Influential Study of Opening on the Mechanical Behaviour of an Integrated Superstructure

This paper concerns the mechanical behavior of an integrated superstructure with opening. Integrated superstructure with different openings was constructed by using ABAQUS code based on DDG 1000 Zumwalt Class multimission destroyer, and simulation calculations with eight cases of the superstructure under slamming load and inertial load were carried out. The influential effects of the opening positions, opening dimensions and opening types on the strength and stiffness of superstructure were explicated. Conclusions are drawn: The strength and stiffness increase with the increase of the opening dimension in the design region in the initial stage, and decrease in the later stage; With the increase of distance between the small opening and the large opening, the strength and stiffness of local structure near the large opening become weaker; the maximum Mises stress and the maximum displacement are larger when the opening is in transverse direction than in longitudinal direction. The maximum Mises stress and maximum displacement occurred at the transition surface and the borders between top and broadside, the value of maximum Mises stress is about 70–90MPa, and the maximum displacement is approximately 5mm.