Wind-Load Response and Evacuation Efficiency Analysis of Marine Evacuation Inflatable Slide

Abstract

Flexible inflatable membrane structure has the characteristics of light weight, large span, and small stiffness, and it is very sensitive to wind load. Aiming at the dynamic response of marine evacuation inflatable slides under complex and changeable wind loads at sea, the response law of the inflatable slide under different wind directions, wind speeds, and internal pressure conditions is studied by using fluid–solid coupling theory. The most dangerous conditions of evacuation system installation and the ideal internal pressure of the inflatable slide meeting the stability requirements are deduced. The LS-DYNA module is used to simulate the inflation process of the slide. The evacuation sliding is rationally simplified. By changing the inflatable internal pressure of the slide, the variation law of displacement, deformation, and sliding speed of the slide is obtained, and the optimal inflation internal pressure satisfying the evacuation efficiency requirement is obtained. The results show that the inflow wind direction angle of 30° is the most dangerous condition for slideway installation, and the internal pressure of 4000 Pa is the ideal internal pressure to meet the double standards of stability and evacuation efficiency. The numerical results obtained are valuable for analyzing wind resistance of offshore inflatable membrane structures and their practical design and application in evacuation systems.