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Note: MOPS

Abstract: Nowadays many shipyards have their own floating docks for both new buildings and repairs. In view of all the challenging projects these days, many yards have to produce designs which are close to or even beyond the structural limits of their docking facilities. This paper presents a first principle based method to calculate the key numeric values to extend the scope of application of floating docks and platforms. The method calculates the hydrostatic stable equilibrium of the interacting bodies for selected floating situations. The subsequent structural calculations results in the block force distribution by applying the deformations method. In the process the load redistribution of the non-linear wood layers is calculated and the righting levers of the keel blocks are displayed. Moreover the deflection lines of ship and dock are presented. In the case of high deflections of the platform the deflection line is considered in the hydrostatic calculations. The modified buoyancy distribution is then included in the structural calculations. The described method provides a useful tool to minimize local and global stresses and deformations of the interacting bodies during the docking procedure by fast optimization of the block system arrangement and the ballasting sequences. Different applications to docking sequences have been calculated and are presented in the paper. For validation, measurements on a full-scale docking process have been done.