Ship building materials

Earlier ships were built with timber

This led to restriction in size with regard to length and breadth.
In spite of using iron alloys with wood, there was no significant
growth in size of ships
From 1800 CE, metal started playing bigger role in construction
of ships
By 1850 CE first iron ship had arrived the scene
Present day ships are made up of alloys of iron and aluminium.
Other metal alloys play minor parts
Normally due to their physical properties pure metals are not
used.

Captain Vijay M. Damley

Ship building materials

Steel is an alloy of iron.
It comes in many types.
Alloy has lot different properties than a pure mental.
These properties can be controlled by using specific
procedures.
Similarly Aluminium alloys are used for ship building

Captain Vijay M. Damley

Ship building materials

Stress strain curve is a behaviour of material when it is
subjected to load. In this diagram stresses are plotted
along the vertical axis and as a result of these stresses,
corresponding strains are plotted along the horizontal
axis. As shown below in the stress strain curve.

Captain Vijay M. Damley

Ship building materials

From the diagram one can see the different mark points
on the curve. It is because, when a ductile material like
mild steel is subjected to tensile test, then it passes
various stages before fracture.
These stages are
1. Proportional Limit
2. Elastic Limit
3. Yield Point
4. Ultimate Stress Point
5. Breaking Point
Captain Vijay M. Damley

Why Steel?
Properties of steel
The physical properties of steel include high strength, low
weight, durability, ductility and resistance to corrosion. Steel,
as we all know, offers great strength though it is light in
weight. In fact, the ratio of strength to weight for steel is the
lowest than any other building material available to us. The
term ductility means steel can be molded easily to form any
desired shape.
Steel is a good conductor of electricity, i.e., electricity can pass
through steel.
It can be welded easily
Cheaper than other metals
Captain Vijay M. Damley

Ship building materials

There are now five different qualities of steel employed
in merchant ship construction and now often referred to
as IACS steels.
These are graded A, B, C, D, and E, Grade A being an
ordinary mild steel to Lloyds Register requirements and
generally used in shipbuilding. Grade B is a better
quality mild steel than Grade A and specified where
thicker plates are required in the more critical regions.
Grades C, D, and E possess increasing notch-tough
characteristics

Captain Vijay M. Damley

Ship building materials

High tensile steel
Steels having a higher strength than that of mild steel
are employed in the more highly stressed regions of
large tankers, container ships, and bulk carriers.
There are many types of steel materials.
Since it is an alloy, it has many properties and they can
be altered for specific use

Captain Vijay M. Damley

Ship building materials

Aluminium Alloys
There are three advantages that aluminium alloys have
over mild steel in the construction of ships.
Firstly, aluminium is lighter than mild steel (approximate
weights being 2.723 tonnes/m3, mild steel 7.84
tonnes/m3), and with an aluminium
structure it has been suggested that up to 60% of the
weight of a steel structure may be saved. This is in fact
the principal advantage as far as merchant ships are
concerned,
the other two advantages of aluminium being a high
resistance to corrosion and its nonmagnetic properties.
Captain Vijay M. Damley

Ship building materials

Plastics and composite materials
There is tendency to use Plastics and other materials for
aesthetic purpose.
Most of the materials used on ships do not need
maintenance
All material used on the ship is tested by Labs for
strength and Fire resistance.
You cannot use any unapproved material.

Captain Vijay M. Damley

Ship building materials

Various modular sections used on ships

Captain Vijay M. Damley

10

Ship building materials

Thank You

Captain Vijay M. Damley

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