Grundläggande forskning av den maximala kompressiva styrkan av förstyvade plåtstrukturer i fartyg vid Arktiska och kryogena temperaturer

Forskningsprojekt, 2019 – 2020

Structures such as bridges, ships and offshore installations are designed to operate in temperatures from -50 to +60 degrees Celcius. These structures are often made of metalic materials whose properties depend on the temperature e.g. the ductility, and the yield and ultimate stress levels. At low temperatures, metallic materials shrink and are more brittle as compared with higher temperatures when they are more ductile and expand. These characteristics must be considered for safe designs of large, metallic structures. The aim of this project is to study how the buckling resistance and ultimate strength of stiffened panel structures are affected by rapid cooling to cryogenic temperature due to LNG leakage. It is motivated by the fact that the number of LNG-fuelled ships in the world have increased, despite the lack of fundamental research that investigates how an LNG leakage affects the failure resistance and failure modes of a stiffened panel structure and the material it is made of. The project will carry out a series of experimental tests of structures that have been cooled by LNG to mimic a leakage, and characterise the material properties at cryogenic temperatures. Large scale experiments will take place at the world's best testing facility for large-scale mechanical testing, KOSORI in South Korea. Numerical simulations will be carried out to propose modelling and simulation guidelines for safe designs of stiffened panel structures where LNG leakege could take place.