Experimental and probabilistic analysis of pile group under ship impact for protecting nuclear power plants

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Cao, Zhiyang and Huang, Minghan and Zhang, Yuanqiang and Xu, Guoji and Wang, Jinsheng (2026) Experimental and probabilistic analysis of pile group under ship impact for protecting nuclear power plants. Ocean Engineering, 354 (Part 2). 125018. ISSN 0029-8018 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2026.125018)

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Abstract

Increasing attention has been paid to the anti-impact design of interception facilities for nuclear power plants (NPPs), while experimental studies on ship-structure collisions remain limited. This study presents scaled ship-impact experiments to investigate forces on pile-group interception structures. Both direct collision tests (without fenders) and tests with fenders are performed while systematically varying impact velocity, water level, ship displacement, and impact angle. Results show that fenders initially absorb energy but suffer rapid damage at large impact angles, with peak forces exceeding design limits. Sensitivity analysis indicates that peak fender force is strongly governed by impact velocity and impact angle, particularly under high-water-level conditions, due to stiff contact and efficient kinetic energy transfer. For small-angle collisions, ship sliding alters the resultant impact force direction, deviating from the nominal angle. Water level and impact velocity exert a more pronounced effect on impact forces than ship displacement, increasing both peak force and variability through changes in contact location and hydrodynamic added mass. A surrogate model combined with Monte Carlo simulations enables probabilistic analysis of the structural response, showing that bending capacity governs the structural safety, while shear and torsional capacities remain adequate. These findings support optimized pile-design strategies for improved impact resistance.

ORCID iDs

Cao, Zhiyang, Huang, Minghan, Zhang, Yuanqiang, Xu, Guoji and Wang, Jinsheng ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1253-3050;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)