The present paper is Part Ⅰ of a series of three papers prepared by the authors on the methods useful for ultimate limit state assessment of marine structures, that have been developed in the literature during the last few decades. It is considered that such methods are now mature enough to enter day-by-day design and strength assessment practice. The aims of the three papers are to conduct some benchmark studies of such methods on ultimate limit state assessment of (unstiffened) plates, stiffened panels, and hull girders of ships and ship-shaped offshore structures, using some candidate methods such as ANSYS nonlinear finite element analysis (FEA), DNV PULS, ALPS/ULSAP, ALPS/HULL, and IACS common structural rules (CSR) methods. As an illustrative example, an AFRAMAX-class hypothetical double hull oil tanker structure designed by CSR method is studied. In the present paper (Part Ⅰ), the ultimate limit state assessment of unstiffened plates under combined biaxial compression and lateral pressure loads is emphasized using ANSYS, DNV PULS, and ALPS/ULSAP methods, and their resulting computations are compared. Part Ⅱ will deal with methods for the ultimate limit state assessment of stiffened panels under combined biaxial compression and lateral pressure using ANSYS, DNV PULS, and ALPS/ ULSAP methods, and Part Ⅲ will treat methods for the progressive collapse analysis of the hull structure using ANSYS, ALPS/HULL, and IACS CSR methods.
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