FUNDAMENTALS OF
STABILITY
Stability is the tendency of a vessel to rotate one way
or the other when forcibly inclined. Stability can be
broken down into several categories, each of which
are alternatively emphasized in designing and
operating:
i. INITIAL STABILITY - The stability of a ship in the range
from 0 to 7/10 of inclination
ii. OVERALL STABILITY - A general measure of a ship's ability
to resist capsizing in a given condition
of loading.
iii. DYNAMIC STABILITY - The work done in heeling a ship
THE LAWS OF BUOYANCY
1. Floating objects possess the property of
buoyancy.
2. A floating body displaces a volume of
water equal in weight to the weight of the
body.
3. A body immersed (or floating) in water
will be buoyed up by a force equal to the
weight of the water displaced.
DISPLACEMENT
The weight of the volume of water that is
displaced by the underwater portion of the
hull is equal to the weight of the ship. This
is known as a ship's displacement. The
unit of measurement for displacement is
the Long Ton ( 1Ton = 1000 lit.)
GRAVITY
The force of gravity acts vertically
downward through the ship's center of
gravity. The magnitude of the force
depends on the ship's total weight.
UNITS OF MEASURE
Force: A push or pull that tends to produce motion or a
change in motion. Units: tons, pounds, Newtons, etc.
Parallel forces may be mathematically summed to
produce one "Net Force" considered to act through one
point.
Weight: The force of gravity acting on a body. This force
acts towards the center of the earth. Units: tons, pounds,
kilograms, etc.
Moment: The tendency of a force to produce a rotation
about a pivot point. This works like a torque wrench
acting on a bolt. Units: foot tons, Newton meters, etc.
STABILITY REFERENCE POINTS
M - Metacenter
G - Center of Gravity
B - Center of Buoyancy
K - Keel: The base line reference point from which all other reference
point measurements are compared.
LINEAR MEASUREMENTS IN STABILITY
KG - Height of the ships Center of Gravity the above Keel: This measurement is
found in section II(a) of the DC Book for several conditions of loading. To find
"KG" for loading conditions other than those in the DC Book, calculations must
be performed.
KM - Height of Metacenter above the Keel: This measurement is found by using
the Draft Diagram and Functions of Form Curves located in section II(a) of the DC
Book.
GM - Metacentric Height: This measurement is calculated by subtracting KG from
KM (GM = KM - KG). GM is a measure of the ship's initial stability.
BM - Metacentric Radius: The distance between the Center of Buoyancy and the
Metacenter. It is actually the radius of the circle for the movements of "B" at small
angles of heel.
THE STABILITY TRIANGLE
When a ship is inclined, the center of buoyancy shifts off centerline while
the center of gravity remains in the same location. Since the forces of
buoyancy and gravity are equal and act along parallel lines, but in
opposite directions, a rotation is developed. This is called a couple, two
moments acting simultaneously to produce rotation. This rotation returns
the ship to where the forces of buoyancy and gravity balance out.
The distance between the forces of buoyancy
and gravity is known as the ships righting arm.
As shown above, the righting arm is a
perpendicular line drawn from the center of
gravity to the point of intersection on the force of
buoyancy line.
For small angles of heel (0o through 7o to 10o,
metacenter doesnt move), the value for the
ships righting arm (GZ) may be found by using
trigonometry