 2020, 19(4674-692

[17] Paik JK, Mansour AE. A simple formulation for predicting the ultimate strength of ships. Journal of Marine Science and Technology, 1995, 1(1): 52-62

[18] Paik JK, Thayamballi AK, Lee JM. Effect of initial deflection shape on the ultimate strength behavior of welded steel plates under biaxial compressive loads. Journal of Ship Research, 2004, 48(1): 45-60

[19] Paik JK, Wang G, Thayamballi AK, Lee JM, Park YI. Time-dependent risk assessment of aging ships accounting for general pit corrosion, fatigue cracking and local dent damage. For presentation at the 2003 SNAME Annual Meeting, World Maritime Technology Conference, San Francisco, USA, 2003

[20] Piscopo V, Scamardella A. Incidence of pitting corrosion wastage on the hull girder ultimate strength. Journal of Marine Science and Application, 2021, 20(3): 477-490

[21] Putranto T, Kõrgesaar M, Tabri K. Application of equivalent single-layer approach for ultimate strength analyses of ship hull girder. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 2022, 10(10): 1-20

[22] Rahbar-Ranji A, Niamir N, Zarookian A. Ultimate strength of stiffened plates with pitting corrosion. International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, 2015, 7(3): 509-525

[23] Saad-Eldeen S, Garbatov Y, Guedes Soares C. Ultimate strength assessment of corroded box girders. Ocean Engineering, 2013, 58: 35-47

[24] Sultana S, Wang Y, Sobey AJ, Wharton JA, Shenoi RA. Influence of corrosion on the ultimate compressive strength of steel plates and stiffened panels. Thin-Walled Structures, 2015, 96: 95-104

[25] Tekgoz M, Garbatov Y, Guedes Soares C. Review of ultimate strength assessment of ageing and damaged ship structures. Journal of Marine Science and Application, 2020, 19: 512-533

[26] Vhanmane S, Bhattacharya B. Estimation of ultimate hull girder strength with initial imperfections. Ships and Offshore Structures, 2008, 3(3): 149-158

[27] Vladimir N, Senjanović I, Jovanović I, Tomašević S, Jurišić P. Direct strength calculation of an aged single-bottom tanker during its towing in waves. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part M: Journal of Engineering for the Maritime Environment, 2023, 238(2): 417-430

[28] Vu VT, Dong DT. Hull girder ultimate strength assessment considering local corrosion. Journal of Marine Science and Application, 2020, 19(4): 693-704

[29] Vu VT, Yang P. Effect of corrosion on the ship hull of a double hull very large crude oil carrier. Journal of Marine Science and Application, 2017, 16(3): 334-343

[30] Vu VT, Yang P, Doan VT. Effect of uncertain factors on the hull girder ultimate vertical bending moment of bulk carriers. Ocean Engineering, 2018, 148: 161-168

[31] Wang F, Wang R, Ju JJ. Ultimate compressive strength of H-section stub columns subject to random pitting corrosion damage. Applied Sciences, 2023, 13(19): 11051

[32] Woloszyk K, Garbatov Y. Advanced numerical modelling for predicting residual compressive strength of corroded stiffened plates. Thin-Walled Structures, 2023, 183: 110380

[33] Woloszyk K, Goerlandt F, Montewka J. A framework to analyse the probability of accidental hull girder failure considering advanced corrosion degradation for risk-based ship design. Reliability Engineering & System Safety, 2024, 251: 110336

[34] Yamamoto N, Ikegami K. A study on the degradation of coating and corrosion of ship’s hull based on the probabilistic approach. Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering, 1998, 120(3121-128

[35] Zhang J, Shi XH, Guedes Soares C. Experimental analysis of residual ultimate strength of stiffened panels with pitting corrosion under compression. Engineering Structures, 2017, 152: 70-86

[36] Zhang Y, Huang Y, Meng FL. Ultimate strength of hull structural stiffened plate with pitting corrosion damage under uniaxial compression. Marine Structures, 2017, 56(2017117-136

[37] Zhou HC, Kong XS, Wang Y, Zheng C, Pei ZY, Wu WG. Dynamic response of hull girder subjected to combined underwater explosion and wave induced load. Ocean Engineering, 2021, 235: 1-35

[38] Zima B, Roch E, Mikulski T, Wójcik M. Influence of corrosion degradation on the dynamic response of steel plates. Polish Maritime Research, 2025, 32(2): 132-140

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Harbin Engineering University and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature

Just Accepted

This article has successfully passed peer review and final editorial review, and will soon enter typesetting, proofreading and other publishing processes. The currently displayed version is the accepted final manuscript. The officially published version will be updated with format, DOI and citation information upon launch. We recommend that you pay attention to subsequent journal notifications and preferentially cite the officially published version. Thank you for your support and cooperation.