Strength Analysis of PV Components on Solar Tanker Based on Fluid-Structure Interaction

Solar energy, as a major source of clean energy, has gradually been applied in ship industry, but it has rarely been used in large transport vessels. This paper takes VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier) as the study object and presents a design scheme of PV (photovoltaic) modules and their supports on the deck of an oil carrier. In accordance with current ship norms and standards, the rocking inertia force and wind pressures acting on both the PV modules and the supports at different wind velocities are computed using the finite element software of Ansys and Fluent, and the simulated wind pressures are compared to the formula-based calculation results. Stress and displacement of the supporting leg in marine environment are calculated and the supports is structurally optimized as well. In the end, a simulation method for checking the strength of the solar-powered oil carrier is presented, and the scheme of adding a knee plate to decrease stress concentration at the intersection of the three tubes of the leg is proposed.