Ship building technology involves business-process technologies, system technologies, shipyard productionprocess technologies, and technologies for new

materials and products. Advanced Shipbuilding Technology is

used to make state-of the art vessels and includes numerically controlled machine tools, robots, automated
process control equipment, computerized flexible manufacturing systems, associated computer software, and
other technology for improving shipbuilding and related industrial production. Advance technology incorporates
novel techniques and processes designed to improve shipbuilding quality, productivity, and practice. The
technology is environmentally sensitive so as to promote sustainable development through quality assurance,
continuous process production technology, energy efficiency, waste minimization and design for recyclability or
parts reuse. Advanced ship building technology also uses inventory management, upgraded worker skills, and
concurrent engineering along with other elements contributing to a shipyard's efficiency or productivity
assisting it to more effectively operates in the shipbuilding industry.
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Basics of Ship Hull Design

written by: Raunekk edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 4/16/2009
Hull is known as the foundation of the ship. It withstands extremely harsh climatic and weather conditions. Hull should be
designed in such a way that it is not affected by the different forces that acts on it while the ship is sailing. In this article we will
have a look at different hull designs.

Introduction
The hull is one part of the ship that requires extra concern during design and construction. In the history of naval architecture,
hull designs has evolved over a period of time, from cylindrical wooden shanks to steel columns. Engineers have been
continuously innovating hull designs to provide greater structural strength. As hull is continuously in contact with water, it is
under the effect of different types of forces acting at the same time. Not only that, a hull requires high durability and resistance to
prevent structural damage in case of collision or grounding.
Naval architects use different methods for hull construction keeping in mind the purpose and type of ship. In this article we will
have a look at the basic ship hull designs which are commonly used.

Terms in ship hull design

For understanding a hull structure, it is important to know the basic terms. We will quickly go through the basic terms that are
required to understand a design.
Frame- It is a steel plate that runs longitudinally or transversely throughout the hull structure. Frames are welded to the sides of
the hull as shown in the figure. They form the basis of any design and all hull designs consist of frames.
Plate Floor or Floor plate - A steel plate which is welded to the floor of the hull. Plate floors run longitudinally throughout the
hull floor as shown in the figure.
Flanged Bracket -Triangular shaped Iron brackets that are welded where the two frames meet. They are attached to the margin

plates to resist excessive bending stress.

Side Girders - Inter coastal plates that are used to join two floor plates.
Keel plate - They are used to join floor plates to the keel of the ship.

The two main methods that are used for hull construction are :

Transverse framing

Longitudinal framing.

Transversally Stiffened

Though this hull design is outdated, it is still used for smaller ships of length less than 120 meters. In
this design there is a plate floor every 3.05 meters and a frame every 1 meter. The frames run tranversally to the hull structure.
The frames are joined together with the help of floor angle iron transverse. In this design every floor plate will have 3 frames.
The frames are attached to the margin plates with the help of flanged bracket as shown in the figure.
Iron transverse is attached between two floor plates to provide additional support and increase structural strength. Refer the
diagram for a better understanding of the design.

Longitudinally framed hull- For Tankers

In longitudinal framing the frames are attached longitudinally to the floor plates instead of transverse.
This helps to resist the bucking force in a much effective way. Frames( Vertical and horizontal frames) are joined at the
intersection of two sides is the same way as in transverse design but with the help of web as shown in figure. Sealing plates are
used wherever the floors are to be made water tight(Generally in tankers). They are welded to the longitudinal frames as shown
in the figure.

Longitudinally framed hull-For Dry cargo

In Longitudinal framed hull for dry cargo, brackets are used to provide strength to the frame. The size of the brackets keeps on
increasing as the height of the deck increases. Brackets are used to provide additional structural strength to the bulkhead as
there are high number of inter-decks in ships used for dry cargo.