Maritime University of Szczecin
Akademia Morska w Szczecinie
2012, 29(101) pp. 140–145 2012, 29(101) s. 140–145
Modelig research on the flooding time of main engine room
vessel ship
Badania modelowe czasu zatopienia siłowni głównej
okrętu wojennego
Waldemar Mironiuk
Naval AcademyAkademia Marynarki Wojennej
81-103 Gdynia, ul. Śmidowicza 69, e-mail: w.mironiuk@amw.gdynia.pl
Key words: ship, ship stability, survivaibility, flooding time Abstract
Research on damage stability and unsinkability is a valuable source of knowledge of behaving a ship while flooding its compartments. In the paper, a short description of accidents and damages of Polish warships is presented. The time when compartment is flooded (tf) and stability parameters are one of the key elements which have influence on a rescue action. The knowledge of the time mentioned is very important for a commanding officer making decisions while fighting for survival of the ship. To provide the information about the time tf a new method was designed. The method was tested experimentally and results of the tests are presented in the paper. In the experiments, the flooding process of compartments in a ship of the type 888 was simulated. The next part of research was carried out on the laboratory stand bed, where the flooding time of damaged compartment of warship model was measured. The results of the experiments can be a base to define general rules to make proper decisions during the process of damage control.
Słowa kluczowe: okręt, stateczność okrętu, niezatapialność, czas zatopienia Abstrakt
Badania stateczności awaryjnej i niezatapialności okrętu stanowią źródło wiedzy o zachowaniu się okrętu podczas zatapiania jego przedziałów. W atykule przedstawiono krótką charakterystykę wypadków i awarii okrętowych. Podstawowymi parametrami mającymi wpływ na bezpieczeństwo okrętu i prowadzenie akcji ratowniczej są czas zatopienia przedziału okrętowego i parametry stateczności. Znajomość wymienionych pa-rametrów jest bardzo istotna dla oficera odpowiedzialnego za akcję ratowniczą i niezbędna do wypracowania decyzji o sposobie jej prowadzenia. Do określenia czasu zatopienia przedziału okrętowego opracowano nową metodę. W tym celu zbudowano program komputerowy, a wyniki otrzymane podczas testu eksperymentalne-go oraz symulację procesu zatapiania uszkodzoneeksperymentalne-go przedziału siłowni głównej okrętu zaprezentowano w referacie. W kolejnym etapie przeprowadzono badanie czasu zatopienia siłowni na stanowisku laboratoryj-nym. Otrzymane wyniki badań mogą być podstawą do opracowania metod walki z awariami w ramach obro-ny przeciwawaryjnej okrętu.
Introduction
Even highly organized fleets struggle with acci-dents and technical breakdowns which cannot be completely eliminated. The breakdowns can be classified based on their causes. The basic causes of the breakdowns are: warfare, defects of materials and defects within the production process, construc-tional defects, technological defects in the process
of renovation, material’s wear and tear, not meeting the requirements in operating and servicing an equipment, not taking security measures while stor-ing dangerous cargoes, e.g. explosive materials, petroleum products and other chemical components of serious fire hazard, environmental hazards.
A partial or total loss in functionality of mecha-nisms and installations can occur both during war-fare and during daily operating a ship.
Failures caused by navigational errors or wrong manoeuvring represent a group of ship accidents and breakdowns which can lead to dangerous loss of buoyancy of a ship due to flooding its compart-ments.
The statistical data prepared by the Polish Navy Commission of Warship Accidents and Break-downs reveal 156 warship accidents and break-downs between 1985 and 2004. The data mentioned are presented in figure 1 [1].
Fig. 1. The overall graph of accidents and breakdowns between 1985–2004
Rys. 1. Wykres wypadków i awarii w latach 1985–2004 In a situation of a breakdown crew activities deciding about ability of a warship to fight should be directed to take a proper actions during the process of damage control and to protect stability and manoeuvrability of the ship.
Exercises within the boundaries of the process of damage control, apart from construction solu-tions, increase the safety of both, the ship and the crew. Training is carried out in well prepared training centers which are situated in the United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands and Pakistan. The centers are equipped with ship models de-signed for simulating failure states which most frequently occur while operating a ship. The same models were also used in the experiments reported in the paper. One of the goals of the experiments mentioned was to determine the following parame-ters: tf and GM for the ship type 888. This warship is used for training of Polish seafarers taking part in numerous international cruises. Main dimensions of the ship are: length L – 72 m, breadth B – 12 m, draught T – 4.2 m and displacement 1750 t. Photo of the ship is shown in figure 2.
Presently, only simplified methods to calculate the parameters above mentioned exist. The method presented in the paper has a distinctive difference compared to the existing, similar methods discussed in some publications. The worked out method considers the permeability value dependent on the
water level inside the damaged compartment. Due to this, more accurately quantity of water in the compartment and finally more accurately flooding time of the damaged compartment can be estimat-ed. The aim of presented method is to provide ex-perimental validation.
The information about tf and stability parameters is very important for a commanding officer. It ena-bles him to make a proper decision during the pro-cess of damage control. The officer, based on the information should determine the point in time, when further fighting for survivaibility is senseless and when all effort should be directed to save the crew and documents [2].
Calculating the time of flooding ship’s compartment
When calculating tf, first, the velocity of water running through the damaged hull has to be deter-mined. The water flowing through a hole can be compared to liquid flowing from a tank of a surface
A. The water velocity can be obtained from the
following formula [3]: 2 0 1 2 A A gh v z w (1)
where: A0 – cross section of a hole; A – horizontal cross section of a tank; g – acceleration due to gravity, and hz – height of a liquid inside the tank.
Because the surface of a hole is much smaller than the sea surface, the water velocity can be ob-tained according to Torricelli’s formula:
gh
vw 2 (2)
where: h – depth of the hole.
13 5 6 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 1985‒1990 1991‒1998 1999‒2004 A nn ua l a ve ra ge of a cc id en ts Years
Fig. 2. Ship type 888 Rys. 2. Statek typu 888
For the real liquid, the formula (2) can be pre-sented as follows:
gh
vw 2 (3)
where: = 0,970,98 – the velocity coefficient dependent on the kind of liquid.
The equation (3) is applied when the water sur-face inside a hull is below a lower edge of a hole, i.e. for a constant pressure of the water. When the water pressure is variable (the water surface inside a hull is above an edge of a hole and still grows up) the velocity of the water flowing into the compart-ment can be obtained according to the formula:
0
2g h h
vw (4)
where: h0 – height of liquid inside a tank above an edge of a hole.
The hole in the body can have a different shape and dimension dependent on the reason of damage. The shape of the hole influences on the volumetric flow rate Q of the water flowing to the compart-ment. The parameter Q depends on , which in turn is a product of coefficient and narrowing coeffi-cient = 0,610,64. Therefore, the volumetric flow rate of water Q flooded to the interior compartment can be obtained from the formula:
gh A
Q 0 2 (5)
Fig. 3. Compartment being flooded: a) with constant water pressure, b) with variable water pressure
Rys. 3. Przegrody w czasie zatapiania: a) ze stałym ciśnieniem wody, b) ze zmiennym ciśnieniem wody
When the pressure of the water is variable, the volumetric flow rate of water Q inside the com-partment is calculated from the formula:
0
0 2gh h
A
Q (6)
The time tf is as follows:
Q V
tf (7)
where: V – the volume of the water inside a com-partment (in the final hydrostatic equilibrium phase).
Calculating the volume of damaged compartments
The calculation of tf was conducted for a dam-aged engine room of the ship type 888. A computer program was implemented to enable the calcula-tions above. The program makes it possible to fix basic and necessary parameters to make a correct evaluation of the ship state. In turn, the information about the parameters mentioned above makes it possible to take proper decisions during the process of the damage control.
The permeability calculation
The volume of the empty compartment was calculated with the aid of the computer program. The real quantity of the water, flooding the com-partment, is less than the theoretical volume of the compartment due to the volume of all mechanisms and devices inside the compartment. Usually, to calculate a real quantity of the water, the permeabil-ity of flooding compartment μ is used. Permeabilpermeabil-ity is used in ship survivability and damaged stability calculations. In this case, the permeability of a space is a coefficient from 0 to 1. The permeability of a space is the percentage of volume of the space which may be occupied by seawater if the space is flooded. The remaining volume (not filled with seawater) being occupied by machinery, cargo, accommodation spaces, etc. The value of permea-bility for compartment is calculated by the formula:
t
v v
(9)
where: vt – theoretical compartment volume; v – real quantity of the water inside the compartment.
The numerical value of the permeability de-pends on both, the type and the destination of damaged compartment. The permeability of the compartment μ, which is indicated in the SOLAS Convention, is usually used to calculate the real a)
volume of the compartment. Typical values from the SOLAS Convention are:
– 0.95 for voids (empty spaces), tanks, and living spaces;
– 0.85 for machinery spaces; – 0.60 for spaces allocated to stores.
This implies that for damaged stability calcula-tion purposes, machinery spaces are only 15% full with machinery by volume (100% – 85% = 15%).
In preliminary research presented in the paper, permeability of the engine room was estimated. Its value depends on the height of the water inside the compartment. The graph of the permeability is shown in figure 4 [4].
Fig. 4. Graph of the engine room permeability μv Rys. 4. Wykres przepuszczalności μv maszynowni
The average value of the permeability for cho-sen compartments, obtained as a result of experi-ments, is comparable with the value of the SOLAS Convention and equals 0.84.
The model of simulation for damaged compartment
The simulation model of the engine room, equipped with all main mechanisms and devices, was made in the next part of the research. The view of the compartments being flooded is shown in figure 5 [4].
Fig. 5. Engine room compartments being flooded Rys. 5. Przedziały maszynowni w czasie zatapiania
The analysis of the influence of damage parameters on the time tf for
the compartment ship type 888
The experimental research on tf for engine room ship type 888 was carried out for different parame-ters of damages. In the research, the place and the dimensions of damage were taken into considera-tion.
During the numerical simulation tf of damaged compartment, the variability of Q during the flood-ing process was taken into account. This parameter depends on both, the depth of the hole and water level inside the compartment, as shown in figure 3. Assuming, that the flooding process is a hydrostat-ic, the movement of the vessel was not taken into consideration and the ship is without a heel and trim. Only the draft of the ship caused by the adop-tion of water to the damaged compartment was taken into account.
In the first stage of the research, tf for the engine room was estimated. The calculations of tf were made for the following example conditions: ship’s draught T = 4 m, the dimension of damages
R = 0.03 m, R = 0.05 m, R = 0.1 m and R = 0.2 m
(R denotes radius). The holes were placed from 0.1 m to 3.0 m below the surface of the sea. The results of the research are shown in figure 6.
Fig. 6. Flooding time tf for the engine room Rys. 6. Czas zatapiania tf dla maszynowni
Figure 6 presents that tf for the compartment with dimension of damage R = 0.2 m, placed 3 m below the surface of the sea, equals 3.4 minutes. This time is too short to seal the damage. Conse-quently, further activities of crew should be directed to protect spreading the water covering interior of the ship and to strengthen the construc-tion of the watertight bulkhead.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0.7 0.75 0.8 0.85 0.9 0.95 1 He ig ht of th e co m pa rtm en t, z [m ] The permeability, μv 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 F lo od in g ti m e t [ m in ]
Depth of the hole h [m]]
R=0.03 m R=0.05 m R=0.1 m R=0.2 m
The preliminary research on the flooding time on the laboratory
The flooding time calculation of damaged com-partment, according to the method described in the paper, is verified on the laboratory. Thanks to a suitable construction and new concepts applied for the station, research on the ship reaction and position in the failure situations is possible. The main object of the laboratory is ship’s model type 888. The hull of model was made in accordance with the body plan. The elements of the superstruc-ture and the ship equipment were simplified in the model, but the appropriate scale 1:50 was kept. Main dimensions of the model are: length L – 1.5 m, breadth B – 0.25 m and draught T – 0.08 m. This model is set up with specialized devices used for measurement of the position and for the analysis of the ship reaction during simulated damages. The shape of the model is shown in figure 7 [5, 6]. A research on the survivability of the ship model after damage one or more compartments will enable us to assess the flooding time of the model com-partments and even whole model as well.
Fig. 7. The laboratory Rys. 7. Laboratorium
The engine room compartment was chosen to simulate. The damage compartment simulation can be done by opening the suitable valve situated in-side the model. The scheme of the ship’s model with a damaged compartment is shown in the com-puter window and presented in the figure 8 [6].
Within the framework of model research, the time of flooding the engine room of 888 type of vessel was determined. The research consisted in determination of time that will have passed from opening of the valve, making it possible to flood the compartment, until the outboard water level leveled with the liquid level in the compartment. The research was carried out using a sensor of water level in the compartment (pressure sensor) and a stopwatch. During the measurement two parameters were registered, i.e.:
– level of liquid in the compartment, – flooding time.
Analysis of the performed measurement showed that level of the liquid in the compartment was approaching to 0.08 m of the liquid column and fixed itself after approximately 33 min. Knowing the scale of the model the real object’s compart-ment flooding time assumed 2h 45’. The flooding time obtained from the calculations was 1h 59’. The compartment flooding time calculations were carried out for the leakage radius r = 0.08 m. What was observed as a result of the research was a difference in the compartment flooding time at the level of 30%. The difference can be affected by, for example: 1:50 scaled hole which is extreme-ly small, so scale effects could be expected in flooding process and imprecise physical model of the engine room. The computer model of engine room, which is used for flooding time calculation, is more accurate than physical model. Due to this,
Fig. 8. The scheme of ship’s model with a partially flooded compartment Rys. 8. Schemat modelu statku z częściowo zatopionym przedziałem
the permeability of damaged compartment of phys-ical model has a value different from the permeabil-ity used by the computer program. Finally, the result of flooding time obtained from calculation is different from research on the physical model. Figure 9 presents the diagram of dependencies of liquid height in the compartment as a function of flooded time. Presented results are obtained on the basis of experimental preliminary research. The determined effect of scale on the quality of the obtained results will be carried out in subsequent studies.
Conclusions
The knowledge of the time tf allows a command-ing officer to make decisions while fightcommand-ing for survivaibility of the ship.
Based on comparative analysis of the damaged compartment flooding time obtained from a com-puter and physical model can be concluded that the physical model of the engine room requires more detailed mapping.
The method of determining the permeability presented in the paper enables to make calculating the time tf more accurate.
The modified method can be adopted for some other type of ships.
References
1. KORCZEWSKI Z.,PAWLĘDZIO A.,WRÓBEL R.: Analiza ilo-ściowa wypadków i awarii na okrętach Marynarki Wojen-nej RP w latach 1985–2004. Przegląd Morski, Gdynia 2005.
2. MILLER D.: Damage control – an insurance policy. Interna-tional Defence Review no. 5, 1994.
3. JAKUS B., KORCZEWSKI Z., MIRONIUK W., SZYSZKA J., WRÓBEL R.: Obrona przeciwawaryjna okrętu. Naval Aca-demy, Gdynia 2001.
4. KOWALKE O.: Komputerowa symulacja zatapiania prze-działu siłowni okrętu typu 888. AMW, Gdynia 2006. 5. MIRONIUK W., PAWLĘDZIO A., WRÓBEL R.: Trenażer do
walki z wodą. Gdynia 2004, pp 14–30.
6. MIRONIUK W.: Preliminary research on stability of warship models. STAB’2006, Rio de Janeiro 2006, pp 345–352.
Others
1. DERETT D.R.: Ship stability for Masters and Mates. BH, Oxford 2003.
2. PAWŁOWSKI M.: Subdivision and damage stability of ships. Gdańsk 2004.
Fig. 9. Diagram of dependencies of height of the liquid in the compartment as a function of time Rys. 9. Wykres zależności wysokości wody w przedziale w stosunku do czasu zatapiania
Flooding time [min]
Wate r lev el in th e co m pa rtme nt [ cm ]
Result of computer model research Result of physical model research
0 25 50 75 100 125 150 175 5.0 4.5 4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0
