Inclining Experiment

Objective
The purpose of a stability test is to determine the lightship parameters of a vessel, from which the stability characteristics can be determined for each condition of loading, principally: Lightship displacement of the vessel; Longitudinal centre of gravity; and Vertical centre of gravity.

Definitions
For the purpose of this Annex, the following shall apply: Lightship Displacement () is the quantity of water displaced by the vessel expressed in tonnes (1 tonne = 1000kg). 1 Freeboard is the vertical distance from the water surface to the upper surface at side of deck. Transverse Metacentre If a vessel is inclined transversely through a small angle, the centre of buoyancy B will move slightly from the middle to towards the side, say B2 A verticle line through B 2 will cut the vertical centre line at the point M, the transverse metacentre. Metacentric Height GM in any condition of loading is the distance between the transverse metacentre and the centre of gravity of the vessel, in the condition of loading under consideration.

Preparation for the experiment

Inspection The vessel must be inspected and notes made of the distribution and weight of any temporary material or equipment on board that can not be removed at the time. All tanks should be inspected to ensure that they are empty. This should not present the inspector with a problem if the vessel is a new vessel at delivery stage. However, if the vessel is operational, if it is not possible to empty the tanks, they should be topped up to ensure that there would be no free surface effect during the experiment. Oil in crankcases and hydraulic oil systems are acceptable, but the levels in oil reservoirs should be carefully controlled. The bilge should be dry as should all ballast spaces. The vessel should be on an even keel. If it is not, weights can be added and their position recorded both horizontally and vertically (and of course, the actual weight recorded). Mooring Since the weather must be good, sea flat calm and no wind, light mooring lines should be used. Ensure that moorings are not so tight that they restrict vessel movement. The vessel must be well clear of the quay and should not be in danger of touching the bottom during the experiment.

The volume of water displace in cubic metres would be multiplied by 1.o25 if floating in sea water but since the density changes depending upon the place the experiment is conducted, the density must also be measured at the time of the experiment..

Measurement of freeboard The measurement of the freeboard is most important. The measurements should be make from a small boat or skiff and without touching the vessel in a way that would cause it to roll or pitch. Anyone on board should stay on the centre line and not move about. Pendulum arrangement If it is not possible to have more than one pendulum due to the size of the vessel, it should be located as close to amidships as possible and on the centerline. The pendulum should not be too short otherwise it would be difficult to accurately measure the deflection. Even in a small vessel it should not be less than 2 metres in length, but the longer, the better. The intention is to get a reasonable measurement at small angles of heel (not less than 2 and not more than 4. The longer the pendulum the longer the measuring board. The position of the centre mark "0" is important and if a metre stick or ruler is used, ensure that the zero mark selected will not cause confusing when measuring Port and Starboard measurements. Alternatively, a piece of paper can be pinned to the board and marked accordingly; this if fact provides more substantive evidence of the experiment. The weight at the end of the pendulum should lie within a damping liquid. The most effective is to use a tray filled with light lubricating oil placed below the measuring board. Provision of weights/weight measurement Suitable weights should be selected that are easily moved by one or two persons and they should ideally, be equal in weight. It is possible to use persons for this purpose provided that they are each weighed and the when they are asked to move, they do so in sequence. The position of the weights (or persons) should be marked on the deck and the measurements from the centre line recorded.

Experiment

Vessel Name Water density ............................. Moving weights to Port 0/4 1/4 2/4 0/3 1/3 2/3 0/2 1/2 2/2 0/1 1/1 2/1

Place . Center =/+/+/0 1/0 2/0 =/+/+/-

Date.. Time . Moving weights to Starboard 0/1 1/1 2/1 0/2 1/2 2/2 0/3 1/3 2/3 0/4 1 / 4 2/4

Officer in charge .........................................................................

Phase 1 The key points of reference demonstrated in figure 1 all lie one under the other. These are: K Point at the keel B Centre of buoyancy C Centre of gravity M Metacentre
M G

Figure 1
The inclining test

The height KB can be obtained from the displacement tables.2

With the vessel steady (no movement of persons on board) record the measurement or mark the zero point in line with the pendulum. Call this Experiment 0

Figure 2
Experiment 0

A B

C D

Move weight A from the Port side to the Starboard side over weight C If weights are moved by hand, ensure that the carriers go back to the centre line and remain still. When the vessel settles, mark the position of the pendulum line 1 or measure the deflection and write the result in the log. This is useful to detect any problems in the exercise. Call this Experiment 1.

Figure 3
Experiment 1

A C D

Move weight B to the Starboard side over weight D. When the vessel is steady, mark the position of the pendulum. At this point, the angle of inclination must not be more than 4 (preferably about 3) Call this Experiment 2.

Figure 5
Experiment 2

A B C D

In some cases it may be necessary to lift lines from the vessel prior to inclining the vessel in order to develop the displacement table.

Figure 6
The inclining test

The position of the key reference points now differ from Figure 1.
M G

Z
B

B and C are no longer in line and the righting lever G Z can be clearly seen.

Figure 7
Experiment 3

A B

C D

Move weights A and B back to the their original positions on the Port side and when all is steady, mark the position of the pendulum 4 which is Zero but it may not coincide with the original Zero position (or enter the measurement in the log). Call this Experiment 3

Figure 8
Experiment 4

A B

Move the weight C and to the Port side and place it over weight A. When settled, mark the position No. 5 or enter the measurement in the log. As before, this will help to determine if there are any problems occurring due to wind, touching bottom etc. Call this Experiment 4.

Experiment 5

C D A B

Place weight D over weight B and when all ism settled, mark the board No. 6 or enter the distance moved from the new Zero position in the log. Call this Experiment 5.

Move weights C and D back to their original positions on the Starboard side. Mark the new Zero position if not the same as before or enter the distance moved by the pendulum from position No. 6. Call this Experiment 6.

Figure 8
Experiment 6

Distance between weights A B C D Pendulum length Deviation

Freeboard

Repeat the movement of the weights at least three times making sure that the next set of marks are clearly separated from the first sequence and always being careful to record the correct Zero position. Figure 9 The freeboard must be measured. This should be done as accurately as possible and patience is required, particularly if the water tends to lap the side of the hull. The key points are: ford amidships P and S aft.

Water

line

Base line

At the same time, the draft can be measure and this will provide a check on the accuracy of the draft marks.

Tangent 2 1 Healing moment 3 4 5 In the example given in the description of the inclining experiment, two weights per side are used but in practice 3-4 aside would be common and for small vessels, probably 3 persons per side. If the healing moment is calculated for each change of weight, the result can be plotted on a graph. If all is well, after all weights have been moved (and results plotted) the line through the plots should be reasonably straight. If not, the reasons could be too strong a wind or touching the bottom or the moorings are having an effect. Unless the fault is cured, the experiment should be abandoned. Calculation In the experiment described above, (drawn from an actual experiment) the following data was logged: Weight moved (w) Distance moved by the weight. (d) Length of pendulum (l) Displacement The four weights used measure 87...kg each 2.708 1.690 m 29.579 Tons 6

The deflection of the pendulum being recorded as follows: Experiment No. 0 01 02 03 04 05 06 Total deflection 119mm Measurement from metre stick on baton 100 113 129 97 80 68 97 Deflection of Pendulum 0 13 mm weight A to B 16 mm weight B to D 32 weights A+B returned to Port side positions (2 moves) 17 mm weight C to 12 mm weight D to B 29 mm weights C +D returned to Starboard side (2 moves) Mean deflection 14.874mm

To obtain GM Solving for GM:

GM = .w x. d tan or GM =w x d x l

Note that KM is constant for a particular draft and can be obtained from the vessels curves of form and GM is obtained from the experiment noting also that KG = KM - GM Thus to find the GM from the experiment given in the example, GM = 87.23 x 2.708 x 1.69 29597 x 0.014874 Thus, GM = 0.907 m