Hydroelastic analysis of a very large floating plate with large deflections in stochastic seaway

The hydroelasticity of a very large floating plate with large deflections in multidirectional irregular waves is discussed. After a brief introduction on wave loads on a flexible structure, the paper derives the generalised fluid force acting on a floating structure in multidirectional irregular waves. The nonlinear sectional forces induced by the membrane forces in the plate are deduced. The hydroelastic response equations of a floating plate with large deflections in multidirectional irregular waves are established, and a solution method in the frequency domain is discussed including extreme value statistics. A very large floating structure is chosen as an example. The numerical results show that the influence of the membrane forces on the vertical displacements and the bending moments is noticeable but not that large.