Ship collision performance of a flexible anti-collision device designed with fiber-reinforced rubber composites

This research developed a flexible anti-collision device filled with ceramic pellets, with a thin-walled layer of fiber-reinforced rubber composites, to deal with the frequent incidence of ship-bridge collisions. The compression tests were used to identify the ceramic pellets with a particle size of 10 mm as the inner filling material. The flexible anti-collision devices with thin-walled layer thicknesses of 3 mm and 5 mm underwent static compression and vertical impact tests; the latter showed superior energy absorption ability. Horizontal impact tests of this flexible anti-collision device were conducted on the bridge pier. The flexible anti-collision device had a lowered rate of impact force of 25.23%. The thin-walled layer of this flexible anti-collision device quickly recovered from deformation after a collision. The numerical simulations and parametric analysis were improved and carried out, and the findings of the finite element model (FEM) and test were 15.82% apart. The findings demonstrated that such anti-collision devices could safeguard the bridge pier and the ship bow. The diameter of the device was the key element in lowering the impact force.