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BySoumyaChakraborty|In:NavalArchitecture|LastUpdatedonMarch22,2017|2125MinutesToRead
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Theconceptofhydrostaticsandstabilitycanbedeemedasoneofthemostimportantareasof
focusinshipdesignandoperation,notonlytoensurethesafetyoftheship,cargo,crewand
passengers,butalsotoenableproperconditionsforcompletionofalltheprocessesonaship.
Thisseriesofarticleswillfirstdiscusstheconceptofhydrostaticsofaship,andslowlytransition
intoanintroductionofshipstability.Oncethatisdone,wewillseehowtheconceptsareappliedin
realtimeandprobablesituationstoanalysethestabilityoftheship,howadesignerapplies
conceptsofhydrostaticsandstabilitytodevelopahullform,andsoon.
ShipHydrostatics:
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Somecharacteristicparameterscalculatedforafloatingship,whichcaneitherdirectlybeusedto
commentonthenatureofstabilityoftheshiporbeusedtoevaluateotherstabilityparameters,
arecalledshiphydrostatics.Foradesignertobeabletodevelopahullform,orashipscaptainto
understandthestabilityparameters,itisimportantforbothtobeabletounderstandthemeaning
andpracticalsignificanceofeachhydrostaticparameterofasurfaceship.Wewillfirstlistthe
hydrostaticsofasurfaceship,andthenmoveontodefinethem.
Vertical,LongitudinalandTransverseCenterofGravity
Vertical,LongitudinalandTransverseCenterofBuoyancy
MassDisplacement()
VolumeDisplacement()
LongitudinalandTransverseCentreofFloatation
Metacentre
MetacentricHeight
MetacentricRadius
MomenttoChangeTrim1cm(MCT)
TonnespercmImmersion(TPC)
Tounderstandthehydrostatics,weneedtoacquaintourselveswithafewbasicshipterminologies
oftenappearintheprocessofunderstandingandevaluationofhydrostaticsandstability
parametersofasurfaceship.Followthefigurebelowwithreferencetotheterminologies
describedunderneath.
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Figure1:LengthParametersofaSurfaceShip.
ForwardPerpendicular:Theperpendiculardrawnatthepointwherethebowoftheship
meetsthewaterlinewhileitfloatsatdesigndraft,iscalledForwardPerpendicular(FP).
aft
Aft
Aftperpendicular: TheperpendiculardrawnthroughtherudderstockiscalledtheAft
Aft
Perpendicular(AP).
LengthbetweenPerpendiculars(LPPorLBP):Thelongitudinaldistancebetweenthe
forwardandaftperpendicularsiscalledlengthbetweenperpendiculars.
aft
LengthofWaterline(LWL):Thelengthoftheshipshullintersectingthesurfaceofthe
wateriscalledLengthonWaterline.
LengthOverall(LOA):Themaximumlengthfromtheforwardmostpointoftheshipshull
totheaftmostpoint,iscalledLengthOverall.
aft
Keel(K):Thekeelisthelowermostpointoftheshipatanypointofitslength.The
baselineofashipisthelongitudinallinethatrunsalongthekeel.
Beforewemoveon,anotherimportanttechniqueusedincalculationofshiphydrostaticsand
stabilityparameters,isthatofstations.Ashipshullislongitudinallydividedintostations,whichare
nothingbutspecifiedpositionsalongthelengthoftheshipwithreferencetotheaftperpendicular
aft
whichisnumberedaszerostation.
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Figure2:Stationsalongaship.
Thedistancebetweeneachstationremainsconstantinthevicinityofthemidshipwherea
significantparallelmidbodyshapeprevails.Butaswemovetowardstheaftorforward,theshape
aft
ofthehullattainsacomplexgeometry,andhenceforbetterresultsofanalyses,thedistance
betweenthestationsarereduced.
1.CenterofGravity(CG):
ThelongitudinalpositionoftheCGwithrespecttoanyreferencepointontheshipiscalledthe
longitudinalcenterofgravity(LCG).Usually,thereferencepointforlocatingtheLCGiseitherof
theforwardoraftperpendiculars.
aft
Theverticaldistance(alongtheshipscenterline)betweenthekeelandthecenterofgravityis
expressedasKG,asshowninFigure2.
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Figure3:Transverseviewofhydrostaticparameters.
2.CenterofBuoyancy(CB):
Thelongitudinalpositionofthecenterofbuoyancywithrespecttoanyreferencepointontheship
iscalledthelongitudinalcenterofgravity(LCB).Usually,thereferencepointforlocatingtheLCG
iseitheroftheforwardoraftperpendiculars.
aft
Theverticaldistance(alongtheshipscenterline)betweenthekeelandthecenterofbuoyancyis
expressedasKB,asshowninFigure3.
3.Metacenter(M):
Refertothefollowingfiguretounderstandthatwhenashipheelstoanyangle,aportionofthe
lowersideoftheshipisnowsubmerged,andaportionofthehullfromtheuppersideemergesout
ofthewater.ThiscanbenoticedbyvisualizingthehullwhenthewaterlinewasWL(withoutheel),
andwhenthewaterlinewaschangedtoW1L1(afterheel).
aft
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. .
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Figure4:Transversemetacenterofaship.
Duetothisshiftofsubmergedvolume,thereisashiftofthecenterofbuoyancyfromthe
centerlinetothesidethatisloweraftertheheel.Thenewpositionofcenterofbuoyancyis
aft
illustratedasB1.Ifaverticallineisextendedfromthenewcenterofbuoyancy,thenthepointat
whichthislinemeetsthecenterlineoftheship,iscalledthetransversemetacenter(shownasM)
oftheship.
4.CenterofFloatation(LCF):
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Whentheshipfloatsataparticulardraft,anytrimmingmomentactingontheshipwouldactabout
aft
aparticularpointonthewaterplane.Thispointisthecentroidoftheareaofthewaterplane,and
iscalledthecenterofthefloatation.Thedistanceofthecenteroffloatationisreadwithrespectto
eitheroftheperpendicularsorthemidship,andisabbreviatedasLCF.
5.MetacentricRadius(BM):
Themetacentricheightofashipistheverticaldistancebetweenitscenterofbuoyancyand
metacenter(refertofigure3or4).Thisparametercanbevisualizedasthelengthofthestringofa
swingingpendulumofthecenterofgravityofthependulumcoincidesthecenterofbuoyancyof
theship.Inotherwords,theshipbehavesasapendulumswingingaboutitsmetacenter.Itisa
differentfactthat,themetacenteroftheshipchangesitself,everymoment.Why?Becausewith
everyangleofheel,thetransverseshiftincenterofbuoyancy(asshowninFigure4)willvary,
thereforecreatinganewmetacenter.
Theimportanceofthisparametercanberealisedwhenthemathematicalexpressionof
metacentricradiusisinvestigated.
Now,whatisthetransversemomentofinertiaofwaterplane?Refertothefigurebelow.Aship
floatingataparticulardraft(T),hasauniquewaterplane.Whentheshiprollsinthecondition,if
aft
onelooksfromthetop,theentirewaterplaneareaseemstooscillateaboutitslongitudinal
centroidalaxis(showninblue).Theareamomentofinertiaofthiswaterplaneareaaboutits
centroidalaxisisthetransversemomentofinertiaofwaterplaneatthecorrespondingdraft.
aft
Inthelaterpartofthisseries,wewillseethevitalrolethisparameterplaysinthestabilityofa
surfaceship,andhowitalsodeterminesalotofdesigndecisions.
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Figure5:Waterplaneataparticulardraft,anditscentroidalaxis.
aft
6.MetacentricHeight(GM):
Theverticaldistancefromthecenterofgravitytothemetacenteriscalledthemetacentricheight.
Youwillcomeacrossthistermnumeroustimesinthisarticle,andadesignerisprobablymost
concernedaboutthisparameterduringtheentiredesignprocess.IMOCodesofStabilityforShips
havelaidstabilitycriteriaforshipsthataremostlybasedonthisparameter.So,whatisitthat
makesthisparametersovital?Thatissomethingwewilldiscussformostpartofthelaterpartof
thisarticle,andthenextfewpartsofthisseries.
ThevalueofGMneedstobeobtainedatvariousstages,rightfrominitialdesignstage,tohull
designstage,duringstabilityanalysisofanewlydesignedhull,aftertheconstructionofaship,
aft
andduringoperationsatsea.Themethodsusedinthesestagesaredifferentfromeachother,
because:
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Ateachstage,thepurposebehindtheevaluationofGMdiffers.
TheknownparametersrequiredtoevaluatetheGMalsovaryateachstage.
Fornow,giventhefactthatweknowtheparameters:BM,KB,andKG,letsjustappreciatethe
mostbasicformulausedtoevaluatethemetacentricheightofaship:(refertofigure3forvisual
assistance)
7.MomenttoChangeTrimby1Centimeter(MCT):
Foraparticulardraft,itisthelongitudinalmoment(abouttheLCF)requiredtobringaboutatrimof
aft
1centimeter.Thisparameterplaysvitalroleespeciallywhenthecrewonboardrequirestoload
cargoinanyoneholdorballast,ordeballast,andpredicttheresultanttrimcausedbytheaction.
Sincetheexpressionofthisparameterdoesnotplayanysignificantroleinunderstandingthe
conceptsofshipstability,wewillskipit.Butdorememberthat,MCTisaveryimportant
hydrostaticparameterrequiredbystabilityanalysissoftwaresandcrewoperations.
8.TonnesperCentimeterImmersion(TPC):
Foraparticulardrafttheweightrequiredtobeaddedontotheshipsoastocauseaparallel
aft
sinkageof1centimeter,isexpressedastheTPC.This,similartoMCT,isusedextensivelybythe
crewtopredictthenewdraftsafteranyoperationthatinvolvesadditionorremovalofweightsfrom
aft aft
theship.FollowingistheexpressionusedtoevaluatetheTPCofashipatanygivendraft:
aft
Theaboveexpressionsgiveussomeimportantresults:
TPCofashipfloatinginwaterofuniformdensity,dependssolelyontheareaof
waterplane.
Theparallelsinkageresultingfromaparticularloadinginfreshwaterwouldbemoreifthe
sameloadingwasdoneinseawater.
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. . ShipStabilityIntroductiontoHydrostaticsandStabilityofSurfaceShips
Thecrewmustrecalculatethepredictednewdraftsafterloadingorunloadingwhenthe
aft aft
shipmovesfromfreshwatertoseaorviceversa,toavoidunexpectedobservations.
..........
........
HydrostaticCurves:
Allthehydrostaticparametersarecalculatedbyastabilityanalysissoftwareandplottedona
graphagainstdifferentdrafts.Thisgraphiscollectivelycalledhydrostaticcurves,andthesamefor
aft
a200passengershipisshownbelow.
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Figure6:Hydrostaticcurvesfora200paxpassengership.
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Thisgraphisusedbythecrewonboardtoinstantlyobtainthevalueofahydrostaticparameterof
theshipforagivendraft.However,oneneedstobecarefulaboutthemultiscalehorizontalaxis
aft
thatisusedhere,sincemultipleparameterswithdifferentunitsareplottedonthesamegraph.
Someimportantobservationscanbemadebystudyingthenatureofhydrostaticcurves,andthey
arediscussedbelow:
Theonlyhydrostaticparametersthatdecreasewithincreaseindraftareheightof
aft
metacenterfromthekeel(KM),andlongitudinalcenterofbuoyancy(LCB).Remember,
here,theLCBiscalculatedfromtheforwardperpendicular(readhorizontalaxisinthe
graph),whichmeans,adecreasingLCBwithincreasingdraftimplies,theLCBmoves
aft
forwardwithincreaseindraft.Butletusstudythisfurther.Doesitholdtrueforallships?
aft
While,thenatureofKMismostlythesame,thenatureofchangeofLCBwithdraftwill
aft
varyaccordingtotheformofthehull.Theabovegraphwasforapassengershipwitha
finestern,asshowninthefollowingfigure.
Figure7:Hullformwithfinestern.
Afinesternmeans,withincreaseindraft,thepercentageofsubmergedvolumetowardsthe
aft
forwardofthemidshipincreasesmorerapidlythanthesubmergedvolumeintheaft.Hence,at
aft
largerdrafts,amajorityofthesubmergedvolumewillbeconcentratedtowardstheforwardofthe
aft
midship.
Ifthiswouldhavebeenashipwithfinerbowandfullerstern,anincreaseindraftwouldhave
aft
causedtheLCBtoshifttowardstheaft,therebyshowingoppositenatureonthehydrostaticcurve.
aft
AshipdesignercanthereforepredictthehullformofashipjustbylookingatitsLCBcurve.
TheMCTofallsurfaceshipsusuallyincreasewithincreaseindraft.Whichmeans,asurfaceship
aft
isverysensitivetotrimmingmomentswhilefloatinginlowdraftconditions.
aft
8.CurvesofForm:
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Thevariousparametersofform(BlockcoefficientCB,PrismaticCoefficientCP,Waterplanearea
coefficientCWP,andMidshipareacoefficientCM)arealsocalculatedandplottedinagraph
againstdifferentdrafts,asshowninthefigurebelow.
aft
Figure8:Curvesofform.
Thoughtheseparametersarenotimportantforthecrew,theyplayimportantroleinoptimizingthe
hullshape,andfairingthehulltoafineshape.Ifyounoticethenatureofthecurvesinthefigure,
thecurvesarenotsmooth.Thisimpliesthatthehullatthisstageofdesign,isnotcompletely
smooth,andwouldresultinincreasedresistance.Thesamealsoappliestoallthehydrostatic
curves.Boththesecurves,alongwiththesectionalareacurveofashiparesimultaneously
referredto,ateachstageofhullmodification,untilasmoothsetofcurvesareobtained.
Thisarticlehasacquaintedyouwiththehydrostaticsofasurfaceships,theunderstandingof
whichwillplayavitalroleinstudyingthestabilityofships.Youcannowrecognizeeach
hydrostaticparameterthatappearsfurther,itssignificance,andhowitisrepresentedonthe
stabilitybookofashipinformofcurves.
Thenextarticlewilldiscussthebasicconceptsofshipstabilitywhichincludesanintroductionto
intactstabilityanddamagedstability,withdetailedunderstandingofevaluationofintactstabilityof
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ashipalongwithvariouscasesthataffectthesame.
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AboutSoumyaChakraborty
SoumyaispursuingNavalArchitectureandOceanEngineeringatIMU,Visakhapatnam,
India.Passionateaboutmarinedesign,hebelievesintheimportanceofsharingmaritime
technicalknowhowamongindustrypersonnelandstudents.HeisalsotheCoFounderandEditorin
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Comments
Vilmarferreirasays
DECEMBER6,2016AT8:10PM
Fantastic.Impassionedofnauticalsciences.Thanksforsharewithusalltheinformation
aboutthesetopic.
josesays
DECEMBER9,2016AT3:40AM
veryveryinterestingandveryaveryclearwaytoshareyourknowledge,isnotveryoftenthat
yougetclearinformationonstabilityandhydrostaticsinthewaythatyoudiid,congratulations
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