| A composite structural laminate (CSL) plate system composed of steel and structural plastic has been developed to address life cycle and structural performance problems with conventional all-steel designs of double hull product oil tankers for extreme or accidental load events. This structural element replaces stiffened plates, provides a simplified structure, reduces the number of fatigue and corrosion prone details and provides equivalent strength and stiffness for normal operating loads. It has superior puncture resistance, energy absorption capability, and provides a crack arrest layer that prevents cracks that result from fatigue, collision, or groundings from propagating into the cargo tanks. The objective of this work is to quantify and characterize fundamental behaviour with respect to compression, flexure, fatigue and bond characteristics. In addition, further work was done to advance the specification describing the material and behaviour characteristics required of the core for maritime applications.;Material tests were conducted on thirty-seven different formulations of the polyurethane elastomer core to determine the optimum formulation for this application. Finite element analyses were conducted to determine the fundamental behaviour of CSL columns, beams and plates modelled with both shell and solid elements for a series of core moduli that represent the full operating temperature range given in the specification. The test programme, including the design of test specimens, loading, instrumentation, and procedure, has been developed for CSL columns and beams.;Based on the parametric studies conducted, design equations have been proposed for all of the fundamental elements. |
