STRENGTH OF SHIPS

KEY TO QUESTION PAPER

1(a) Dynamic Forces acting on a ship at sea? (2 Marks)

When a ship is at sea, it will be subjected to six types motions. Three linear
motions and three angular motions. They are (i) Surge, (ii) Sway, (iii) Heave, (iv)
Roll, (v) Pitch, (vi) Yaw.

Due to these motions, forces will be acting on the ship and causing several
stresses such as Hogging, Sagging, Panting, Pounding, Racking and Slamming.

1(b) The Buoyancy Curve. (2 Marks)

When a loaded ship is lying in still water, then the up-thrust at any one metre
length of the ship depends upon the immersed cross-sectional area of the ship
at that point. If the values of up-thrust at different positions along the length of
the ship are plotted on a base representing the ship’s length, a BOUYANCY
CURVE is formed. The typical buoyancy curve looks as indicated in diagram
below.

This buoyancy curve increases from zero at each end to a maximum value in
way of the parallel mid-ship portion. The area of this curve represents the total
up-thrust exerted by the water on the ship
1(c) Strength of Deck Houses? (2 Marks)

The deck houses in other than passenger ships are normally provided with a
length of 15% to 35% of the length of the main hull. Since the deckhouse
acts as an independent spring mass system separated from hull girder, the
deckhouses shall have adequate strength and hence the thickness of
deckhouse plating plays a very important role. When the superstructure is
15%-20% length of main hull, it can be regarded as a relatively long
superstructure. Fully effective superstructure may be obtained with 35%
length of main hull.

1(d) Requirement of ship building quality steels? (2 Marks)

The shipbuilding quality steel is different from other steels used by other
industries. The ship building quality steel is a Mild Steel with the following
general composition. Carbon content shall be less than 0.21%. The chemical
composition of various grades of steel are as follows:

1(e) Head Seas and Oblique Seas? (2 Marks)

When a ship is sailing in the sea, when the waves are coming in the opposite direction
of the direction of ship such a sea is called as Head Sea.

When the waves are coming in the other angles to ship’s direction then it is called as
oblique seas. The angle could be an acute angle or an obtuse angle.

When the angle is an acute angle to the direction of the ship then it is called as bow
quartering sea. When the angle is an obtuse angle then it is called as a stern
quartering sea. When the angle is 90 degree then it is called as a beam sea.
1(f) Distribution of deadweight items. (2 Marks)

Deadweight items are those which are other than the light ship items in a
ship’s total displacement. The deadweight items are such as CARGO that is
carried in a ship, fuel oil, lube oil, fresh water and crew and their effects. In
general the deadweight items have to be distributed throughout the ship for
different loading conditions such that the ship shall be either on even keel or in
an allowed trim position by aft. Care has to be taken for different loading
conditions of the deadweight items and there by the distribution of deadweight
items to be done along the ship by properly arranging the tanks and cargo
holds.
If the ship's structure, equipment, and cargo are distributed unevenly there
may be large point loads into the structure, and if they are distributed
differently from the distribution of buoyancy from displaced water then there
are bending forces on the hull.

1(g) Wave Loads. (2 Marks)

If an incident wave system encounters a body, the disturbed flow pattern

causes a pressure distribution on the body and will therefore introduce a
hydrodynamic forces on the hull. These wave loads induce lot of stresses on
the vessel such as hogging, sagging, panting, pounding, racking, slamming,
whipping and springing etc. Prediction of wave loads is a complex process in
ship designing and generally strip theory can be used for prediction of wave
loads.
2(a) Explain the ship structure distortion theory, limitations and the
theory and the experience. (7 Marks)
The ship structure distortion theory explains how the distortion occurs on
structural members and how the adequate strength to the ship can be given by
a proper distributions of loads and structural members to carry the loads.
In General the hulls of ships are subjected to a number of loads.

 Even when sitting at dockside or at anchor, the pressure of surrounding

water displaced by the ship presses in on its hull.
 The weight of the hull, and of cargo and components within the ship bears
down on the hull.
 Wind blows against the hull, and waves run into it.
 When a ship moves, there is additional hull drag, the force of propellors,
water driven up against the bow.
 When a ship is loaded with cargo, it may have many times its own empty
weight of cargo pushing down on the structure.
If the ship's structure, equipment, and cargo are distributed unevenly there
may be large point loads into the structure, and if they are distributed
differently from the distribution of buoyancy from displaced water then there
are bending forces on the hull.
For carrying the above loads, the ship’s structure shall be properly arranged
with longitudinal framing/transverse framing or a combination framing.
Limitations: The ship structure distortion theory explains the static loads
acting but not adequate explanation given about the wave loads, environmental
loads and other impact loads.
2(b) Explain the use of probability theory in assessment of longitudinal
strength. (7 Marks)

Study of the simple standard longitudinal strength calculation is a generic

phenomenon by which the longitudinal strength assessment be done for the
extreme wave, wind and other environmental conditions that the ship may
encounter in their life time. Whereas, a new approach is to assess the strength
required for extreme conditions based on the probability approach. Under
probability approach, the likelihood that a particular bending moment that the
sea can impose upon the ship will be exceeded etc. will be calculated. This is
called as probability of exceedence and it will be different if it is assessed over
one hour, four hours, oe day or 25 years. Under this probability theory it is to
ensure that there is a comfortably small probability of exceedence of that
bending moment which would cause the ship to fail during its lifetime. For
example with some 30 million or so strain reversals during a lifetime, the
probability of exceedence of the ship’s strength needs to be very small indeed. If
the frequency distribution of applied bending moment is that given figure below
and the ship’s strength is S, then the probability of failure is:
3(a) Explain the dynamic effects on loads acting on hull due to ship
motions and wave action. (7 Marks)

The dynamic effects on loads acting on hull due to ship motions and wave
action are as follows:

During the head seas the ship’s bow will be subjected to up and down motions
and thereby severe pitching. This pitching will lift the fore body of the vessel to
be completely come out of water and there upon falls on the water rapidly,
which is called as SLAMMING.

Due to slamming there will be number of stress that will be developed in the
ship’s structure and they are as follows:

(i) Panting
(ii) Pounding
(iii) Whipping
(iv) Springing

3(b) Explain the plastic theory to ship structures and calculation of plastic
neutral axis and plastic moment. (7 Marks)

In general ship design is based on the "Elastic Theory of Bending" and the
method is to calculate the maximum Stresses which occur, and to then keep
them within the working Stresses in both compression and Tension. These
working Stresses are calculated from the Yield (or ultimate) Stress and a Factor
of Safety. This approach is a little unrealistic since Mild Steel Structures do not
fail when the edge Stress of any cross section reaches the Yield point, and will
continue to withstand the load as long as the central core of the section
remains within the Elastic State.

As the load on a particular beam is gradually increased, the greatest Stresses

will occur at the extreme fibres of the "weakest" section. These outer fibres are
said to be in the plastic state, and any increase in loading will result in a
considerable increase in Strain and hence deflection at that section of the
Beam. There will also be a redistribution of Stress. With Mild Steel this
increase in Strain can take place without the Stress rising above the yield
point. It can therefore be assumed that the Stress in the plastic region is
Constant. When the whole cross section at any point in a structure becomes
Plastic, no further increase in the moment of resistance is possible without
excessive Strain (equivalent to an increase in the Curvature at that section)
and a plastic hinge has been developed; one or more such hinges are required
for a complete collapse.

The number depends upon the type of structure and whether it is, for example,
a simply supported beam, a built-in beam or a rigid frame. The value of the
load required to produce this state is called the Collapse Load, and the ratio of
the Collapse Load to the Working Load is called the Load Factor. In plastic
design this factor is used instead of the normal Factor of Safety.

The following are the assumptions in plastic theory

 That the material exhibits a marked yield and can undergo considerable
Strain at Yield without any further increase in Stress. In effect this limits
the theory to applications using Mild Steels as the material has a drop in
Stress at Yield. The lower yield stress is used in calculations.
 The Yield Stress is the same in Tension and Compression.
 Transverse cross-sections remain plane so that the Strain is proportional
to the distance from the Neutral Axis. However, in the Plastic region the
Stress will remain Constant and is not proportional to the Strain.
 Once a Plastic Hinge has developed at any cross section, the Moment of
Resistance at that point will remain Constant until the collapse of the
whole structure has taken effect. This will only happen when the
required number of Plastic Hinges at other points have developed.
4) a) Explain the ultimate strength of simply supported beam and
fixed end beam and the ultimate longitudinal strength of a ship.

Any Euler Beam theory equations for simply supported beam and fixed ends
beam are acceptable for this answer.

Simple beam bending is often analyzed with the Euler-Bernoulli beam

equation. The conditions for using simple bending theory are:

1. The beam is subject to pure bending. This means that the shear force is
zero, and that no torsional or axial loads are present.
2. The material is isotropic and homogeneous.
3. The material obeys Hooke's law (it is linearly elastic and will not deform
plastically).
4. The beam is initially straight with a cross section that is constant
throughout the beam length.
5. The beam has an axis of symmetry in the plane of bending.
6. The proportions of the beam are such that it would fail by bending rather
than by crushing, wrinkling or sideways buckling.
7. Cross-sections of the beam remain plane during bending.

It is useless to make one part very strong if an adjacent part which has to
resist the same stress is weak. Hence, it is important to maintain structural
continuity. When material has to be cut away, compensations must be made to
preserve continuity of strength. Square corners should be avoided as far as
possible since it has been found that these are always a source of weakness.
Parts which are very strong compared to the neighboring parts should not be
ended suddenly, as there would be a tendency for them to tear away where

they end. They should be gradually tapered off 逐漸變細 and merge into the

weaker parts.
Stiffness and strength are two of the most commonly confused terms in the
ship structural , and many people use them interchangeably. But these are two
different things, and building the best-performing ship requires knowing the
difference.
Strength: A measure of the maximum load that can be placed on a material
before it permanently deforms or breaks. Engineers often use this as yield
stress, σy, as a measure of a material's strength.

Stiffness: A measure of the amount of deflection that a load causes in a

material. Engineers use a value called Young's modulus, E, for stiffness.

For more clarity in understanding, consider a piece of rubber surgical tubing

has very low stiffness because it deflects a lot under load, but it is relatively
strong. A piece of glass filament is the opposite — it deflects very little under
load but might not carry a huge load before it breaks.

4b) What is the need for hatches and other openings in a ship? Discuss
their effect on strength of ships.

The hatches are required for a ship for ease in operation of the cargo loading
and unloading in general cargo ships and bulk carriers etc. But, due to such
large openings in the deck plates the strength of the plate and as such the
strength of the ship automatically reduces. In order gain the strength of the
ship, these hatch opening are to be provide with compensated structures with
deep beams and stiffeners right round the hatch openings.

The following sketch indicates the mid ship section through a bulk carrier
giving the hatch opening and right round compensated structure for that. In
the bulk carriers the following considerations will be provided.

i. Large, clear holds without tween deck – to load and discharge cargo quickly
ii. Large hatches with steel covers for safety
iii. Engine place aft
iv. Topside tank – enable water ballast to be carried high up to reduce GM
v. Sloping side tanks at the bilge – assist in handling bulk cargo since it helps
the self-trimming of cargo
After sufficient structural compensation, the hatch openings are to be provided
with hatch covers. There are different types of hatch covers which are patent
steel covers, which are manufactured by MacGregor Grou AB and TTS Marine
ASA. These hatch covers will comply with the requirements outlined by the
International Conference of Load Lines 1966 and are in accordance with the
requirements of the Classification Societies. Depending on the means of
securing the hatch covers there are different categories of these hatch covers.

(i) Single Pull covers : These hatch covers are those which can be opened
or closed by built in electric motors in the leading cover panel which
drives the chain wheels, one on each outboard side of the panels.
 (ii) Folding Hatch Covers: These hatch covers may be of direct pull type
where suitable lifting gear is carried onboard or can be opened or
closed by externally mounted hydraulic cylinders activating.the
leading panels.

(iii) PIGGY Back Covers: Piggy back covers permit horizontal stowage of
panels avoiding fouling of lifting devices particularly in way of very
large openings such as on bulk carriers and container ships where
the hatch need only be partially open for working. These covers
consist of the dumb panel which is raised by hhigh lift cylinders and
motorized panels which is rolled underneath the dumb panel.

(iv) PONTOON hatch covers: Pontoon hatch covers are commonly used
on container ships being lifted by the ships or shore cranes with the
container spreader. They are closed watertight ina similar manner to
the other patent covers.

(v) SINGLE rolling type: Single rolling type are very common on large
bulk carriers and can operate on similar way with hydraulic pull but
will be closed and opened through rollers.

5(A) Explain the need and selection of steels for low temperature
application in a ship. (7 Marks)

An utmost care is to be taken while selecting the materials for low temperature
applications. In low temperature applications the steels fail because of brittle
fracture even before reaching the elastic limit. Particularly the steels used for
hull construction shall withstand the subdue temperatures of less than 0 deg
centigrade.

When selecting steel for low-temperature applications, it is important to keep in

mind that low temperatures can adversely affect the tensile toughness of many
commonly-used engineering materials. Tensile toughness is a measure of a
material’s brittleness or ductility; it is often estimated by calculating the area
beneath the stress-strain curve. Ductile materials absorb significant amounts
of impact energy before fracturing, resulting in tell-tale deformations. Brittle
materials, on the other hand, tend to shatter on impact. In general, materials
with high ductility (i.e. a tendency to deform before fracturing) and high
strength have good tensile toughness. However, depending on the material,
tensile toughness can be very sensitive to temperature changes. Many
materials experience a shift from ductile to brittle behaviour if the temperature
is lowered below a certain point. The temperature at which this shift occurs
varies from material to material. It is sometimes defined as the temperature at
which the material absorbs 15 ft*lb of impact energy during fracture. It is
commonly known as the “ductile-to-brittle-transition” temperature (DBTT), the
“nil-ductility transition” temperature, or the “15 ft*lb transition” temperature.

If not properly chosen, then the weld joints between the steel plates will be
opened up and cracks may develop and will propagate entire length of weld and
thereby the entire ship will be separated into parts. The carbon content in the
steel shall be less than normal steels. It shall be less than 0.21%, otherwise
this will lead to brittle fracture.

All ship building quality steels such as Lloyd’s Grade-A, Grade-B, Grade-D or
Grade-E steels and all high strength steels such as AH36, DH36 and EH-36
etc., can be used for low temperature applications.
5(b) What is three moments theorem and how do you see it for ship
structures. (7 Marks)

In ship structural design, the Clapeyron's theorem of three moments is a relationship among the
bending moments at three consecutive supports of a horizontal beam.

Let A,B,C be the three consecutive points of support, and denote by l the length of AB by the
length of BC, by w and the weight per unit of length in these segments. Then the bending
[1]

moments at the three points are related by:

This equation can also be written as [2]

where a1 is the area on the bending moment diagram due to vertical loads on AB, a2 is the
area due to loads on BC, x1 is the distance from A to the centroid of the bending moment
diagram of beam AB, x2 is the distance from C to the centroid of the area of the bending
moment diagram of beam BC.

The second equation is more general as it does not require that the weight of each segment
be distributed uniformly.

6(a) What are discontinuities in a ship structures and explain the

problems arising due to them with diagrams. (7 Marks)

Due to poor structural design, there may be several types of discontinuities

that will be formed in ship’s structure. The general discontinuities that are
mostly observed are as follows:

Ends of superstructure: When the poop deck, and forecastle and the
accommodation superstructure. When seen from the profile view, these
structures are sudden elevations in the profile of a ship. The effect of stress
concentration here, is in addition to the maximum bending moment at the
midship region, therefore making it highly prone to failure.

fig2

Ends of Longitudinal Girders: The girders that run longitudinally along the length of
the ship, for example the centre girder, and the side girders, are to be terminated at the
fore and aft perpendiculars.

Deck Openings and other openings: A ship, in general, is always characterised by a

deck opening. Every deck opening is basically a hole cut within a steel plate, be it in the
form of a manhole, or a hatch opening. discontinuities can appear in a ship structure.

Special Case- Container Ships: A special case arises in case of container ships,
which are equipped with torsion boxes. Due to a fine hull form, it gets difficult to taper
the cross sectional areas of the torsion boxes in the aft and for’d regions, thus giving
rise to severe structural discontinuity.

Design methodologies to reduce structural discontinuities

It is by now evident, that discontinuities in ship structures are unavoidable, but they can
certainly be reduced to considerable limits. So it’s time we discuss a few interesting
ways the industry has adopted to reduce the effect of discontinuities:
6(b) What are the different boundary conditions and how thin plate theory
useful to solve problems. (7 Marks)

In continuum mechanics, plate theories are mathematical descriptions of the

mechanics of flat plates that draws on the theory of beams. Plates are defined
as plane structural elements with a small thickness compared to the planar
dimensions. The typical thickness to width ratio of a plate structure is less
than 0.1.
A plate theory takes advantage of this disparity in length scale to reduce the
full three-dimensional solid mechanics problem to a two-dimensional problem.
The aim of plate theory is to calculate the deformation and stresses in a plate
subjected to loads.
Of the numerous plate theories that have been developed since the late 19th
century, two are widely accepted and used in engineering. These are

 the Kirchhoff theory of plates (classical plate theory)

 The Mindlin–Reissner theory of plates (first-order shear plate theory)
The Kirchhoff–Love theory is an extension of Euler–Bernoulli beam theory to
thin plates. It is assumed that a mid-surface plane can be used to represent
the three-dimensional plate in two-dimensional form.The following kinematic
assumptions that are made in this theory.

 straight lines normal to the mid-surface remain straight after deformation

 straight lines normal to the mid-surface remain normal to the mid-surface
after deformation
 the thickness of the plate does not change during a deformation.

7 (a) How do you alter the buckling stress of ship plate by use of
longitudinal and transverse stiffness? Explain with diagrams. (7 Marks)

A "plate" is a solid body bounded by two surfaces. The distance between the
two surfaces defines the thickness of the plate, which is assumed to be small
compared to the lateral dimensions.

Membrane and Plates have basic differences in structural behaviour.

Membrane sustains transverse loading using in-plane stresses. While plates
sustain loading using bending stresses. 1-D analogous examples are difference
between a thread/cable and beam. If the bending stiffness of the plate is
reduced to zero, it will act like a membrane with due consideration of boundary
conditions.

When the ship’s strength is assessed, it has been common to consider three
strengths, which are longitudinal strength, transverse strength and local
strength. Among these, longitudinal strength, that is hull girder strength, is the
most fundamental and important strength to ensure the safety of a ship
structure and to avoid the buckling stress of a ship plate.

vi. Transverse system – closely spaced transverse frames to hold the planks
together so that the seams could be caulked. It provides considerable
transverse strength to resist the racking stress. Mostly for small ship and
sailing ships
vii. Longitudinal system – has longitudinal frame at the bottom, sides and
decks, supported by widely spaced transverse web. Strong longitudinal
strength resists hogging and sagging stresses for long ships.
viii. Combination system – longitudinal frames in the bottom and strength
deck, transverse frames on the ship side where longitudinal stresses are
smaller. Plate floor and transverse beams are fitted at intervals to give
transverse strength.
Most of the time the buckling stresses on a plate can be avoided by providing
the combination system.

7(b) Discuss modeling of a ship hull girder as a beam with diagram.

(7 Marks)

Hull girders are very important components in ship structures, and therefore
they should be designed for a set of failure modes that govern their strength.
The modes of failures can be classified to produce two distinct strength and
serviceability limit states. Strength limit states are based on safety
consideration or ultimate load-carrying capacity of the hull girders and they
include plastic strengths, buckling, and permanent deformation.

After modeling a simple Euler-Beam theory can be applied and resolved.

8 (a) Explain the distribution of deadweight items with relevance to
weight and buoyancy curves.

Deadweight items are those which are other than the light ship items in a
ship’s total displacement. The deadweight items are such as CARGO that is
carried in a ship, fuel oil, lube oil, fresh water and crew and their effects. In
general the deadweight items have to be distributed throughout the ship for
different loading conditions such that the ship shall be either on even keel or in
an allowed trim position by aft. Care has to be taken for different loading
conditions of the deadweight items and there by the distribution of deadweight
items to be done along the ship by properly arranging the tanks and cargo
holds. If the ship's structure, equipment, and cargo are distributed unevenly
there may be large point loads into the structure, and if they are distributed
differently from the distribution of buoyancy from displaced water then there
are bending forces on the hull.

Buoyancy Curve: The up-thrust at any one metre length of the ship depends
upon the immersed cross-sectional area of the ship at that point. If the values
of up-thrust at different positions along the length of the ship are plotted on a
base representing the ship’s length, a BOUYANCY CURVE is formed.

This curve increases from zero at each end to a maximum value in way of the
parallel mid-ship portion. The area of this curve represents the total up-thrust
exerted by the water on the ship.

Weight Curve: The weight curve starts and finishes at the extremes of the
ship’s structure

The buoyancy or the weight along the length of the ship need not be uniform.
At various points along the ship’s length there may be an excess of buoyancy or
an excess of weight.

Hence: Difference (weight-buoyancy) = resultant load

Below figure indicates both Buoyancy Curve and Weight curves on a single
base.
8(b) Briefly explain hogging and sagging of a ship in motion and what are
its conditions.

When a ship is sailing on waves, different types of stresses will be developed

due to the wave loads on the ship. Among them the most common ones are the
hogging and sagging.

HOGGING

When the peak of a wave is amidships, causing the hull to bend so the ends of the keel
are lower than the middle. The opposite of sagging.

In other words, when there is a wave with crest at the middle and troughs at the ends
of the ship, then the keel will be under compression and deck will in alongation as
shown in the figure. This is called the Hogging Condition.

SAGGING:

When the trough of a wave is amidships, causing the hull to deflect so the ends of the
keel are higher than the middle. The opposite of hogging.

In other words, when there is a wave with trough at the middle and crests at the ends,
then the deck plating tries to compress and keel will be subjected to elongation. This
condition is called as Sagging. See figure below.