Study on Ship Structure Optimization Considering the Influence of Nonlinear Wave Load

In this paper, a nonlinear wave load program is used to calculate the vertical wave load response of a super large container ship under different hull girder stiffness. The influence of the hull beam stiffness on the wave load is analyzed. The calculation method of nonlinear wave load in civil ship structure optimization model is given. The effects of nonlinear wave load on hull profile optimization is analyzed. The calculation results show that the decrease of the stiffness of the hull girder will lead to the significant increase of the wave load on the hull beam. The optimization effect of the mid-section area is reduced from 5.085% to 2.896% with the consideration of wave load. This shows that it is necessary to take the influence of stiffness variation on nonlinear wave loads into account in the structural optimization design of large ships.