STRESSES AND STRAINS IN SHIPS Stress and Strain-Stresf is load put on a piece of material or on a structure.

If the stress is excessive, the material may become permanently deformed and weakened and it is then said to be 'strained'. Types of Stress-Stresses are classified according to the way in which they act. Tensile stresses try to pull the material apart. Compressive stresses trv to crush the material, or to cause it to buckle. Shearing stresses may be described as the effect of forces which try to shear material across, or to make the component parts of a structure slide over each other. Bending stresses are compound stresses produced by forces when they try to bend a piece of materi21. Stress Concentrations-When a section is under load, there will usually be a large local increase of stress near any notch, . <>le, or abrupt change of shape of the section. This local increase is called a 'stress concentration' and it may be as great as two or three times the average stress elsewhere. It is usually at its worst where the edges of a hole or plate are left jagged, or where square-cornered holes are cut out of plates. It occurs to a lesser degree in the region of round holes, or of holes with rounded corners. Stress concentrations can be dangerous. They may cause the steel to crack in their vicinity, particularly in welded structures, even where the normal stress would not be large enough to cause cracking. It is, therefore, important to design the ship carefully so that stress concentrations are kept to a minimum, to round off and strengthen the corners of openings, and to keep the edges of plates and holes smooth and free from notches. Longitudinal Bending Stresses-If a beam or girder is bent, as shown in Fig. I, the greates[ tensile and compressive stresses occur at the top and bottom. Somewhere between the two, there is a line called the 'neutral axis' at which these stresses cease to exist. Shearing stresses are, however, least at the top and bottom and greatest near the neutral axis. For a more detailed description of these stresses, see Section V. Stresses in Ships-These may be divided into two classes, viz.: Structural-affecting the general structure and shape of the ship. Local-affecting certain localities only. A ship must be built strongly enough to resist these stresses, otherwise they may cause strains. It is, therefore, important that we should understand the principal ones and how they are caused and resisted. Principal Structural Stresses-Hogging and Sagging; Racking; effect of water pressure; and drydocking. Principal Local Stresses-Panting; Pounding; effect of local weights and vibration. Hogging and Sagging-These are longitUdinal bending stresses, which may occur when a ship is in a seaway, or which may be caused in loading her. Fig. 2 shows how a ship may be hogged and Fig. 3 how she may be sagged by the action of waves. When she is being loaded, too much weight in the ends may cause her to hog, or if too much weight is placed amidships, she may sag. The dark lines in Fig. 4 show how these stresses are resisted. At the bottom, all longitudinal work in the double bottom gives the necessary strength. At the top, the deck stringer and

sheerstrake are thickened, so as to make a strong L-shaped girder on either side. Deck girders and longitudinal bulkheads also help to resist this stress. In large ships, it may be necessary to use special steels for the sheerstrake and bilge strakes: also further to strengthen the ship by fitting longitudinal frames and beams in the bottom and under the strength deck. The stresses are greatest amidships, so the strength of the parts mentioned is made greater amidships than at the ends. In long ships, the. shearing stresses which occur near the neutral axis also become an important problem. In such ships, it may be necessary to strengthen the hull at about the halfdepth of the ship, in the neighbourhood of 0 ne-quarter of the length from each end. Racking-Fig. 5 shows how a ship may be 'racked' by wave action, or by rolling in a seaway. The stress comes mainly on the corners of the ship, that is, on the tank side brackets and beam knees, which must be made strong enough to resist it. Transverse bulkheads, web frames, or cantilever frames provide very great resistance to this stress. Effect of Water Pressure-Water pressure tends to push-in the sides and bottom of the ship. It is resisted by bulkheads and by frames and floors (Fig. 6). Panting-Panting is an in and out motion of the plating in the bows of a ship and is caused by unequal water pressure as the bow passes through successive waves. Fig. 7 illustrates how it is caused. It is greatest in fine bowed ships. For the means adopted to resist it, see 'Peak Tanks'. Pounding-When a ship is pitching, her bows often lift dear of the water and then come down heavily, as shown in Fig. 8. This is known as 'pounding' and occurs most in full-bowed ships. It may cause damage to the bottom plating and girdcrwork between the collision bulkhead and a point about one-quarter of the ship's length from the stem. For the strengthening to resist pounding, see 'Cellular Double Bottoms'. Local Weights-Local strengthening is introduced to resist stresses set up by local weights in a ship, such as engines. This is also done where cargoes imposing extraordinary local stresses are expected to be carried. Drydocking-It can be seen from Fig. 9 that a ship, when in drydock and supported by the keel blocks, will have a tendency to sag at the bilges. In modern ships of medium size, the cellular double bottom is usually strong enough to resist this stress without any further strengthening when the ship is light. There is always a danger, however, that such sagging may occur if the ship has much weight on board and, in this case, bilge blocks or snores should be used to prevent it. For this reason, many modern drydocks use bilge blocks as standard practice. Vibration-Vibration from engines, propellers, etc., tends to cause strains in the after part of the ship. It is resisted by special stiffening of the cellular double bottom under engine spaces and by local stiffening in the region of the stern and after peak.