Changzi Wang

The increasing size and weight of deep-water topside modules necessitate reliable and efficient installation methods. The twin-barge float-over technique presents a viable alternative to conventional heavy-lift operations; however, its critical tri-vessel load transfer phase involves complex hydrodynamic interactions and continuous load redistribution that are not adequately captured by traditional staged analyses. This study develops a fully coupled time-domain dynamic model to simulate this process. The framework integrates multi-body potential flow hydrodynamics, mooring and fender systems, and Deck Support Units (DSUs). A novel continuous mass-point variation method is introduced to replicate progressive ballasting and the dynamic load transfer from single- to dual-barge support. Numerical simulations under representative sea states reveal significant narrow-gap resonance effects, direction-dependent motion amplification, and transient DSU load peaks that are overlooked in conventional quasi-static approaches. Beam-sea conditions are found to induce the largest lateral DSU loads and the highest risk of barge misalignment. The proposed framework demonstrates superior capability in predicting motion responses and load transitions, thereby providing critical technical support for the safe and efficient application of twin-barge float-over installations in complex marine environments.

Slamming is a complicated fluid–structure coupling process accompanied with complex transfer of load and energy, which may pose a significant risk to the overall safety of structure. This paper aims to evaluate the dynamic response and elucidate the failure mechanism of composite‐metal sandwich structures under slamming impact. Firstly, a reliable numerical simulation process is established based on CEL method in ABAQUS/Explicit combining with a VUMAT subroutine, whose effectiveness is verified through the comparison with published experimental results. Subsequently, dynamic response of the sandwich structures is investigated considering the influence of slamming velocity and material constituent. Meanwhile, damage evolution and critical failure mechanism are assessed through progressive damage analysis. Results show that CF‐Al‐CF case owns the best mechanical performance and the latest ultimate failure moment. The overall performance of sandwich structure is mainly dependent on the mechanical properties of skin. Additionally, damage of Al‐CF‐Al case is more sensitive to the variation of velocity compared with that of CF‐Al‐CF and Al‐Al‐Al cases, which indicates that the ductility of core is responsible for ultimate damage. Moreover, extensively distributed matrix tension damage can be identified as the critical damage mode, which may further cause debonding damage and even fiber fracture.

This paper aims to evaluate the dynamic response and failure mechanism of corrugated core composite metal sandwich structures under the complicated fluid-structure interaction. Firstly, a reliable numerical model is established in ABAQUS/Explicit using Coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian (CEL) method. Subsequently, the influence of slamming velocity and aluminum core direction on dynamic response is studied in virtue of hydrodynamic force, deflection, transient pressure and microstrain. Finally, the damage modes and failure mechanism are studied by the ultimate damage modes exploration and progressive damage analysis. Results illustrate that hydrodynamic force experiences a sudden ascending stage before reaching the peak value, which is sensitive to the variation of local deadrise angle near the chine. Severe core skin debonding and aluminum core buckling near the chine are both alleviated under 10 m/s compared with that under 8 m/s for transverse core sandwich structures, accompanied with dominating matrix tension damage face sheet.

This work mainly investigates the effects of the hole number and layer direction on the tensile mechanical behavior and failure mechanisms of multihole fiber metal laminates by experimental and numerical methods. With the aid of digital image correlation technique, tensile tests are implemented to obtain mechanical responses of different multihole fiber metal laminates. Subsequently, numerical simulation considering thermal residual stress is conducted to elucidate the failure modes and progressive damage evolution of multihole fiber metal laminates, which integrates the progressive damage model of composite laminates and a cohesive zone model between aluminum sheet/composite laminates. Finally, numerical predictions are found in a good agreement with experimental measurements, in terms of mechanical responses and fracture morphologies. Results demonstrate that the number of holes has negligible influence on the ultimate tensile strength, whereas affects the final failure strain of multihole fiber metal laminates evidently. With the increase of layer direction, the fracture morphology changes from evident brittle fracture to fiber pull-out and matrix damage, which indicates that the critical failure mechanism of multihole fiber metal laminates changes from tension dominated to tension–shear dominated. Additionally, the longer loading history from initial damage to final failure of composite laminates demonstrates the significance of considering progressive damage behavior in numerical simulation.