Structural Subassemblies

5.1 Flat Stiffened Panel

The very initial prefabricated structural items are
those flat stiffened panels.

The simplest ones are various types of brackets

(Fig. 5.3) with curling followed by floors,
transverses, girders and large stiffened panels.
5.2 Curved Stiffened Panel
Subassemblies of curved stiffened panels unlike flat
stiffened panels, are primarily fabricated as a part
of a larger 3-D unit as shown in Fig. 5.4.
5.3 Bulkheads
Bulkheads can be classified under two heads: transverse
subdivision water tight bulkheads and non water tight
bulkheads as depicted in Fig. 5.5.

These transverse sub division water tight bulkheads

subdivide the ship in several water tight compartments
depending on floodable length and strength requirement.

The concept of floodable length is the total length of a ship

that can be flooded leading to heeling and trimming of the
vessel however the deck will not get immersed. In fact the
water surface, i.e. the water line will remain tangential to
an imaginary line referred to as margin line that is 75 mm
below the deck at side.
Longitudinal bulkheads in the cargo holds are widely used in
case of oil tankers.

The transverse sub division bulkheads divide the ship in

several water tight compartments.

Whereas the longitudinal bulkhead sub divides a vessel

longitudinally along the transverse plane. The purpose is to
divide the cargo space in longitudinal compartments.

Depending on the breadth of the vessel, there can be one

central line longitudinal bulkhead or there can be more
number of longitudinal bulkheads port and starboard.
This longitudinal division is done to reduce the
effect of free surface.

In oil tankers and liquid cargo carriers, the free

surface of the liquid in the cargo hold gives a
negative effect on the vessel’s stability.

The reduction in the metacentric height is more if

the free surface area is more. Hence longitudinal
bulkheads are used to reduce this free surface
area thus reducing the negative effect on
stability.
The non-water tight bulkheads are generally the
bulkheads in the accommodation region referred to as
accommodation bulkheads. Also non water tight bulkhead
is there in the fore end construction.

It is referred to as wash bulkhead and provides additional

strength to the fore end construction against slamming
and pounding forces.

This wash bulkhead is generally placed at the centre line

of the ship, hence in essence it can be termed as
longitudinal bulkhead.
 5.3.1 Transverse Water Tight Bulkhead

Transverse subdivision bulkheads can be of flat stiffened

plate construction or of corrugated construction. The
basic functions of these bulkheads are:
(i) They divide the ship into several watertight compartments.

(ii) If by accident any compartment gets flooded, the flooding is

kept confined within that compartment by these bulkheads. These
are designed to take the hydrostatic load in case of flooding.

(iii) These bulkheads provide support to the longitudinals. These

longitudinals run continuously piercing through the bulkheads. They
are welded to bulkheads and the opening is thoroughly sealed to
make them water tight. Thus it provides support to the
longitudinals.

(iv) These bulkheads are one of the major members providing

transverse strength to the hull structure. It prevents racking of the
hull.
(v) Should any fire break out in any cargo hold,
these bulkheads should also be able to confine the
fire within the hold. This talks about the material of
the bulkhead, it cannot be made of any easily
combustible or low melting material.
5.3.1.1 Flat Stiffened Bulkhead
The bulkheads provide transverse strength. However
in the event of some hull damage leading to water
ingress in the compartment, the hold bulkheads will
be subjected to hydrostatic loading as shown in Fig.
5.6.

As it is well known that the hydrostatic loading is

directly proportional to depth of water within the
hold, the loading on the bulkheads will be maximum
at the bottom of the bulkhead.
Because of this the plating arrangement of these
bulkheads are horizontal streaks of plates with
reducing thickness from bottom to the top of the
bulkhead as shown in Fig. 5.7.

In this case the plates are arranged breadth wise

along the height of the bulkhead. Thus with
reducing thickness along the height, the net weight
of the bulkhead is reduced.
Stiffening of flat plate bulkheads can be either vertical or
horizontal. The stiffener orientation should be such that
results in minimum free span of the stiffeners.

That means minimum length between the support points.

With increase in the span, for the same loading condition,
the bending moment increases proportional to the
length squared.

This will require stiffener of higher section modulus to

keep the stress level within the permissible limits. This will
call for stiffener of higher scantlings. Hence it is important
to have the stiffening arrangement such that it provides for
minimum free span.
In case of flat plate subdivision bulkheads of
general cargo carrier vertical stiffeners are used.
Since such vessels will generally have at least one
lower deck and tank top, therefore the vertical
stiffeners of the bulkhead will get a natural support
at these intermediate points.

This will reduce their free span and thus the

resulting bending moment for the same load will
be highly reduced. Hence stiffeners of lower
scantlings can be used to attain same amount of
strength. A typical section is shown in Fig. 5.8.
In case of oil tankers or bulk liquid cargo carriers, there
will not be any tween deck instead it is very likely that
there will be longitudinal bulkhead for reducing free
surface effect.

Hence in such a condition the stiffeners of transverse

subdivision bulkheads will be laid horizontally, having
support at the side shell and the longitudinal bulkheads.

Thus the free span Sh in this configuration will be less

compared to having it in vertical orientation, Sv as can be
seen in Fig. 5.9.
5.3.1.2 Corrugated Bulkhead
The stiffness is achieved by providing corrugations to the
plate. Here the geometry of the corrugation is decided
based on the section modulus requirement, as in case
of stiffened bulkhead, the section modulus of stiffener is
decided.

The section modulus depends on the depth and width of

the corrugations as shown in Fig. 5.10.
From fabrication point of view, it is advantageous to use
corrugated bulkhead, provided, the shipyard has adequate
facility in terms of hydraulic press and necessary die for
fabricating the corrugated units.

Once the corrugation parameters are worked out

depending on the section modulus requirement as per the
classification rules, these individual corrugated units are
fabricated.

These are produced by a single stroke in a hydraulic press

using suitable male and female die. A typical V-type male
female die is shown in Fig. 5.11.
Each plate is thus individually corrugated and the final
bulkhead is constructed by butt welding these individual
units.

The involvement of welding is much less here compared to

that of flat plate bulkheads with stiffeners. The
corrugations are given along the plate length. In general
where ever corrugated bulkheads are used, the
corrugations are kept along the vertical.

Therefore the advantage of reducing plate thickness as

obtained in flat plate bulkheads is not there in case of
corrugated bulkheads. These type of bulkheads are
generally used in bulk carriers and oil tankers.
5.3.2 Non Water Tight Bulkheads
The partition bulkheads in the accommodation region
and the wash bulkhead in the fore end construction
are non water tight bulkheads.

The wash bulkheads even have fairly large openings to

make the structure lighter. These openings are referred
to as lightening holes.

These bulkheads can be of flat stiffened plate

construction or of corrugated construction.
5.4 Decks and Shells
The external skin of a ship comprises of weather
deck, side and bottom shell.

Depending on ship type and its functional

requirement, a ship may have multiple decks as
well as inner and outer side shells. As such now it
is mandatory to have double bottom construction,
i.e. outer bottom or bottom shell and inner bottom
or tank top.

All these decks and shells are essentially flat or

curved stiffened plate
structures.
5.4.1 Main Deck and Lower Deck
The uppermost continuous deck of a ship is generally
referred to as the main deck.
It is also called weather deck as it is exposed to the
weather. The continuous deck to which the transverse
subdivision bulkheads extend is referred to as bulkhead
deck.
Hence the main deck, the weather deck and the bulkhead
deck can be one and the same deck and in most of the
cases it is so.
Depending on functional requirement, a ship may not
have any lower deck or can have a single lower deck or
multiple lower decks.
Bulk carriers, oil tankers, container ships do not have
lower deck, however there will be at least one lower deck
in general cargo ship.
This is also referred to as tween deck. Whereas in RO-RO
vessels, there will be multiple lower decks.

All these decks are continuous and run through the cargo
holds along the ship’s length and thereby they contribute
towards longitudinal strength of the ship.

Hence these decks are accordingly designed to withstand

the local deck loading as well as the loading due to
longitudinal bending of hull girder.

As it has been already explained, longitudinal framing

system is adopted in construction of these decks.
For increasing functional versatility, a ship can be fitted with
folding tween deck, thus with the tween deck in lowered
condition, the ship will function as a general cargo ship and
in the folded or lifted condition the same vessel will
function as a dry bulk carrier.

In this case the tween deck in the cargo hold is hinged at

the side shell. About those hinges, the deck can be made
horizontal or lifted up and kept inclined as sloping bulkhead
in a bulk carrier.

As because these decks are not continuous along the ship’s

length, they do not contribute to the longitudinal strength
of the ship. They are designed based on the cargo loading
only that is likely to act on these decks.
The structural arrangement of main deck with hatch
opening is essentially same for all types of vessels. Ships
not having hatch opening, the structural arrangement
remains the same without the portion of the cross deck
structure as in case of decks with hatch opening.
Structural arrangement of main deck of a general cargo carrier
Main deck of a general cargo carrier has longitudinal framing
system, i.e. primary stiffening members are longitudinal stiffeners.
This provides for higher buckling strength and results in higher
strength to weight ratio. At the same time these deck longitudinals
also provide for longitudinal bending strength.
The secondary stiffeners are the deck transverses of higher
scantling which provide support to the deck longitudinal and also
reduce their unsupported span. These members provide for
transverse strength. The space between the two consecutive hatch
openings, referred to as cross deck structure, is transversely
stiffened. Since the length of this cross deck structure is much less
than 15 % of the length of the ship, this part does not contribute to
longitudinal strength.
Hence the deck plate used in this place in line of opening is of
much smaller thickness compared to the plates outside line of
opening.
Therefore this part becomes prone to buckling due the
action of compressive transverse loads.
Therefore transverse stiffening is done on the cross deck.
Hatch side girders and hatch end beams are provided
around the hatch openings to partially compensate for
the loss in strength due to large hatch opening.
Deck transverses are provided at about 3–4 frame space
to provide support to the longitudinals as well as to
provide for transverse strength.
Because of narrowing of the sections, the fore and aft end
of the deck is stiffened by stiffeners laid out somewhat
radially, known as cant beams. A typical structural
arrangement of a deck with hatch opening is shown in
Fig. 5.12.
5.4.2 Side Shell
The side shell of a ship normally forms the side
boundary of the cargo hold and the engine room. Hence
depending on the type of cargo as well as structural
strength requirement, it may be of single shell
construction or cellular, i.e. double wall construction. In
oil tankers, it is mandatory to have double wall
construction to provide for additional safety against oil
spill in the event of any accident.

Whereas in case of large container ships, it is preferable

to have cellular construction to provide for adequate
torsional strength to the hull girders. Rest of the ship
types has single skin construction.
In case of cellular construction, longitudinal framing
system is adopted for both the outer and inner side
shells, as it provides for higher buckling as well as
higher longitudinal strength.

Whereas in case of other ships, depending on ship

type or the type of cargo, either longitudinal or
transverse framing system is adopted for stiffening
of the side shells.
Transverse framing system is adopted for stiffening of
side shell of a general cargo carrier.

If longitudinal framing system is used then it would

require transverse web frames having web depth at least
double to that of the longitudinals. In that case it would
encroach more in the cargo stowage space.

Whereas in transverse farming system, the transverse

web depth will be smaller than that in longitudinal
framing system. Hence one will achieve higher clear
cargo stowage space.
Similarly in case of dry bulk carrier, the side shell in the
cargo hold region is transversely stiffened.

However the wing tanks are longitudinally stiffened. In

bulk carriers, loose cargo is carried in bulk. If the side shell
is stiffened with longitudinal members, then they will act
as shelves, thus even after unloading of cargo, some
amount of cargo will always remain on them.

Hence transverse framing system is adopted for the cargo

hold side shell of bulk carriers.
5.4.3 Inner Bottom Plating
As per Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) requirement, all
ocean going ships are required to have double
bottom, i.e. outer bottom and inner bottom.

The space in the double bottom cannot be used for

carrying cargo. How the same is used for carrying
fuel oil, lubricating oil, fresh water and for
ballasting. Thus the space either remains empty or
is used for carrying some or other liquid.
Hence longitudinal framing system is adopted in the
double bottom. The upper plating of the double bottom
unit is referred to as inner bottom plating or tank top
plating.

This is longitudinally framed and the tank top

longitudinals are supported by the floors in the double
bottom. Thus the inner bottom plating provides for a
smooth flat surface for stowage of cargo.
The inner bottom panel is prefabricated complete with the
inner bottom longitudinals and then it is put over the
double bottom unit on the skid. It is then welded to the
bilge plate at the sides and to the floors at the bottom.
5.4.4 Bottom Shell
The bottom shell is the bottom most plating of the hull
girder. The central plating of the bottom shell plate is the
so-called keel plate.

The adjacent plating is called garboard strake, and the

plating at the round of bilge is called the bilge plate.

The bottom shell is also longitudinally stiffened and the

bottom shell longitudinals are supported by the floors in
the double bottom.
The bottom shell plates are laid over the skid and
butt welded to form the bottom shell panel.

Then the bottom shell longitudinals are positioned,

aligned and tack welded in position. The floors are
then placed in position and tack welded.

Finally all the longitudinals and the floors are

welded to the bottom shell panel as per the
prescribed welding sequence.