Ultimate longitudinal strength reliability assessment of a corroded ship hull

A time variant reliability assessment procedure is presented for ship hull structure based on the hull longitudinal ultimate strength, Advanced First-Order Second moment method and Monte-Carlo simulation method with variance reduction techniques. The tank case studies are conducted on the variation of reliability of ship hull girder subjected to corrosion in its whole life. Series numerical results show that because of the degradation of hull longitudinal ultimate strength due to corrosion, the probability of hull structural failure is higher after a certain period (say 13-15 years according to present case study). It is necessary to inspect and repair the damaged elements of hull structure after a certain period in its lifetime.