DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

General - Stiffener/web connection

Size of welding gun compared to

typical stiffener height

Continuous welding difficult

Start and stop defects

50mm

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 General - Stiffener/web connection

Difficult to weld Bracket or flat bar added

Small shear Not too difficult to weld
capacity

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 General - Stiffener/web connection

Cover plate will improve

shear capacity and
improve force
distribution

If possible avoid scallops, snipe corner of collar

plate to allow space for longitudinal weld and then
weld continuously around collar plate
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General - Brackets

Edge Stiffening Requirements

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General - Tipping Brackets

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General - “Soft Toe” Brackets

10 - 15mm

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General - Termination of Sniped Stiffeners

30 degrees

Sniping allowed when:

•buckling stiffeners D<25mm

•dynamic loads/vibrations of
minor importance
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General - Pillar Connections to Deck

Should not be applied

if tension through
pillar may occur

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General - Pillar Connections/Cross Ties connection

Applicable to pillars/cross ties that may

be under compression and tension
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General - Alignment in Way of Section Joints

Bulkhead or deck

Section Joint
Easier to get acceptable
alignment when a continuous
member is penetrating the
bulkhead or deck structure
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General - Longitudinals through Web Frames

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Longitudinals at Watertight Bulkhead

Longitudinal
continuous through
bulkhead

Longitudinal
terminated at
bulkhead with soft-
nose brackets

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 Edge Support of Cut-Outs

Edge support when length of free edge exceed 50t or D≥

50t
Cut-outs to be kept well clear of end of brackets and
locations where shear stresses are high
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 Hard Chine / Knuckle
Problem: Cracking due to unfavourable detail design.
Possible Cause: The knuckle represents an elastic element in the
plate, the effective flange will be reduced and the stresses will
increase locally in way of the web / bulkhead, in addition large
dynamic pressures act on the planing strip / spray rail.

Integral spray rail

Cracks

External spray rail

Cracks in web
and shell plating

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 Hard Chine / Knuckle
Solution:

CHINE SUPPORT KNUCKLE SUPPORT

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Pillar Connections/Cross Ties connection
Problem: Cracking and Buckling and tripping of frame
buckling of frame webs
and ties.
Possible Cause:
Unfavourable detail
design.
Position

Cracks

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 Pillar Connections/Cross Ties connection

Solution: Soft toe brackets

Additional tripping brackets

should be fitted to support
cross tie or pillar.
Soft toe brackets to be fitted

Add tripping brackets

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 Transverse Frames - Buckling

Problem:Buckling and tripping of

frame in way of sharp radius.

Position
Buckled web and tripped flange

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 Transverse Frames Buckling
Solution: as illustrated below, or various combinations to
increase buckling capability

Additional Tripping brackets

buckling stiffener

Additional bracket
Tripping brackets

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SKEGS FOR DIRECTIONAL STABILITY
Problem: Cracks in various
locations starting from weld to
bottom plating, edges and slot
welds Bottom Pl.

Possible Cause:
Unfavourable detail design.
Insufficient stiffening
Unfavourable weld method
Cracks

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SKEGS FOR DIRECTIONAL STABILITY
Solution: Additional Stiffening / Continuous Welding
Introduce additional stiffening.
Improve weld connections by
using double sided fillet welds
or full penetration with backing
bar where access is difficult.
Avoid scallop welds, replace
with continuous welds against
permanent backing

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 SCALLOPS AND CHAIN WELDS
Problem:
Cracks originating from end of chain
weld propagating into stiffener. Cracks
originating from scallops propagating
into web or shell plating, along HAZ of
weld
Possible Cause:
Vibrations from machinery or high Crack

dynamic sealoads. Unfavourable detail

design for area. Unfavourable weld
execution at starts and stops of chain
welds and at ends/terminations of Cracks in web along HAZ of weld,
crack in bottom plating
scallops
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 SCALLOPS AND CHAIN WELDS
Solution: Re-weld with continuous
welding
Longitudinal stiffeners in area
should be welded with double
continuous welds. Scallops
should be avoided, necessary
drain holes may be cut in web
above weld to bottom plating

Scallops avoided, necessary

drain holes cut above weld.

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Thrust Bearing, Shaft Bearing and Engine Foundations

Problem:
Cracks in various parts of foundations
originating from weld toes at ends of
brackets, stiffeners and scallops, ends
of sniped flanges, or at ends of
Cracks in bracket supports starting
buttwelds in flanges in way of thickness from bracket ends and scallops
transitions.
Possible Cause:
Unfavourable detail design, weld
execution at ends, in way of scallops a a
and at buttwelds of thickness
transitions. Insufficient thickness of a:a

critical parts. Cracks in foundation flanges in way

of thickness transitions
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Thrust Bearing, Shaft Bearing and Engine Foundations

Solution:
Improve detail design, by avoiding brackets
and stiffening with unfavourable details as
indicated previously.
Increase thickness in certain locations. New thicker transverse webs cut from
one piece welded without scallops and
Improve position and profile of transitions with weld toes ground. Reposition girder
between thick and thinner parts. webs inside line of gear bed bolting.

Improve structural continuity by adding

brackets or new flange pieces replacing sniped
flanges.
Careful grinding of critical welds and rounding a a

of edges of foundations, flanges and

transitions will improve fatigue life a:a

Reposition weld in relation to

supports and increase taper
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Thrust Bearing, Shaft Bearing and Engine Foundations

Foundations supporting oscillatory equipment will be exposed to

varying degrees of vibrations at high frequency.
Fatigue failure must therefore be taken into consideration.
Typical details that may give rise to high stress concentrations
and for which it is difficult to obtain a good surface finish are
scallops, cutouts, sniped flanges etc.
It is therefore very important to maintain structural continuity,
avoid scallops and sniped flanges whenever possible and
improve details by grinding smooth surfaces at critical locations.

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FOIL AND APPENDAGE FOUNDATION
Problem:
Cracks in various parts of
foundations originating from weld
toes at ends of brackets, stiffeners
and scallops, or at ends of Foil internal
supporting
buttwelds in flanges in way of structure

thickness transitions.
Possible Causes:
Unfavourable detail design. Poor
execution of welds. Insufficient
dimensions of critical parts. Lack
Cracks in various of the flange
of structural continuity junctions and bracket end connections

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FOIL AND APPENDAGE FOUNDATION
Solution
Improving detail design by
ensuring soft transitions at
cruciform joints, positioning of
Use proper soft transitions
buttwelds outside areas of between girder flanges
stress concentrations, and soft toe brackets at
girder ends
avoiding scallops or ensuring
proper weld finishing at the
scallop toes, fitting of soft toe
brackets at ends of girders.

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BULKHEAD STIFFENING ARRANGEMENT

Problem: Cracks in brackets or stiffener at ends or cracks in

bulkhead plating in way of unsupported stiffener ends
Possible Cause: Unfavourable detail design. Fatigue cracking
from sloshing of liquid in tanks or varying sea pressure

Cracks

Cracks

Typical cracks at unsupported

ends of vertical stiffeners

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BULKHEAD STIFFENING ARRANGEMENT

Solution
Soft toe brackets
Provide full shear connection of webs
Provide end support to unsupported stiffeners.

Soft toe brackets,

stiffener
End connection of bulkhead stiffeners webs welded
continuously to
bulkhead.
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 BRACKET CONNECTIONS
Problem
Cracks in brackets and longitudinal
stiffener, cracks originating from weld
toes in various locations propagating
into plating or along HAZ of weld.
Possible Causes
Cracks
Vibrations from machinery or high
dynamic sealoads. Unfavourable detail
design for the area. Unfavourable
workmanship. Insufficient scantlings.

Intermittent welding

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 BRACKET CONNECTIONS
Solution
Connect webs of longitudinals
to bulkheads or frames with Soft bracket possibly of
increased size.
continuous welds, avoid
scallops and weld start / stops
in critical positions. Fit soft toe
brackets. Toe height should
be limited - refer soft toe
bracket detail
Webs welded continuously.

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 TRANSVERSE FRAMES
Problem
Cracking in plate buttweld in
knuckle. Cracking in webs and
bulkheads in way of knuckle.
Possible Causes
Unfavourable detail design. The
Cracks in webs and along
knuckle represents an elastic shell plating butt weld
element in the plate, the effective
flange will be reduced and the
Crack in longitudinal
stresses will increase locally in butt weld in shell
way of the web / bulkhead.

Cracks in webs from scallop

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 TRANSVERSE FRAMES
Solution Insert bent plate
Knuckles should be supported
with brackets which are properly
connected to stiffeners on
bulkheads or flanges of web Add brackets to support knuckle
frames.
For knuckles with small change
of direction, a plate insert made
from a bent plate may be
introduced to move butt weld out
of the knuckle area. Alt. 1, on both Alt. 2, on one
side of frame
sides of frame

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 STRUCTURAL DESIGN - POINTS TO REMEMBER

1. Bottom slamming will be dimensioning to all

structures in this area. Shear area requirement
to longitudinal stiffener may be severe.
2. Chines and knuckles have to be supported 5
3. Side plating (L>50m) may need increased
6 4
thickness for shear buckling.
4. Vertical pillars to be positioned correctly first 3
time.
5. Transverse deck girders will often have long
spans which need appropriate section
2
properties.
6. Deck plates of catamarans need to be
checked for buckling due to transverse bending
1
moment.
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