TRANSVERSE STABILITY

Transverse stability is the vessel’s

response in a port/starboard direction
to different conditions.

 The conditions may be applied

internally(cargo, ballast etc) or
externally(the sea, winds, etc.).
The cross-sectional area of the
midships section of a ship is used in
almost all calculations relating to the
transverse stability of a vessel.

 Different formulae and extra data are

used to calculate different responses.
Metacentre
If a ship is inclined through a small angle and
there is no movement of mass, therefore G
stays in the same position, however B has
moved to position B1.

 The force B1 is now acting vertically upwards

and will intersect the original Centre line at a
point M.

That point is called the Metacentre.

Stable equilibrium
A stable equilibrium is achieved when the vertical
position of G is lower than the position of
transverse metacenter (M).

If a small force is applied to move the vessel away

from the vertical, the center of buoyancy (B) now
shifts to B1. The righting lever GZ will results in a
moment that brings the ship back to its original
upright position.
Unstable equilibrium
An unstable equilibrium is caused when the
vertical position of G is higher than the position of
transverse metacenter (M).

If a small force is applied to move the vessel away

from the vertical, the center of buoyancy (B) now
shifts to B1. The righting lever GZ is now negative
and the moment created would result to push the
vessel to further heeling angle.
Neutral equilibrium
In neutral equilibrium G = M and the vessel
has no righting lever so would remain
wherever it was positioned.

This is not a common case in real life

situations.
The higher GM, the bigger the distance Z
will be.

GZ is called the righting lever and the

higher it is, the more a vessel will tend to
right itself.
Inclining Experiment
Practical test carried out on a ship in lightship
condition to determine the actual position of the
centre of gravity of the ship.
An inclining experiment is carried out on most
new ships and also on old ships after refit or
modification.

Any changes which may significantly alter the

weight distribution throughout the ship requires
another inclining experiment to be completed.
The ship’s actual centre of gravity and metacentric
height will be used to predict the behaviour of the ship
in various load conditions.

An inclining experiment must be performed very

accurately to provide accurate data for the crew.

Therefore, the preparation for and conditions during

the inclining experiment must be carefully monitored.
The following factors should be taken into
consideration:
1. The day should be calm

2. The ship should be ‘fitted out’

3. The ship should be floating freely, mooring

ropes slack and gangplanks removed

4. Tanks should be empty or full

5. Only those people involved with the
experiment should be onboard
6. The positions and weights of the inclining
weights should be recorded
7. All loose items should be secured, e.g.
boats, davits, etc
8. Two plumb bobs of different lengths
should be used, one forward and one aft.
9. The draughts must be carefully measured
Inclining Experiment setup
For each set of six measurements calculate:

Mass Moved x Distance Moved = Listing Moment

Pendulum Deflection Pendulum Deflection
= Wxd
m
Calculate the average value of W x d and use it in the formula;
m
GM = w x d x Length of Pendulum
M Displacement of Ship
Movement/addition of masses
The direction of change in centre of gravity
depends where the extra mass is added
to/removed from the vessel in relation to the
original centre of gravity

If a large mass is added below the centre of gravity,

the centre of gravity would lower.

This would make a larger GZ value which is a

larger righting lever and would tend to make the
ship stay in a more upright position.
Changes in the lean of the vessel which are
caused by internal factors (movement of
cargo, etc) are called ‘list’.

Changes in the lean caused by external

factors (the ocean, wind, etc) are called
‘heel’.
Free surface effect
All liquids will tend to remain horizontal on
their surface.

While the compartment is full the surface will

not move, so the centre of gravity of the liquid
does not move and it behaves the same as a
solid.

However if the compartment is only partly full

the liquid will move as the vessel heels.
This movement will cause a movement of
the liquid’s centre of gravity in the direction
of the vessel’s heel.

The effect on the ship’s centre of gravity is

not caused by the quantity of liquid in the
tank but by the surface area that is free to
move.
Large Angle Stability
With small angles of inclination, the
metacentre (M) does not move.

With large angles of inclination, the

metacentre (M) moves due to the large changes
in B.

The GZ values become more accurate than GM

and are used for calculations.
Cross curves of stability
GZ curves are a set of curves from which the
righting lever about an assumed centre of gravity for
any angle of heel at any particular displacement
may be read by inspection.

The curves are plotted for an assumed distance

from the keel to the centre of gravity (KG) and if the
actual KG of the ship differs from this, a correction
is applied to the values read from the curves.
Cross curves of stability
To find the GZ value for any particular
displacement, locate the displacement on the
bottom scale.

From this point, project a line vertically up through

all curves.

 At each intersection translate across to the left

hand margin and read off the GZ values for each
angle of heel.
Curves of statical stability
Curves of statical stability show the
relationship between GZ and various angles
of heel for a given displacement.

A curve of statical stability is drawn for a

vessel in a particular loaded condition by
plotting the righting levers (GZ values) up
the vertical axis against angle of heel.
Curves of statical stability
From this curve a considerable amount of
stability information may be obtained:

1. RANGE OF STABILITY - This is the

range of heel (in degrees) over which the
ship has positive righting levers. On the
example above it ranges from 0 - 76
degrees.
2. ANGLE OF VANISHING STABILITY -
The angle of heel at which the righting
lever returns to zero, or is the angle of
heel at which the sign of the righting
levers changes from positive to negative.
The angle of vanishing stability above is
76 degrees.
3. MAXIMUM GZ VALUE - is obtained by drawing
a tangent to the highest point of the curve.
The line AB above is the tangent, and when this
is projected across to the vertical axis it
indicates a value of 4.8 m.
If a vertical line is dropped from the point of
tangency, it cuts the horizontal axis at the angle
of heel at which the maximum GZ value occurs.
In this instance, maximum GZ occurs at 46
degrees heel.
4. INITIAL METACENTRIC HEIGHT - This value
is found by drawing a tangent to the curve
through the origin, line OB represents this on
the curve above. A vertical line is then drawn
from the angle of heel of 57.3 degrees and it
intersects OB at the point B. The height of the
intersection above the base (YZ) when
measured on the GZ curve will give the initial
metacentric height, 5.2 m in the example
above.
All the above stability information is used
by designers and masters to calculate safe
loading conditions for a vessel.