Comparison of stochastic stability boundaries for parametrically forced systems with application to ship rolling motion

Abstract Numerous accidents caused by parametric rolling have been reported on container ships and pure car carriers (PCCs). Considering this dangerous phenomenon, the parametric rolling in irregular seas is examined in this paper based on the stability of the systems origin, which corresponds to the upright condition of the vessel. It provides a novel theoretical explanation of the instability mechanism for two cases: white-noise parametric excitation and colored-noise parametric excitation. Moreover, the authors confirm the usefulness of the previously provided formulae by Roberts and Dostal by means of numerical examples.