5003 Lectures - Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science

E5003 - Ship Structures I 3
© C.G. Daley
Topic 1: Introduction to Ship Structures
Cruise Ship Structure
hand drawn sketch
The course is intended to develop the student’s
knowledge of ship structures. The focus is on
various types of intact structural behavior,
building upon concepts from mechanics of
materials. The course project will involve the
design, assessment, drawing and reporting on the
mid-ship scantlings (hull girder design) of a large
vessel. The follow-on course (6003) will
move from the consideration of intact
behavior to the mechanics of structural
failure.
One of the aims of the course is for the
students to develop the ability to make an
educated guess. Such guesses are not wild
or random. Educated guesses are based on
sound reasoning, careful approximation
and simplification of the problem. In most
cases the 'guess' starts by forming an idea of the
problem in its essential form, or in 'bounding'
forms. Basic laws of mechanics are considered to
determine what fundamental principle might
govern the outcome. Most problems are governed
by simple conservation laws, such as of forces,
moments, momentum and/or energy.
A related aim of the project is for the students to
develop the ability to sketch the problem at hand,
by hand and clearly. Sketching is a form of
symbolic communication, no less valuable than the
alphabet or algebra.
Background
Humans have been constructing structures for a
long time. A structure is a tool for carrying
(carrying what is in or on the structure). Ship
structures have evolved like all other types of
structures (buildings, aircraft, bridges ...). Design
was once purely a craft. Design is evolving as we