This paper proposes a design strategy of a hydro-structural model considering the vertical-bending and torsional vibration mode shapes. A ship with large opening decks, such as a container ship, has its shear center below its bottom hull. In the proposed design strategy, such a shear center location is achieved for a ship model by imparting appropriate stiffness to its hull.

We built a box-shaped model, whose length was 2 m, with urethane foam and polyethylene resin based on the proposed design strategy. A three-point bending test, a torsion test, and a decay test of the model were conducted to investigate its elastic properties. The vertical-bending and torsional moments were estimated from the strains measured with gauges based on the fiber Bragg grating (FBG) technology. The validation of the test results with finite element simulations revealed that the elastic responses were successfully measured using the model designed based on the proposed strategy with the FBG strain gauges.