Bulkheads Purpose: Transverse Bulkheads serve to : Subdivide a ship against flooding and spread of fire Support Decks &

mp; Superstructures Resist racking stresses Definitions Margin line" means a line drawn at least 76mm below the upper surface of the bulkhead deck at the side of a ship, and assumed for the purpose of determining the floodable length of the ship Bulkhead Deck : It is usually the freeboard deck For Collision Bulkhead it is the uppermost continuous deck For Afterpeak Bulkhead it may be one deck above load water line, provided this deck is made watertight to the stern or to a watertight transom floor.

Freeboard Deck :It is normally the uppermost complete deck exposed to the weather & sea which has permanent means of closing all openings in the weather part thereof and below which all openings in the side of the vessel are fitted with permanent means of closing watertight. Weathertight : Means that in any sea conditions water will not penetrate into the vessel. Fire Protection by Bulkheads

Class A Are divisions forming bulkheads and decks that are; Constructed of steel or equivalent suitably stiffened Prevent passage of smoke and flame to the end of one hour standard fire test Insulated using non-combustible material so that average temperature on un-exposed side does not rise above 140oC and point temperature above 180oC. The time duration for which the bulkhead complies with this , governs its class A-60--- 60 Min A-30--- 30 Min A-15 ---15 Min A-0 ---0 Min

THE FIRE TEST FOR A & B CLASS DIVISIONS

Class B These are divisions formed by bulkheads, decks, ceilings and lining Prevent passage of flame for first half hour of standard fire test Insulated so average un-exposed side temperature does not rise more than 140oC above original and no single point rises more than 225oC above original . B-15 -15 Min B-0 -0 Min Constructed of non-combustible material and all materials entering the construction are similarly noncombustible except where permitted.

standard fire test means a test in which a specimen of the relevant A Class or B Class Division, having an exposed surface area of not less than 4.65 square metres and a bulkhead height or deck length of 2.44 metres, resembling as closely as possible the intended construction and including where appropriate at least one joint, is exposed in a test furnace to a series of time temperature relationships defined by a smooth curve drawn through the following temperature points measured above the initial furnace temperature At the end of the first 5 minutes 556C 10 minutes 659C 15 minutes 718C 30 minutes 821C 60 minutes 925C

Class C These are divisions constructed of approved noncombustible materials. Combustible veneers are allowed where they meet other criteria. (Veneer refers to Wooden laminates covering the divisions for good finish)

WATERTIGHT BULKHEADS The thickness of plate used in bulkhead construction is greater at the bottom than at the top, which reflects the different hydrostatic pressure expected, should the space be flooded. Openings in the watertight bulkheads have to be constructed so that the water-tight integrity is maintained.

Testing of Water-Tight Bulkheads:

 Bulkheads forming tank boundaries are tested by testing the tank. Peak Bulkheads, other than those forming peak tank boundaries, are tested by filling the peak to the level of the load waterline. Other Water tight bulkheads are hose tested to a pressure of 200 kn/m2. The test is carried out from the side on which the stiffeners are attached. On corrugated bulkheads any convenient side is chosen

 General Transverse water tight bulkhead are some of the principal transverse strength members of a ship. They are very strong in construction and are responsible for maintaining the transverse form of the hull. Spacing and the number of bulkheads: The number of transverse bulkheads in a ship depends on her length and the position of the machinery space. The minimum bulkheads fitted on a ship are asf: The forward-most transverse water tight bulkhead is called collision bulkhead and is designed to protect the vessel in case of a collision .It is usually fitted between 5% of the length of the vessel(or 10 mtrs, whichever is less) and 8% of the length of the vessel from the forward perpendicular. In practice this bulkhead is placed as far forward as possible

( without violating the above requirements) so that as much cargo carrying space is available. The space forward of this bulkhead is the Fore Peak Tank,Abaft this bulkhead is the first hold or tank. The After Peak Bulkhead is situated aft and serves to enclose the stern tube in a watertight compartment. Other bulkheads are fitted on the forward and after sides of the machinery spaces .If the machinery space is aft ,then either the afterpeak bulkhead or the bulkhead abaft the machinery space can be dispensed with. The cargo spaces are also sub divided uniformly so that the vessel can survive being bilged anywhere along her length. Example a ship of 105 m shall have 5 or 6 bulkheads depending of position of machinery spaces. A ship of 145 m shall be fitted with 7 or 8 bulkheads. The sub division rules specify the separation and number of bulkheads to be fitted on a ship Number Of Bulkheads(Cargo Ship) Length of Ship(Mtrs)/ 90-105 105-115 115-125 125-145 145-165 165-190 Number Of Bulkheads Midship M/S Aft M/S 5 5 6 5 6 6 7 6 8 7 9 8

Some adjustment can be made to permit special requirements for example holds being sized to carry containers.

Passenger ships which have to comply with SOLAS will have their case specially considered as flooding due to damages is to be controlled more stringently in such ships.

Construction of bulkhead: Bulkheads are constructed of plates joined together and stiffened by vertical and horizontal stiffeners. As the water pressure increases with depth, the thickness of the plating in the lower part needs to be increased accordingly. The thickness of the plates used in the construction will also depend on the size of the stiffeners used to stiffen the bulkhead plating. In practice plate thickness could range from7mm at the top to 12 mm at the bottom. Plate bulkheads would usually be stiffened vertically with angle bars ,channels or offset bulb plates. Scantlings of stiffeners depend on the stiffener spacing and type of connection at the ends. Stiffeners are normally connected to the deck and bottom by welding directly or by a bracket. Separation between stiffeners is 750 -760 mm which can be increased if horizontal stringers are inserted between the vertical stiffeners. The plating of the bulkheads is connected to the surrounding,plating, deck, ships side and tank top by welding after being double Veed at the edges. Modern Shipbuilding practice and technology enables more efficient corrugated bulkheads to be constructed. Because the plates are corrugated the bulkheads need not be fitted with stiffeners.

 Normally the corrugation is vertical or horizontal for transverse bulkheads and horizontal for longitudinal bulkheads. In areas where it is difficult to connect the corrugated bulkhead directly to the shell plating a flat plate with stiffening may be fitted at the sides. In order that watertight subdivision is continued below the level of the tank top the double bottom is fitted with a water tight floor. This floor must be as close to the watertight bulkhead above it. Bulkheads which form boundaries of oil carrying compartments will be of heavier scantlings ,the reason being that it may be necessary to carry a full tank cargo while the neighboring tank remains empty. Oil tightness must be guaranteed because often cargoes of different density/quality may be carried sharing the same separating bulkhead. Cargo contamination must not occur through leakage across the bulkhead. Adjacent tanks may be carrying water ballast. This must not get contaminated under any circumstances. In such case, precautions have to be taken to ensure watertightness. Watertight Bulkhead Penetrations The aft Engine room bulkhead is pierced to allow the propeller shaft to pass through. A Watertight gland is fitted around the shaft. Also an opening is provided for human passage by a water tight door. If a pipe passes through the bulkhead, it is flanged & bolted to the bulkhead.

 If the Pipe penetrates the collision bulkhead, then in addition to above arrangement, a manual screw down valve(operable from main deck) must be fitted on the forward side of the collision bulkhead.Usually this will be observed on the forepeak tank suction piping