| Summary: | It has been determined that current stern ramp designs lack adequate structural integrity during Sea State Three roll-on, roll-off (RORO) operations. Therefore, passive isolation between the stern ramp and the roll-on, roll-off discharge facility (RRDF) is being investigated as a means of reducing ramp stress levels. A coupled hydro-structural simulation model of the combined ship- ramp-RRDF is under development in order to evaluate candidate isolator technologies. This thesis documents a thorough study of several stern ramp finite element models in order to ascertain the suitability of these models for use in the simulation model. Additionally, an experimental facility is being developed to simulate, at model scale, RORO operations. This thesis also documents the finite element analysis and experimental modal analysis of the primary structural components of the facility, specifically the scale model stern ramp and its support.
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