Structural Design Assessment (SDA)

ShipRight procedures are a comprehensive system of procedures aimed at ensuring high standards of safety, quality and reliability at the design stage and during construction. These procedures also extend, via Linked Supporting Services, to ensure that these standards are met through the operational lifetime of the ship.

Structural Design Assessment (SDA) procedures

These procedures are mandatory, in addition to plan approval requirements, for new LNG and LPG carriers, new container ships and passenger ships depending on size and configuration, and other new ships where the ship type, size and structural arrangement demand. This includes new oil tanker and bulk carrier configurations over 190 metres in length for which the Common Structural Rules are not applicable. In this procedure, the adequacy of primary hull structural members is assessed by comparing applied stress levels and buckling capabilities with permissible values. The structural assessment is carried out using a three dimensional finite element model of a representative length of the ship's hull. This is supplemented by more detailed finite element models where considered necessary to investigate areas of localised higher stress.