An Iteration Method for Computation of Flexible Fender Piles

In the designing of the flexible fender pile, M-method is usually adopted. But M-method is usable only in the case that the value of the force (moment M and shear force Q) exerted on the pile above the soil is known. In practical cases, only the percussive energy of the ship can be found, while the exact value of the percussive force cannot be computed directly. In this paper, a method is introduced which can be used to calculate the inner force of flexible fender piles by a computer in these cases. First, according to the known docking dynamic energy of a ship, the absorbed energy can be found from the deformation of the pile and the rubber fender respectively, at the same time the value of the force acting on the fender piles and the reaction of fenders can be calculated. Then the inner force and displacement of the fender piles can also be calculated further by M-method. The whole computing process is realized by a computer program and the results obtained are reasonable. In this paper, the computation, the iteration method and the computer program are all expounded in detail. This method can be applied to the design of fender piles and type selection of rubber fenders in practical projects.