Investigating archaeological site formation processes on the battleship USS Arizona using finite element analysis

Abstract Scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) worked in a collaborative partnership with archaeologists from the National Park Service's (NPS) Submerged Resources Center (SRC) to develop a finite element model (FEM) of the battleship USS Arizona . An FEM is a computer-based engineering model that calculates theoretical stresses, propagation of force, and shape changes to a structure under loads using thousands or even millions of individual elements whose individual responses are well understood. NIST researchers created an FEM of an 80 ft. (25 m) midships section of the Arizona site to analyze archaeological site formation processes on the sunken battleship, in particular to determine the current condition of the wreck and predict its future strength and structural integrity as it continues to corrode. The NIST's FEM study is one aspect of a larger project under the direction of the NPS, the USS Arizona Preservation Project, whose goal is to determine the nature and rate of corrosion affecting USS Arizona , and to model its long-term structural deterioration. The FEM incorporates findings from other key components of the USS Arizona Preservation Project, such as steel hull corrosion rates, structural surveys of the vessel, sediment compaction studies, and analysis of the concretion that covers the ship's hull, into a single tool that is being used to predict how the wreck will degrade in the future.