Performance of Buffer Bow Structure against Collision—On the Effect in Preventing Oil Outflow

Abstract

The critical striking velocity (VBcr) and the critical collision angle (θcr) are introduced as the measures to represent the performance level of buffer bow. Those critical events are defined as the threshold whether the inner hull of struck tanker is ruptured or not, and they are determined through a series of finite element method (FEM) simulation analyses. Then the effectiveness of buffer bow is highlighted by focusing on the performance how much the risk of oil outflow is decreased. The risk of oil outflow is represented by "the mean oil outflow," which is derived based on a probabilistic procedure considering possible dangerous collision scenarios. The case study has shown that the probabilistic oil outflow is decreased by about 80% if buffer bow design is adopted to very large crude carrier (VLCC).