Study on ship hull deformation at shaft bearing supports under different waves

Hull deformation is one important contributor to the bearing offset disturbances which may relate to the accuracy of shaft alignment. Also, it directly affects the overall performance of propulsion shafting system to a large extent. Therefore, the ability to account for hull deformations in an early design stage is of utmost importance. In this article, a finite element model of a 300,000DWT VLCC was built and hull deformations at shaft supports under different waves were calculated in a full load operation. Results were analyzed in preparation for further shaft alignment and vibration research.