Principles of Stability

References
INE: Ch 22 (389-400)
INE: Ch 23 (401-402, 409)
PNE: Ch 3 (1-10)


HW: LG #24
Principles of Stability
Gravity
Force exerted on a body drawing towards the
center of the earth. Acts through center of
gravity (G)
Buoyancy
An object floating in liquid displaces a volume
of liquid equal to the submerged volume of the
object. This exerts a pressure on all surfaces of
the object resulting in a force opposing gravity
through the center of buoyancy (B)
Principles of Stability
Archimedes Principle
object submerged in fluid is buoyed up by a
force equal to the weight it displaces
Displacement
Weight of ship equal to weight of water
displaced by volume of underwater body of
ship
W = V x 1/35
Displacement depends on density of water (salt
vs fresh)
Archimedes Principle
An object floating or
submerged in a fluid
is buoyed up by a
force equal to the
weight of the fluid
displaced
Displacement Curve:
Plots draft vs displacement
for a particular ship
Vocabulary
Draft: how far your boat is in the water,
measured in ft or yds
Freeboard: what is left above water (rough
measure of reserve buoyancy)
Depth of hull: gunwale to keel
Reserve buoyancy: volume of the
watertight portion of ship above waterline
WATERLINE
D
E
P
T
H

O
F

H
U
L
L

D
R
A
F
T

F
R
E
E
B
O
A
R
D

RESERVE BUOYANCY
Reference Points
Keel (K): bottom line of ship, base line
Center of buoyancy (B): single force that
acts vertically upward. Located at
geometric center of underwater body.
Moves as ship heels
Center of gravity (G): single force that acts
vertically downward. Located at geometric
center of ship. Does not move as ship heels
Reference Points
(cont)
When at rest, B and G lie on same vertical
line.
Metacenter (M): intersection of two lines of
action of B as ship heels
Terms
Metacentric Height - GM
measure of stability
Righting Arm (GZ)
Perpendicular distance between the lines of
action between the two forces
GZ = GM (sin ())
G
Z
M

B
Terms
Couple
Two forces of equal magnitude acting in
opposite and parallel directions produce a
rotation motion
Created when ship heels and Buoyant force and
Gravity are no longer in line with each other
When inclining a ship, this couple produces
either a righting moment or an upsetting
moment depending on the relative location of B
and G
RM = W x GZ
Linear Measurements
KG: height of center of gravity above keel
GM: Metacentric height (measure of initial
stability to 7 degrees, after that we use
stability curve)
States of Stability
Positive: M above G
Neutral: M and G same position
Negative: M below G

GM used as a measure of stability up to 7,
after that values of GZ are plotted at
successive angles to create the stability
curve
Stability Curve (Cont)

Effects of draft on righting arm:
Righting arms (GZ) decrease
Displacement (W) increases
Righting moment overall may increase or
decrease. Function of hull shape, magnitude of
displacement change
Effect Of Draft On Righting
Arm
Definitions
Roll: Back/forth motion transversely
Pitch: Back/forth motion longitudinally
Yaw: Side to Side
List: Difference between Port and Stbd draft
Trim: Difference between fwd/aft draft
Center of Flotation: Point at which ship trims
about
Effects of Weight Shifts
Weight shifts effect Center of Gravity (G)
Shift of G will be in same direction of
weight shift (vertical, horizontal, fore/aft)
GG
1
= (w) (s) / W
GG
1
: Distance of shift of Center of Gravity
w: Shifted component weight
s: Distance component is shifted
W: Weight of entire system
Effects of Weight Shifts
(cont)
Vertical Shifts:
As G shifts up, for a given angle of heel,
righting arm decreases (ship less stable)
Horizontal Shifts:
G will shift in the direction of weight shift,
causing the ship to heel to one side
Righting arm is decreased since G is moved
from centerline toward B
Free Surface Effect
Occurs when a compartment or tank is only
partially flooded / filled
As the ship rocks, water wants to maintain a
level condition causing sloshing of water
As water shifts in direction of heel, Center
of Gravity shifts thus decreasing the
righting arm
This effect reduced by pocketing
Summary