Minimizing Environmental Risk in the Buckling Analysis of U-Core Stiffened Sandwich Panels on Ship Deck Structures

Abstract With the increasing demands for efficiency and safety in the maritime industry, various structural innovations continue to be developed to enhance overall ship performance. The deck structure, as one of the primary components of a ship, plays a crucial role in withstanding operational and environmental loads during voyages. One common issue that arises is the buckling phenomenon in stiffened panels, which can lead to a loss of structural stiffness and compromise the ship’s overall integrity. Therefore, the development of lightweight structural alternatives that maintain buckling resistance has become a focus in modern design, one of which involves the application of specialized sandwich panels with cores such as U-beam corrugated cores. This study aims to analyze the behaviour of sandwich panels under axial loads, examine the effect of varying core heights on critical buckling loads (P cr ), and evaluate weight efficiency compared to conventional panels. The analysis was conducted numerically using the finite element method, with two variations of core geometry. The P cr values were compared with the ultimate load (F ult ) to assess stability, and the structural weight was calculated based on material volume and density. The results indicate that all variations of sandwich panels exhibit P cr values higher than F ult , meaning the structure does not experience buckling under maximum loading conditions. Increasing the core height leads to a more than twofold rise in P cr compared to the lowest variation. Additionally, the sandwich panels were found to be up to 29% lighter than conventional stiffened panels while maintaining structural strength. Thus, the strength-to-weight efficiency can be significantly improved through this configuration.