5. Design and calculation of marine structures

5.1 Introduction

The design and calculation of marine structures must satisfy the general criteria for structural design, i.e. :

• strength: the structure must maintain its integrity, both under the action of exceptional loads and in fatigue under the normal stresses experienced in nominal use (figure 20 a);

• deformation (figure 20 b) to meet the specifications for use. For example, a multihull platform must be stiff enough to transmit the propulsive forces of the sails without loss of energy,...