The overall objective of the Network, which has a duration of 5 years, is to improve the safety, effectiveness, reliability, environmental behaviour and comfort of ship
structures through the application of advanced structural and
reliability assessment within design, fabrication and operation, leading to
increased public and commercial confidence in the competitiveness and use of
waterborne transportation.
This objective will be achieved by strengthening the European competitiveness
aiming at a permanent organisation of the type of a virtual institute, which
will ensure the integration of the various European groups in a European Centre
of Competence for structural analysis of ships with improved safety
environmental behaviour and comfort.
The objective will be achieved through a programme for jointly executed
research in the area of structural analysis of ships, the creation of research
facilities and platforms and a continuous programme of dissemination and
communication of research results. The way in which the programme is designed
contributes to the mutual specialisation and complementarity through building
up of strengths and the shrinking of weaknesses of the participants. This
programme will strengthen the scientific and technological excellence of the
European Research Area by integrating at a European Level a critical mass of
resources and expertise that will be able to provide European leadership in the
design of efficient and safe ship structures.
The activities of the Network will cover the different areas related with
advanced structural analysis such as:
• Specification of the loading appropriate for the various modes of structural
response and strength.
• Methods and tools for the analysis both numerically and experimentally of the
structural strength and performance, including aspects such as ultimate
strength, fatigue, crashworthiness, fire and explosion, resistance, and noise
and vibration.
• Influence of fabrication methods and new and advanced materials on the
structural strength and performance of ships.
• Tools for design and optimisation of ship structures.
• Tools and methods of structural reliability, safety and environmental
protection of ships.
The various assessment methods will be incorporated in the methods to design
and optimise efficient ship structures as well as in the methods of structural
reliability to be used to ensure the safety and environmental behaviour of the
ships.
The progress towards the overall objective will be managed by setting
measurable intermediate objectives, such as:
• To document current practices and trends. Measurable by: Publication of
state-of-the-art surveys and expert predictions; provision of a database to
back up needs of Structural Reliability Analysis (including data on
distribution shapes and cut-offs, assessment of quality and limitations of
data, materials information, load states.
• To establish guidelines to best practices and generate case studies and
benchmark test results wherever possible, after identification. Measurable by:
Drafting best practice guidelines and standards proposals. Publish results of
case studies and benchmark tests.
• To identify the research required by European universities and research
institutes, in conjunction with industry. Measurable by: Results of survey of
academic and industrial organisations in the marine field, with monitoring of
progress by the Network in meeting those needs.
• To provide a forum where specific research and development issues can be
discussed, including Modelling Process. Measurable by: Establishment of active
network with opportunities for personal contacts, and associated online and
paper publications, courses, workshops, seminars and conferences (including
virtual conferencing), and provision of internal documents on methodologies and
data.
• To ensure that reports of research projects are disseminated to industrial
partners and policy-makers, and help industry to use these results in their
design process. Measurable by: Publication and promotion to all involved in the
industry, with guidance workshops provided to professional practitioners.
• The improvement in the advanced analysis and reliability techniques derived
through the Network will be measurable by: Provision of reliability
methodologies to the industry throughout Europe. Acknowledging that the
provision of software tools is less likely to be practicable for many smaller
companies, due to purchase and support costs, the network will aim to provide a
methodology, with worked examples and comparisons from which designers can
write their own computer code.
• To promote better understanding of industry's requirements in the application
of reliability analysis techniques, incorporating advanced structural analysis.
Measurable by: Networking activities to ensure industry has the opportunity to
let researchers know their requirement.
• To enable a common basis for contracting within membership. Measurable by:
Establishment of a common simplified form of contract agreed by members.
• To work in a cohesive manner within Europe. Measurable by: range and number
of joint projects, reports and publications, the establishment of e-working and
long-term virtual links.
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