Rudders

A rudder allows the ship to turn, simple plates have been superseded by plates welded to cast or fabricated frame. Rudders are hollow and so provide for some buoyancy . In order to minimise the risk of corrosion internal surfaces are provided with a protective coating and some are even filled with foam. A drain plug is provided to allow for the drainage of water , enable internal inspection to be made using fiber optic device and even allow for the limited application of a protective coating. Plates are welded to the frames internally in order to provide flush fitting , the final closing plate must be welded externally. A means of lifting is provided taking the form of a tube as close to the center of gravity as possible. Rudders are tested to a pressure head 2.4m above the top of the rudder. If the rudder has its entire area aft of the rudder stock then it is unbalanced .A rudder with between 20 and 40% of its area forward of the stock is balanced since there will be some angle at which the resultant moment on the stock due to the water force will be zero. Most modern rudders are of the semi-balanced design. This means that that a certain proportion of the water force acting on the after part of the rudder is counter acted by the force acting on the for'd half of the rudder; hence, the steering gear can be lighter and smaller. A rudder may lift due to the buoyancy effect, the amount of lift is limited by the jumper bar fitted to the stern frame. The jumper/rudder clearance must be less than the steering gear cross head clearance to prevent damage. A rudder is supported by means of a bearing pintle or a lower bearing depending upon the design. Where a lower bearing is employed the rudder is actually supported on split bearing rings fitted on the lower face of the rudder and the upper face of the sole piece ( the extended lower section of the stern frame upon which the rudder sits) SEMI BALANCED RUDDER Semi balanced rudder with rudder horn

Fully balanced rudder To reduce the amount of torque required to turn a rudder the pivot point is moved back from the leading edge. The amount of torque then varies depending on the angle of attack. Zero torque leads to instability with rudder moving within its clearances.

Spade Rudder

The reduced diameter at the upper part is purely to transmit torque. The lower section must also support bending moments and hence increased diameter. With twin rudder ships the inner rudder must turn through a greater angle than the outer. This is achieved by having the tiller arm at an angle to the centre line of the rudder. It is possible to have the blades angled in or out when the wheel is amid ships to increase propulsive efficiency.