UNIT- IV:

2-MARKS-

1. Define Buoyancy.

Buoyancy is the force that causes objects to float. It is the force exerted on an
object that is partly or wholly immersed in a fluid. Buoyancy is caused by the
differences in pressure acting on opposite sides of an object immersed in a static
fluid. It is also known as the buoyant force. Buoyancy is the phenomena due to
Buoyant Force.

The upward force applied by the fluid on the object or the body when an object is
put in or submerged in the fluid.

2. State Law of flotation.

The Law of Flotation says that for a floating object, the weight of the object equals
the weight of the liquid displaced by the object. We prove this by using
Archimedes' Principle with Newton's Second law applied to an object in
equilibrium (floating).

3. Write short notes on mass displacement.

• Mass displacement is the weight of the water equivalent to the immersed

volume of the hull. This is the equivalent mass of the water displaced by
the hull.
• Therefore, displacement is the total weight of the vessel equal to the
water it displaces.
• Displacement = lightship + dead weight

= + ᵨ
Where,

= mass displacement

= volume displacement

ᵨ = density

4. What is Volume displacement?

• Volume displacement is the volume of the vessel which is equal the

volume of the water displaced.
• It is expressed in cubic meters(m3)
• Volume of displacement is the volume of the water displaced by the hull.
 • Volume displacement = L*B*T*CB
Where,
L= length overall
B= breadth (beam usually taken at waterline)
T= draft/depth
CB= block coefficient

5. State and derive the relationship between CB,CP and CM.

• BLOCK COEFFICIENT CB = Volume of displacement ÷ Volume of the block

Block Coefficient (Cb) = Volume of displacement ÷ ( L x B x draft)
∴ Volume of displacement = L x B x draft x Cb

• MIDSHIP COEFFICIENT CM = Area of Immersed Midship Section (Am) ÷

(Breadth x Draught)
Hence,
Am = B x d x Cm
• PRISMATIC COEFFICIENT CP = Volume of ship ÷ Volume of prism
= Volume of ship ÷ (L x Am)
Volume of Ship = L x Am x Cp
Note that Cp is always slightly higher than Cb at each waterline.
Their relation:
Cm x Cp = [Am ÷ (B x d)] x [Volume of ship ÷ (L x Am)]
= Volume of ship ÷ (L x B x d)
= Cb
Cm x Cp = Cb
or
Cp = Cb ÷ Cm

6. What is KG?

The vertical distance (along the ship’s centerline) between the keel and the center
of gravity is expressed as ‘KG’, as shown in Figure.
7. Write short notes about Metacentre.

• Refer to the following figure to understand that when a ship heels to any
angle, a portion of the lower side of the ship is now submerged, and a
portion of the hull from the upper side emerges out of the water.
• This can be noticed by visualizing the hull when the waterline was WL
(without heel), and when the waterline was changed to W1L1 (after heel).

• Due to this shift of submerged volume, there is a shift of the center of

buoyancy from the centerline to the side that is lower after the heel. The
new position of center of buoyancy is illustrated as B1.
• If a vertical line is extended from the new center of buoyancy, then the
point at which this line meets the centerline of the ship, is called the
transverse metacenter (shown as ‘M’) of the ship.

8. State Archimedes Principle.

Archimedes’ principles state’s that when an object is immersed in a liquid partially

or completely it looses the weight equal to the weight of displaced liquid or
upthrust acting on it, i.e.

loss of weight in liquid = weight of displaced liquid = up thrust

Archimedes principle can be written in mathematical format as follows:

F=ᵨ*g*
Where,

F= magnitude of resultant buoyant force in kg.m/s2

ᵨ= density of the fluid in kg/m3

g= acceleration due to gravity m/s2

= volume of the fluid displaced by the object in m3

16-MARKS

1. Briefly explain how weight is distributed in ship.

• Determination of the longitudinal weight distribution is vital to the proper

calculation of the longitudinal strength of a ship. The longitudinal weight
distribution also affects speed loss in a seaway .
• Weight distributions of all three principal axes can also be used to
calculate the ship’s gyradii which have a profound effect on the
seakeeping performance of a vessel. Before the advent of computers,
determination of a ship’s weight distribution was a “rather laborious
process” .
• Due to the amount of labor involved, approximation methods were
developed over the years. With the advent of computers, methods of
collecting all of the weights with centers between given locations became
less labor intensive giving rise to grouping methods.
• For longitudinal strength calculations, various levels of detail are
acceptable. However, the standard is a “Twenty Station Weight
Distribution” which actually consists of 22 weight segments divided by 21
stations, (Stations 0 through 20).
• Weight distributions are needed for numerous uses however weight data
is stored in databases as large numbers of discrete details. These details
are essentially lumped masses and can represent items which extend for
large portions of the length of the vessel.
• The traditional response to the need for weight distributions is to use a
stock approximation appropriate for the ship type and improve it by
distributing the large weight items separately. After the computer
revolutionized the storing of weight data, the goal of assigning individual
weight items to each station of the weight distribution began to be
feasible leading to the grouping methods.

• However, even highly detailed weight databases often use weight details
which are too long longitudinally for such methods to be wholly effective.
 • This gave rise to the goal of distributing each weight record and then
combining these distributions. Realization of this goal requires inclusion of
the extents of each weight record in the database.
• Unfortunately the extents are not always included for a multitude of
reasons. It also explains a summary based method which enables the user
to use the same weight distribution techniques proposed for the detail
distribution method with a database which does not contain all of the
data necessary to distribute individual details

2. Discuss in detail about the weight distribution methods employed in

ship design.

• Approximation Methods –
Numerous approximation methods for distributing hull weight have been
proposed in the past. Hull weight is traditionally defined as lightship
minus the weight of the anchor, chain, anchor handling gear, steering
gear and main propulsion machinery. Determination of the exact
breakdown of hull weight should be made based on the relative density of
the object in question. Items left out of hull weight should be
independently distributed as rectangles or trapezoids and combined with
the hull weight distribution to determine the total weight distribution for
the ship.
• Grouping Methods-
The original grouping method is the “Bucket” method. The “Bucket”
method derives its name from the fact that the weight details are
metaphorically placed in buckets based on the location of their
longitudinal center of gravity. If a line item’s longitudinal center of gravity
falls in the extents of a bucket, it is included in that bucket. However,
most other weights that belong in multiple buckets remain uncorrected.
Distributed systems such as piping, electrical and ventilation systems
often have weight records that have extents that span multiple stations.
Thus the accuracy of this method is limited.
• Direct Distribution Methods
1. General Philosophy of Distribution:
o The approach that offers the most promise is distributing the
individual weight records directly. The distribution of each weight
record can then be summed to determine the weight distribution
of the entire ship at a fairly high level of fidelity. This whole ship
distribution can then be used to create any representation of the
weight distribution, such as the Twenty Station Weight
Distribution.
2. Mechanics of Distribution:
o The fundamental representative shape of direct distribution
methods is the trapezoid. Representing a weight record as a
trapezoid requires knowing the weight, the longitudinal extents,
and the longitudinal center of the weight being represented.
 • Conclusion

Approximate methods can be useful in concept exploration and still have much to
recommend them for early stage feasibility analysis. However, the improved
direct method and its summary simplifications presented in this paper have
attained a functionality that allows for far greater accuracy with a minimal
increase in effort even at very early stages of design. Thus it is recommended that
such approaches be used universally. Grouping methods such as the “Bucket” and
station methods of weight distribution have been superseded by direct and
summary methods of distribution. It is recommended that weight databases for
new ship designs conform to the requirements for direct weight distribution as
this would allow for rapid preparation of weight distributions on a regular basis
through the ship design.

3. Explain in detail about the procedure to draw a buoyancy curve with

neat sketch.

CURVE OF BUOYANCY OF A
FLOATING BODY

• Consider a floating body in vertical force balance that is slowly rotated

about a horizontal axis normal to one of its vertical symmetry planes. Let
us take the center of gravity, , which necessarily lies in this plane, as
the origin of a coordinate system that is fixed with respect to the body. as
the body rotates, the locus of its center of buoyancy, , as seen in the
fixed reference frame, appears to traces out a curve, , in the plane
of symmetry. This curve is known as the curve of buoyancy.
• Let represent the radial distance from the origin, , to some
point, , on the curve of buoyancy. Note that the tangent to the curve
of buoyancy is always orientated horizontally

• Thus, the difference in vertical height, , between the center of

gravity and the center of buoyancy is equal to the perpendicular

distance, , between and the tangent to the curve of buoyancy

at . An equilibrium configuration therefore corresponds to a
 maximum or a minimum of as point moves along the curve of

buoyancy. However, the equilibrium is only stable if is minimized.

If is the radius of curvature of the curve of buoyancy then, according
to a standard result in differential calculus (Lamb 1928),

(2.50)

Writing this result in the form

(2.51)

• it can be seen that maxima and minima of , which are the points on

the curve of buoyancy where , correspond to the points

where , and are, thus, coincident with maxima and minima
of . In other words, an equilibrium configuration corresponds to a point
of maximum or minimum on the curve of buoyancy: that is, a point at

which meets the curve at right-angles. At such a point, ,

and the potential energy consequently takes the value .

BEAM OF SQUARE CROSS- SECTION

FLOATING WITH TWO CORNERS IMMERSED
 • Let be a point on the curve of buoyancy, and let , ,

and be the corresponding values of , , and . For

neighboring points on the curve, we can write

(2.52)

or

(2.53)

• It follows that has the same sign

as (because and are both positive). [The fact

that is positive (i.e., ) follows from the previously

established result that the metacenter, which is the center of curvature of
the curve of buoyancy, always lies above the center of buoyancy, implying
that the curve of buoyancy is necessarily concave upwards.] Hence, the

minima and maxima of occur simultaneously with those of .

• Consequently, a stable equilibrium configuration corresponds to a point
of minimum on the curve of buoyancy: that is, a minimum in the
distance between the center of gravity and the center of buoyancy.
• We can use the previous result to determine the stable equilibrium
configurations for a beam of square cross-section, and uniform specific
gravity , that floats with its length horizontal. In order to achieve this
goal, we must calculate the distance for all possible configurations
of the beam that are in vertical force balance. However, we need only

consider cases where , for every stable equilibrium

configuration with there is a corresponding stable

inverted configuration with , and vice versa.

4. Briefly Explain how will you calculate the volume and VCB of a ship

by using Bonjean curve.

HYDROSTATIC CURVES

For a given loading condition the draughts at which a ship will float are
determined by:
• the geometry of the ship;
• the distribution of weights within the ship; and
• the density of the water in which the ship is floating. Standard mass densities
used are 1.025 tonne/m3 for salt water and 1.000 tonne/m3 for fresh water.
• From the form of the ship, the volume of displacement up to any
waterplane, and the corresponding vertical position of the centre of
buoyancy (VCB) can be calculated by using the waterplane areas and
Simpson’s rules to obtain the volume and taking moments about the keel
up to that draught.
• In a similar way, the immersed area of each transverse section up to each
waterplane can be found. By integrating along the length and taking
moments the volume of displacement and position of the longitudinal
centre of buoyancy (LCB) can be found. A curve of the area of any cross-
section to various draughts plotted against draught is useful in a number
of calculations. It is known as a Bonjean curve.
5. Discuss in detail how ships weight is supported by up thrust force

acting on ship with help of a neat sketch.

• The hull girder feels vertical forces due to weight and buoyancy.
• For any floating body the total weight must equal the total buoyancy, and
both forces must act along the same line of action.
• However, at each location along the ship, the weight will not normally
equal the buoyancy.
• The weights are set by the combination of lightship and cargo weights.
• The locations of the weights are fixed (more or less).
• The buoyancy forces are determined by the shape of the hull and the
location of the vessel in the water (draft and trim).
• The net buoyancy will adjust itself until is exactly counteracts the net
weight force.
• However, this does not mean that each part of the vessel has a balance of
weight and buoyancy.
• Local segments of the vessel may have more or less weight than the local
buoyancy.
• The difference will be made up by a transfer of shear forces along the
vessel.
• the buoyant force is the upward force exerted on an object that is wholly
or partly immersed in a fluid. This upward force is also called as Upthrust.
It is due to the buoyant force that a body submerged partially or wholly in
a fluid appears to lose its weight i.e. appears to be lighter.
 • An object whose density is greater than that of the fluid in which it is
submerged tends to sink. If the object is either less dense than the liquid
or is shaped appropriately (as in a boat), the force can keep the object
afloat. In terms of relative density, if the relative density of a substance is
less than one it floats in water and substances with a relative density
greater than 1 sink in water.

The buoyant force depends on:

• The volume of the body immersed which is equal to the volume of fluid
displaced.

• The density of the fluid.

UNIT-V

2-MARKS

1. Define Permeability.

Permeability is the relationship between the volume of compartment and the

volume available for water should the compartment bilge.

Permeability is used in ship survivability and damage stability calculations in ship

design, in this case, the permeability of a space is a percentage from 0 to 100.

2. What is stowage factor?

• Stowage factor is the expression which indicates the cubic capacity that 1
ton of cargo will require. The stowage factor takes account of the design
and shape of the cargo package and the need to employ dunnage or other
special stowage provision.
• Stowage factor is expressed as a number of cubic meters per ton (m3/t) or
cubic feet (cuft/t).

3. Write short notes on Subdivision.

Concept of Subdivision of a Ship: Traditionally, a ship is divided longitudinally into

a number of watertight compartments to restrict the flooding to one or more
compartments in case of damage. This prevents progressive flooding (i.e. flooding
across the entire ship's length in case of a damage at any location).

4. What is Margin line?

Margin line is a line defining the highest permissible location on the side of vessel
of any damage. A line drawn at least 76mm below the upper surface of the
bulkhead deck at side, (SOLAS)

5. State the use of margin line.

• To maintain the vessel’s remaining W/T integrity and condition of stability

after flooding and for the safety of the passengers it is necessary that no
part of the bulkhead is submerged after flooding.
• If the bulkhead deck submerges openings on the top of the bulkhead deck
which are not watertight may submerge and lead to progressive flooding.
To achieve this aim and for a margin of safety a margin line is drawn at
least 76mm below the bulkhead deck.

6. What is Damage stability?

• The study of damaged stability of a surface ship comes of use when the
ship's watertight hull is affected in a way that allows water to flood any
compartment within the ship's hull.
• The ship should be able to survive the breach (flooding) of any one (two
or three) compartment. To check if the ship would comply with this
damage stability requirement, the floodable length curve is superimposed
on the ship's plan.
7. Write short notes on floodable length.

• The floodable length at any point in the length of the ship is the maximum
portion of the length, having its centre at the point in question, which can
be symmetrically flooded at the prescribed permeability, without
immersing the margin line.
• The floodable length of a vessel varies from point to point.

8. What is free surface effect.

• The reduction of stability caused by liquids in slack tanks is known as

free- surface effect.
• This, vertical centre of gravity KG’ and is calculated as follows:
Loss in GM due to free surface effects (in, vessel in tonnes, the free
surface effect can endanger the ship or even lead to negative
metacentric.ie. calculate the actual metacentric height GM corrected for
free surface effects and check whether it is higher or equal to the
required GM min value to find the vertical centre of gravity.
16-MARKS

1. Briefly explain Watertight subdivision of ships.

• Watertight subdivision limits loss of buoyancy and freeboard in the event

of damage, and may protect vital machinery from flooding. Most ships
have some pumping capacity to remove accumulated water from the
bilges, but a steel ship with no watertight subdivision will sink if water
accumulates faster than pumps can remove it.
• Standards of watertight subdivision assume no dewatering capability,
although pumps kept in working order may provide an additional measure
of safety in the event of minor leaks.
• The most common watertight subdivision is accomplished with transverse
bulkheads dividing the elongated hull into a number of watertight
floodable lengths. Early watertight subdivision tested with hoses
sometimes failed to withstand the hydrostatic pressure of an adjoining
flooded compartment. Effective watertight subdivision requires these
transverse bulkheads to be both watertight and structurally sound.
• A ship will sink if the transverse bulkheads are so far apart that flooding a
single compartment would consume all the ship's reserve buoyancy. Aside
from the possible protection of machinery, or areas most susceptible to
damage, such a ship would be no better than a ship without watertight
subdivision, and is called a one-compartment ship.
• A ship capable of remaining afloat when any single watertight
compartment is flooded is called a two-compartment ship, but damage
destroying the tightness of a transverse bulkhead may cause flooding of
two compartments and loss of the ship. A ship able to remain afloat with
any two compartments flooded is called a three-compartment ship, and
will withstand damage to one transverse bulkhead.
• After the Titanic sinking, safety standards recommended spacing
transverse bulkheads so no single point of damage would either
submerge the end of the upper bulkhead deck or reduce bulkhead deck
freeboard to less than 3 inches (7.6 cm).
• Wartime experience with torpedo damage indicated the typical damage
diameter of 35 feet (11 m) defined a practical minimum distance for
transverse bulkhead spacing.
• Three types of doors are commonly used between compartments. A
closed watertight door is structurally capable of withstanding the same
pressures as the watertight bulkheads they penetrate, although such
doors require frequent maintenance to maintain effective seals, and
must, of course, be kept closed to effectively contain flooding.
• A closed weathertight door can seal out spray and periodic minor flow
over weather decks, but may leak during immersion. These outward
opening doors are useful at weather deck entrances to compartments
above the main deck.
• Joiner doors are similar to doors used in conventional buildings ashore.
They afford privacy and temperature control for compartments formed by
non-structural bulkheads within the ship's hull.
2. Discuss in detail about added weight method.

METHOD OF ADDED WEIGHT-

It is the method of calculating the effect of flooding.

• In the method of added weight the water entering a damaged

compartment is considered as belonging to the ship; its mass must be
added to the ship displacement. Hence the term ‘added weight.’
Following modern practice we actually work with masses; however, we
keep the traditional name of the method, that is we use the word
‘weight.’ The latter term does not belong to the theory of flooding and
damage stability.
• In the method of added weight the displacement of the flooded vessel is
calculated as the sum of the intact displacement and the mass of the
flooding water. The position of the centre of gravity of the damaged
vessel is obtained from the sums of the moments of the intact vessel and
of the flooding water. Becoming part of the vessel, the flooding water
produces a free-surface effect that must be calculated and considered in
all equations.
• For very small trim and negligible heel changes we can write
• ΔF= ΔI+ρvLCGF·ΔF = LCGI·ΔI+lcg·ρ·vTCGF·ΔF = tcg·ρ·v
• where the subscript F distinguishes the properties of the flooded vessel,
and the subscript I those of the intact ship. By lcg we mean the
longitudinal centre of gravity of the flooding water volume, v, and
by tcg its transverse centre of gravity. We assume TCGI=0. The vertical
centre of gravity, KG¯, must be recalculated. When the trim and the heel
are not negligible, we must consider the vertical coordinates of the
centres of gravity of the intact ship and of the flooding water volume.
• While the latter solves algebraically the general problem, we prefer to
solve it numerically and allow thus the reader to visualize the differences
between methods and those between the intact and the damaged vessel.
We choose the very simple example of the pontoon shown in Figure 11.2.
• Two transverse bulkheads subdivide the hull into three watertight
compartments. In the following two subsections we assume
that Compartment 2 is damaged and calculate the consequences of its
flooding. We choose deliberately a compartment symmetric about
the midship transverse plane of symmetry of the pontoon. Thus, the
flooding of Compartment 2 produces no trim. Also, the compartment
extends for the full ship breadth and its flooding produces no heel. The
only change of position is parallel sinking.
• Thus, the complex calculations necessary for conventional ship forms, for
large trim, or for unsymmetrical flooding, do not obscure the principles
and it is possible to obtain immediately a good insight of the processes
involved. For the same reasons we assume that the volume and surface
permeabilities are equal to 1. We leave to an exercise the informal proof
that taking permeability into account does not change the qualitative
results. Although based on different physical models.
• Calculations by the two methods yield the same final draught, as it should
be expected. Moreover, the stability properties calculated by the two
methods are identical, if we compare the initial righting moments. Here,
the term “initial” has the meaning defined in Chapter 2 where we
consider ‘initial stability’ as a property governing the behaviour of the
floating body in a small heel range around the upright position. In that
range the righting moment equals

Figure 11.2. A simple pontoon—intact condition

MR=ΔGM¯sinϕ
• As we are going to see, we obtain by the two methods the
same MR value. In the method of lost buoyancy the displacement remains
equal to that of the intact vessel. In the method of added weight the
displacement increases by the mass of the flooding water. To keep the
product MR constant, the other factor, GM¯, must be smaller. At a first
glance it may be surprising that the two methods yield
different metacentric heights.
• The explanation given above shows that it should be so because the
considered displacements are different. What should be kept in mind,
after reading the examples, is that displacement and metacentric
height have different significances in the two methods. Therefore,
damage stability data should include the mention of the method by which
they were obtained. Computer programmes use the method of lost
buoyancy for final-stage calculations.
3. Explain in detail about Lost buoyancy method.

LOST BUOYANCY METHOD-

It is also a method of calculating the effect of flooding.

• The method of lost buoyancy assumes that a flooded compartment does

not supply buoyancy. This is what happens in reality. the water inside the
compartment exercises pressures equal to and opposed to those of the
external water. Then, the buoyancy force predicted by the Archimedes’
principle is cancelled by the pressure of the flooding water.
• In the method of lost buoyancy the volume of the flooded compartment
does not belong anymore to the vessel, while the weight of its structures
is still part of the displacement
• During the process not only the displacement, but also the position of the
centre of gravity remains constant. The method is also known as method
of constant displacement. As the flooding water does not belong to the
ship, it causes no free-surface effect.
• As per the Lost Buoyancy concept, which ever tanks get damaged, it will
be subtracted from the hull and it will give rise to new Hydrostatics.
• The Displacement of the ship remains unchanged, there being a change
only in shape of the immersed portion.
• Coordinates of the ship's centre of gravity are not changed.
• The draft, the trim, the heel /if deluging is asymmetric/, the coordinates
of the centre of buoyancy and the coordinates of the centroid of square
of the damaged water-line are changed.
4. Draw a typical floodable length curve of a ship.

Floodable length curve of a ship-

• The floodable length (FL) curve, which is the curve that, at every point in
the vessel’s length, has an ordinate representing the length of the ship
that may be flooded without the margin line being submerged.
• Loss is generally accepted to occur when the damaged waterline is
tangent to the bulkhead deck line at side. The bulkhead deck is the
uppermost weathertight deck to which transverse watertight bulkheads
are carried.
• A margin is desirable and the limit is taken when the waterline is tangent
to a line drawn 76 mm below the bulkhead deck at side. This line is called
the margin line.
• The floodable length at any point along the length of the ship is the
length, with that point as centre, which can be flooded without immersing
any part of the margin line when the ship has no list.
• Take the ship shown in Fig.1 using subscripts 0 and 1 to denote the intact
ship data for the intact and damaged waterlines. Loss of
buoyancy=V1−V0 and this must be at such a position that B1 moves back to
B0 so that B is again below G.

Figure.1 Margin line.

Hence :

𝑉1 ∗ 𝐵0𝐵1
𝑥=
V1 − V2

• This then gives the centroid of the lost buoyancy and, knowing (V1−V0) it is
possible to convert this into a length of ship that can be flooded. The
calculation would be one of reiteration until reasonable figures are
obtained.
Fig.2 floodable length

• The calculations can be repeated for a series of waterlines tangent to the

margin line at different positions along the length. This will lead to a curve
of floodable length as in Fig.2.
• The ordinate at any point represents the length which can be flooded with
the centre at the point concerned. Thus if l is the floodable length at some
point the positions of bulkheads giving the required compartment length
are given by setting off distances l/2 either side of the point.
• The lines at the ends of the curves, called the forward and after
terminals will be at an angle tan−1 2 to the base if the base and ordinate
scales are the same.
5. Discuss in detail how floodable length curve of a ship is done.

FLOODABLE LENGTH CURVE -

1. Floodable length curve of ship:

• The floodable length at any point along the length of the ship is the
length, with that point as centre, which can be flooded without immersing
any part of the margin line when the ship has no list.
• Take the ship shown in Fig.1 using subscripts 0 and 1 to denote the intact
ship data for the intact and damaged waterlines. Loss of
buoyancy=V1−V0 and this must be at such a position that B1 moves back to
B0 so that B is again below G.

Figure.1 Margin line.

Hence :

𝑉1 ∗ 𝐵0𝐵1
𝑥=
V1 − V2

• This then gives the centroid of the lost buoyancy and, knowing (V1−V0) it is
possible to convert this into a length of ship that can be flooded. The
calculation would be one of reiteration until reasonable figures are
obtained.
• The calculations can be repeated for a series of waterlines tangent to the
margin line at different positions along the length. This will lead to a curve
of floodable length as in Fig.2.
• The ordinate at any point represents the length which can be flooded with
the centre at the point concerned. Thus if l is the floodable length at some
point the positions of bulkheads giving the required compartment length
are given by setting off distances l/2 either side of the point.
• The lines at the ends of the curves, called the forward and after
terminals will be at an angle tan−1 2 to the base if the base and ordinate
scales are the same.
Fig.2.. Floodable length.

2. Permissible length curve of ship:

• The permeabilities of compartments will affect the floodable length and it
is usual to work out average permeability figures for the machinery spaces
and for each of the two regions forward and aft.
• This leads to three curves for the complete ship as shown in Fig.3. The
condition that a ship should be able to float with any one compartment
open to the sea is a minimum requirement for ocean-going passenger
ships. As described in the next section, the Merchant Shipping Regulations
set out formulae for calculating permeabilities and a factor of
subdivision which must be applied to the floodable length curves
giving permissible length,Fig.2.
• The permissible length is the product of the floodable length and the
factor of subdivision. The factor of subdivision depends upon the length of
the ship and a criterion of service numeral or more simply criterion
numeral. This numeral represents the criterion of service of the ship and
takes account of the number of passengers, the volumes of the machinery
and accommodation spaces and the total ship volume. It decreases in a
regular and continuous manner with the ship length and factors related to
whether the ship carries predominantly cargo or passengers.

Broadly, the factor of subdivision ensures that one, two or three compartments
can be flooded before the margin line is immersed leading to what are called one-,
two- or three-compartment ships.

Fig. 3. Floodable length with permeability.