In 1994 the International Maritime Organization adopted the Code of Safety
for High-Speed Craft (HSC Code). After two years of use, several shortfalls
were found, one being the damage length predictor, which is based on tradi
tional steel, mono-hulled vessels. Other damage predictors were developed b
ased on historical data, but they do not account for variables such as alum
inum or fiberglass construction, transverse members, indenter geometry vari
ation, or for the case where the vessel comes to rest on the grounding obje
ct. This paper proposes a damage prediction model based on material propert
ies, structural layout, grounding object geometry, and vessel speed. The mo
del incorporates four grounding mechanisms: plate cutting, plate tearing, c
rushing of plate behind transverse members, and transverse member failure.
The method is used to determine the resistance energy, compared to the kine
tic energy, of the vessel, to determine an effective damage length. Finite-
element analysis was used to model the failure of both aluminum and steel t
ransverse members with significant differences in the results. It was found
that the transverse members provided the majority of the resistance energy
in one grounding mechanism and negligible resistance energy in another.