Structural stress evaluation at connection area between the suction arm and the hull for a trailing suction hopper dredger

Abstract

The present paper presents the analysis of strees distribution over a dredge arm and its connection with the ship’s hull during operation. The study aims to a better understanding of the hull loading since there are no empirical formulas to determine forces that appear in this connection area. The analysis was performed by means of finite element method using FEMAP.

Keywords

• Trailing suction hopper dredger, dredge arm, forces on suction inlet, FEM.