Frame Spacing, Alternate Shapes for Longitudinals, and Wider Plates for Productivity (The National Shipbuilding Research Program)

You are here: Homepage > Search

Frame Spacing, Alternate Shapes for Longitudinals, and Wider Plates for Productivity (The National Shipbuilding Research Program)

Two real modern-ship designs one for a tanker and the other for a container ship. were investigated with primary emphasis on productivity. Three aspects were considered separately : (1) increased transverse frame spacing: (2) use of bulb flat, flat bar or Yoder angles for longitudinal: and (3) use of wider plates. Equations were developed for evaluation of the costs that would apply to alternate configurations of the two ship designs. These equations comply with the requirements of the American Bureau of Shipping and they are incorporated herein. They can be applied using estimated costs for any ship construction program. They could yield, early in the design phase, the anticipated effects of the various configurations on productivity. For the ship designs investigated. the findings are qualitatively similar. The transverse frame spacing which yielded the largest cost-saving potential is approximately 25% greater. The bulb flat is the alternate shape for longitudinal which would have been most economical . These a alternatives would have yielded the following estimated savings per hull.