Lightweight Materials Launched for Shipbuilding
S. Himmelstein | July 01, 2017The application of sustainable construction principles to shipbuilding is the goal of the Realisation and Demonstration of Advanced Material Solutions for Sustainable and Efficient Ships (RAMSSES) project. The four-year EU-sponsored initiative is a collaboration of 37 partners from 13 nations initiated to design a 70 m-long hull composed of fiber-reinforced composites.
Sustainable solutions such as lightweight construction techniques and advanced materials are in demand, as the
RAMSSES has the strategic objective to obtain recognition and an established role for advanced materials in the European maritime industry. Image credit: Evonik number of container ships in operation is constantly growing in response to the global volume of commercial trading. Ships equipped with the new hulls will be less expensive to operate relative to steel construction due to lower fuel demands or increased cargo capacity.
Fiber-reinforced composites don’t rust, and their excellent resistance to seawater will translate into a reduced need to renew protective finishes and extended maintenance intervals.
Engineers from Evonik of Germany will work to improve the impact resistance and fatigue behavior of the finished hull, to be made of fiberglass and vinyl ester resin. The consortium also includes leading shipbuilders such as Meyer-Werft, Papenburg and Damen Shipbuilding of the Netherlands. These organizations are joined by established parts and equipment manufacturers such as Becker Marine Systems of Hamburg, Germany.
The use of carbon fiber composites marks a corner stone of shipbuilding technology.. Although the U.S. Navy has been using composite materials lately, it hasn't been applied to ship hulls. This can be a real breakthrough for the navy. Since retiring, I have been out of the shipbuilding field for 20 years now and find it hard keeping up with new technologies.
In reply to #1
I am Louis DiFrancesco
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I seek discussions with marine engineers and other design related professionals about the problems that are foreseen with my proposed Hydrofoil Sailing Ship as seen on YouTube Gale Wind Ship, inc Leaving Port.
Would you please contact me?
Applying lightweight (primarily organic) material to high performance monohull sailing hulls/decks has resulted in a proportional increase in beam. Fully loaded container ships have a very broad ''sail'' area, so some amount of broadening of hull beam may be expected. Less of a problem with tankers, but even with the widening of Panama Canal locks, the lightweight designs may push more vessel beams to beyond the Canal's capacity.
I am Louis DiFrancesco. I am from the areospace community, and I am attempting to suggest that materials/processes developed during the 1989 StarWars SuperComputer Project leading to the end of the Cold War might result in lighter over all hull densities using electroplated non-corrosive nickel in a "Bubble Wrap" air sack ship construction. The 330,000psi tensile strenght nickel sells for $3/pound or $4K/ton. So, $4M for material cost for a 1,000ton hull with a density of 10pounds/cuft that is 600ftx100ftx100ft barge configuration that goes 60+mph (52kph) could sell for $20M per hull that carries 10,000tons of cargo. This results in carrying 2 times more cargo by going 3 times faster than the current 5,000 ULCC foreign built ships that haul 60% or $78T/yr. This has created a National Security Priority by the Marine Administration to fund 87.5% LTV for shipyard improvements.
I seek contact with marine engineers/profession
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