Front Panel Design
How to design the front panel?
The main function of front panel is to distribute the reaction forces from fenders units into the ship’s hull, so the design should be suit each individual berth. The loads and stress loads exert to front panel will depend on many factors- the type of ship, berthing mode, characteristic of the rubber fender and tidal range etc. The design of front panel should meet the following requirements:
- Resistance to bending moments and shear forces
- Resistance to impact on part
- There is no deflection on front panel and face pad during the compression
- Suitable corrosion protection for intended environment
What’s the structure type of front panel?
The front panel structure includes open style and closed style. The open style consists of steel pad, H steel and across steel. Closed style consists of steel pad, back steel and H steel.
How to decide the dimension of the front panel?
The following requirement should be considered in the design
Therefore if the allowable surface is known, the dimension of the front panel can be determined.
The allowed hull pressure can be obtained from the following table if it’s not available in design
| Ship pattern | Allowed hull pressure |
|---|---|
| General oil tanker | 250-350KN/m² |
| Coastal tanker | 150-250KN/m² |
| Bulk ship | 150-250KN/m² |
| Panamax container ships | 300-400KN/m² |
| Sub-panamax container ships | 400-500KN/m² |
| 250-350KN/m²General cargo ship | 300-600KN/m² |
| Gas carrier | 100-200KN/m² |
