Introduction to basic

terms and principles of

ship strength
Archimedes Principle
Archimedes principle states that when a
body is wholly or partially immersed in a
fluid it appears to suffer a loss in mass.
The loss in mass is equal to the mass of the
volume of the liquid it displaces.
@
An object immersed in a liquid experience a
lift equivalent to the mass of liquid the object
displaces.
Buoyancy
Force by the water on the ship
If ship is floating freely, the buoyancy = weight of
ship
The force of Buoyancy acts at the centre of
buoyancy of the ship
This is the centroid of the underwater volume of
the ship.
The vertical position of the centre of buoyancy is
usually given as a distance above the keel (KB)
Gravity
Force opposing buoyancy and tending to want to push
the vessel downwards.
The centre of gravity is the point through which the
total weight of the ship may be assumed to act
KG - the distance from the keel to the Vertical Centre
of Gravity,
LCG - the longitudinal distance from the aft, fwd or
amidships to the C of G.
For a ship to float freely in still water, two
requirements must be met:
i. The force of buoyancy (B) acting upwards
through centre of buoyancy must equal
the weight of the vessel (G) acting
downwards through centre of gravity.

ii. The centre of buoyancy and centre of

gravity must be in the same vertical plane.
Trochoidal wave form
For calculating the strength of a ship and the
stresses it must withstand, we assume the ship to
be sitting on a wave of length 'L' equal to the ships
length between perpendiculars (LBP).
This wave length applies the most strain to the
ship.
Different oceans around the world have
different wave lengths.

 If vessels are designed for use in a

particular ocean then the optimum design
length for the vessel is the wave length for
that ocean.
 Sagging
 Sagging is the stress of a ship's hull or keel experiences that cause the

center or the keel to bend downward. When a vessel is sitting with a peak
at bow and stern, it will have full support of buoyancy force at either end
while it will have less support of buoyancy force in the middle.

 This condition happens when the wave length is equivalent to the LBP of

the vessel. In this case the maximum tensile stress on the midships section
is at the bottom and maximum compressive stress at the deck.
 Hogging
 Hogging is the stress of a ship's hull or keel experiences that cause

the center or the keel to bend upward. When a wave crests at

amidships it will have full support of buoyancy force in the middle,
while bow and stern will have less support of buoyancy force.
 This condition happens when the wavelength is equivalent to the LBP

of the vessel. In this case the maximum tensile stress on the midships
section is at the deck and maximum compressive stress at the
bottom.
Weight distribution
The designer’s job is to distribute all the
masses around the ship so that when the
ship is floating freely in still water it will sit
at a reasonably even keel

 i.e. its bow will not be much further out of

the water than its stern and it will sit evenly
in a transverse (port-starboard) direction.
Stress and Strain
a) Racking strain
Rolling heavily of the ship can cause the transverse sections of
the ship tend to be distorted

b) Panting
 The in and out movement of the side plating at the fore and aft
ends of a ship.
 It is caused by changes in water pressure as the waves pass along
the ship.
 Classification societies require extra beams, brackets and
stringer plates to be fitted forward and aft to reduce the
possibility of damage.
c) Slamming
 As a vessel passes through waves its bow is
repeatedly submerged under water and then
raised above.
 When the underside of the stem slams back
down onto a wave it is called ‘slamming’.
 The slamming action sends a vibration
throughout the ship.
 Once again, classification societies require solid
floors to be fitted at every frame station in the
fore end to minimize damage to the vessel.
d) Fatigue Stresses
Each time a wave passes completely along a ship
the strains in the upper deck and keel change from
tensile to compressive and back to tensile.

The thousands of such reversals during a ships

lifetime are not usually enough to cause failure in
the main hull plating but they are often the cause
of local failure in high stress areas such as the
bulwark plating.
e) Torsional twisting
 As the ship moves through the sea the
waves tend to twist the entire ship both
lengthwise and transversely like a giant
corkscrew.

 This torsional twisting requires all

structural members to be adequately
designed.
f) Local strain
 caused by heavy masses such as engines,
boilers, cargo, winches, masts, guns, sonar,
radar, etc.
 The stresses caused by these masses must
be calculated and their mountings and
supports to the main hull made strong
enough to withstand failure.