Design and Optimization of an Additional Structure Integrated with a Floating Dock

An additional structural platform was designed to extend the operational length of a 49.90 m floating pontoon used as a wet cradle barge during ship launching operations at Tersan Shipyard. Instead of increasing the main pontoon volume, a modular additional structure was developed to reduce material usage and overall cost while ensuring structural safety. Within the scope of the study, the additional structure was modeled at full scale using Rhinoceros software. St37 structural steel with a yield strength of 241 MPa was selected as the construction material. The structure consists of two main sections with dimensions of 4000 mm × 4500 mm. Finite element analyses were conducted using the Rhinoceros Scan and Solve module under three different loading and boundary conditions, representing a design compression load of 250 tons occurring during stern launching operations. The analysis results indicated maximum Von Mises stress values of 167.5 MPa, 159.8 MPa, and 172.3 MPa, with corresponding maximum displacements of 15.99 mm, 12.51 mm, and 19.22 mm. All stress values remained below the yield strength of the selected material. Based on the obtained results, it was concluded that the designed additional structure satisfies strength and safety requirements and can be safely integrated with the floating pontoon for ship launching operations.