2010 Professional Engineer Review Course

Unit III – Structural; Instructor: G. Petrie

Introduction and Assignment

Introduction (Page 1 of 3)
Suggested References

1. Manual of Steel Construction, published by American Institute of Steel Construction

2. Rules for Building and Classing Steel Vessels, Part 2 - Materials and Welding, and Part 3 –
Hull Construction and Equipment, American Bureau of Shipping
ABS Rules are available online at www.eagle.org/rules/downloads.html

3. The United States Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) are available online at
www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/index.html
Of particular interest are Title 33 and Title 46

4. Chapter VI, Ship Design and Engineering, by R.L. Storch, C.P. Hammon, H.M. Bunch and
R.C. Moore, in Ship Production published by The Society of Naval Architects and Marine
Engineers

5. Chapter IV, Strength of Ships, by J.R. Paulling, Principles of Naval Architecture, E.V. Lewis
editor, published by The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers

6. Ship Structural Design, Owen F. Hughes, published by The Society of Naval Architects and
Marine Engineers

7. Chapter VI, Analysis and Design of Principal Hull Structure, in Ship Design and
Construction, Edited by Robert Taggart, published by The Society of Naval Architects and
Marine Engineers

8. Chapter VIII, Hull Materials and Welding, in Ship Design and Construction, Edited by
Taggart, published by The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers

9. Chapter III, Hull Strength by H. A. Schade, Chapter IV, Ship Structures, and Chapter VII,
Methods of Joining Structural Parts by A.A.Holzbaur in Ship Design and Construction edited
by Amelio D’Arcangelo, published by The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers

10. Design of Welded Structures published by James F. Lincoln Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio

11. Mechanical Drawing or Engineering Graphics (standard textbook)

 2010 Professional Engineer Review Course
Unit III – Structural; Instructor: G. Petrie

Introduction and Assignment

Introduction (Page 2 of 3)
Discussion

3.1 Welds/Connections

The above listed texts contain a wide variety of information, with figures showing various structural
configurations, illustrating the development of structures and the fabrication of structural sub-
assemblies from parts that either come as rolled products from the mills (plate or shape) or are
fabricated in the shipyard plate shops. While there is much that may be found in multiple text
locations, the student may not have access to all of these references.

Of particular interest in the fabrication of structure is the manner of joining the pieces. It should be
kept in mind that welds are usually designed to transfer force by shear through the throat of the weld
bead. Thus, in sizing a weld, it is important that the weld bead be arranged in a pattern that makes the
force (either direct force or couple) transmission possible. For a standard fillet weld, the throat is
considered to be 0.707 times the weld leg dimension.

For instance, if a direct force is to be transmitted, the weld bead centroid should be in-line with the
force to be transmitted. Because the weld material is ductile, with a relatively large deformation before
rupture, in direct force transmission, it is assumed that the weld bead transmits force uniformly along
the length of the bead throat. If it is a couple that is to be transmitted, the weld bead(s) must be
arranged so that the throat area(s) will develop a significant area moment of inertia, as this is an
important parameter of the joint geometry. Refer to a standard text on Strength (Mechanics) of
Materials where you will typically find a section on Eccentrically Loaded Joints (Bolted and/or
Welded). In bolted connections, shear transmission takes place uniformly over the bolt cross-section
and the bolt shank is in bearing, and therefore subject to bearing stress failure. direct = P/A, and torque =
T c / J. Obtain total by vector addition at critical locations.

The student should recognize and be able to apply the various weld symbols that are typically used to
define the weldment. These symbols not only give the size of the weld, but the material edge
preparations, bead, fillet, V, U, J, bevel, etc. if any, and weld distribution dimensions, etc., as well. In
the Appendices of a graphics text, or perhaps in a Chapter on Welding Drawings, you can typically find
the American Standard Graphical Symbols, along with a depiction of typical joints, butt, lap, tee, edge,
corner, etc. The symbols and their meaning are also to be found in the ABS Rules, Ship Design and
Construction, AISC Manual of Steel Construction (see pages 4-155 to 4-173 of Ninth Edition, 1989)
and Welded Steel Structures among other references.
 2010 Professional Engineer Review Course
Unit II – Structural; Instructor: G. Petrie

Introduction and Assignment

Introduction (Page 3 of 3)

3.2 Structural Members

As ships, small or large become larger and their uses more varied, their structures do so as well. While
many structural components can be produced from rolled materials, such as plates, rolled sections or
bars, the nature of a ship requires that these elements be joined in watertight or at least weathertight
assemblies. Because of the arrangement of plates and shapes is it possible to satisfactorily analyze
many elements on an individual basis. Thus, a rolled shape welded to a plate element, the plate being
weak in its lateral resistance to loading, can be analyzed as a beam composed of the rolled shape
welded to the plate so as to constitute a beam element. In this way, “Beam Theory” is used in the
analysis and design selection processes of ship structure element design.

In the case of axial structural loadings, the structural element is treated as a rod in which the load is
applied at the centroid of the structural section. When designing the load transfer weldment, arranging
the weld beads must keep this relationship in tact. Under such loadings the rod does not deform
laterally, but only axially. The stress in the rod is then equal to the load divided by the cross-section
area of the member. Knowing the design stress of the rod material, relations between the loading and
cross-sectional area are determined and an appropriate selection can be made.

In the case of shipside framing, deck beams, bulkhead stiffeners, etc., determination of the structural
properties of the plate and shape configuration is needed. This is true even when one is using the
construction rules of a classification society since here the selection must typically be made to meet
Section Modulus requirements so as to keep design load stresses within limits. These requirements
apply not only to local elements of the ship’s structure, but to the hull girder as well. The results of
many full-scale tests have shown that when a ship structure is subjected to known bending moments,
the resulting hull girder stress distribution closely resembles that described by “Beam Theory”.
Secondary stress variations are generally explained by more advanced structural theories. Application
of Finite Element Analysis tools to the structural design, though providing much more detailed
information about ship structure response to loadings, does not invalidate the basic theory.

For purposes of this course, and since it is expected that P.E. Examination questions will be correctly
answered in about six minutes, on average, without use of sophisticated software, questions (and
solutions) will be based upon typical applications of basic Strength of Materials theory.
Thus, = P/A, or  = M ٠c/I = M/Z, and  = V ٠Q/I ٠t, as appropriate.
 2010 Professional Engineer Review Course
Unit III – Structural; Instructor: G. Petrie

Introduction and Assignment

Assignment (Page 1 of 5)

1. Two structural steel 3” x 2” x ¼” rolled angles having a yield strength of 36 ksi are to be
welded to a 3/8 in. thick gusset plate of the same strength. They are to be arranged one on either
side of the gusset plate, with the 3” leg flat against the plate, using 3/16” fillet welds.
Determine the required length of weld at the heel and at the toe of the angle such that there is a
balance between the centroid of the force in the angle and the force transmitted to the gusset
plate when the stress in the angle is at the material’s yield stress. The allowable stress of the
weld material is to be taken as 40 % of the yield stress.

The structural properties of the angles should be obtainable from typical Strength of Materials
texts, Eshbach’s Handbook of Engineering Fundamentals, AISC Manual of Steel Construction,
etc.

2. A ½’ thick flanged bracket is to be used to transfer force and moment between the web of a
horizontal 8” x 4” x ½” inverted angle deck longitudinal and the web of a vertical 8” x 4” x ½”
bulkhead stiffener. The fitting of the bracket allows for a 5” x 10” rectangular fillet weld
configuration. If the shear force to be transmitted is estimated to be 3.5 L Tons and the moment
to be transferred is estimated to be 9.4 L Ton-Ft., calculate the minimum weld size (in 1/16”
increments) needed to keep the maximum shear stress in the weld within the allowable stress
for the material of 13,600 psi. As an added exercise, convert units to SI.

3. A C250 x 45-channel section is selected to act as a temporary (easily removable) beam in an

engine space. It is to be connected in position using a 17.5 mm thick gusset plate attached to
support structure. The channel section is to be connected to the gusset plate with eight (8) bolts
using a 75.0 mm pitch (pitch is distance between bolts in each row) and a 150.0 mm back pitch
(back pitch is distance between rows.) Assume the bolts have an allowable shear stress of 80
MPa. The bolt shank size you would select to support an expected direct joint load of 3.5
tonnes and a moment of 3 tonne-meters is (mm) most nearly:

A) 8
B) 10
C) 12
D) 14
 2010 Professional Engineer Review Course
Unit III – Structural; Instructor: G. Petrie

Introduction and Assignment

Assignment (Page 2 of 5)

4. A longitudinally stiffened section of deck plating is composed of 20mm plate fitted with
200mm x 100mm x 13mm inverted angles, spaced on 750mm centers.

A) Determine the mass per meter of a unit section of stiffened plate

B) Determine the Section modulus of the unit section (mm3)
C) What would be the U.S. Customary Unit equivalents?

5. You are designing a crane structure for serving engine overhaul needs in a new motorship. The
crane lifting capacity is to be 5- tonnes (5.5 Tons). The hoist is to be fitted to an I-Beam that
spans (10 meters, or 32.8 ft.) the upper engineroom space, having its ends supported on guide
rails running the length of the main engine. The mass of the hoisting machine itself, including
lifting devices and fittings is 200 kg (440 lbs).

A) With a maximum allowable flexural stress in the beam of 20 ksi or 137.9 MPa, select
the lightest weight I-Beams, one having U.S. Customary Unit dimensions and the other
having metric dimensions, that can meet the requirements.
B) Determine the maximum shear stress (ksi, or MPa) in the web of the crane beam.
C) Determine the deflection of the selected I-Beam(s) when under the rated load (inches
for the U.S. Customary beam and mm for the SI beam).
 2010 Professional Engineer Review Course
Unit III – Structural; Instructor: G. Petrie

Introduction and Assignment

Assignment (Page 3 of 5)

6. You are reviewing the structure and loadings of a rectangular tank barge having dimensions of
100m x 20m x 10m. The barge is subdivided longitudinally into five tank compartments, each
20m in length. It has a double bottom structure of one (1) meter depth and a light displacement
of 2,000 tonnes. The basic structure has the following nominal thicknesses:

Deck 12mm
Side Shell 10mm
Innerbottom 10mm
Bottom Plate 14mm

The barge is loaded in the three middle tanks to a depth of 6m with a liquid cargo having a
specific gravity of 1.5. The barge is to be used to transport the cargo on a coastwise voyage.

Determine the following:

A) The displaced weight and draft of the barge in salt water

B) The midship bending moment; state whether it is a hogging or sagging moment
C) The Moment of Inertia and Section Modulus of the barge’s transverse section (Section
Modulus to the Deck and to the Bottom)
D) Determine the normal stress in the Deck and Bottom due to the cargo loading.
E) Determine the maximum shear stress in the side shell under this loading.
F) Convert values to U.S. Customary Units and values.

Assume the vessel is designed as per the ABS Rules for Building and Classing Steel Vessels.

G) The ABS Maximum Total Bending Moment, Mt, is which of the following values?
a) 84,688 tonne-meters
b) -84,219 tonne-meters
c) 23,781 tonne-meters
d) -23,312 tonne-meters

H) The ABS Hull Girder SM Requirement is which of the following values?

a) 47,208 cm^2-m
b) 26,933 cm^2-m
c) 48,130 cm^2-m
d) 7,433 cm^2-m
 2010 Professional Engineer Review Course
Unit III – Structural; Instructor: G. Petrie

Introduction and Assignment

Assignment (Page 4 of 5)

7. For the deck plating of the tank barge above (12mm), with a material yield stress of 248 MPa or
36 ksi, determine the minimum spacing of longitudinal stiffeners that would allow the deck
plate to be loaded to 90% of the yield stress without buckling, assuming the plate panels may
be considered long, i.e., have an aspect ratio of 3.0 or greater.
E = 30 x 106 psi or 208.8 GPa


8. For the barge considered in Problem 6, above, assume that the bottom is to be stiffened with
longitudinal frames spaced 760mm apart, which are in turn supported by transverse web frames
spaced 3000mm apart. Assume that the vessel is to be designed in accordance with ABS Rules
for Building and Classing Steel Vessels.

A) The ABS required thickness for bottom shell plating is which of the following values?
a) 12.7 mm
b) 10.5 mm
c) 10.0 mm
d) 8.0 mm

B) The ABS required Section Modulus for bottom longitudinals is which of the following
values? (Assume that there are no effective struts.)
a) 47,208 cm^2-m
b) 26,933 cm^2-m
c) 48,130 cm^2-m
d) 7,433 cm^2-m
 2010 Professional Engineer Review Course
Unit III – Structural; Instructor: G. Petrie

Introduction and Assignment

Assignment (Page 5 of 5)

9. For a vessel with ½-inch bottom shell plating, assume that the bottom is to be stiffened with
longitudinal frames spaced 30 inches apart, which are in turn supported by transverse webs
spaced 10 feet apart. You have been asked to compute the stresses and deflections in the plate
that would result from a hydrostatic pressure of 10 pounds per square inch. Assume that the
edges of the plate are clamped.

A) The maximum stress in the longitudinal direction is which of the following values?
a) 8,100 psi
b) 12,240 psi
c) 18,000 psi
d) 27,000 psi

B) If the spacing of the transverse webs is reduced to 5 feet apart, the deflection in the plate
would be closest to which of the following values?
a) 0.30 inches
b) 0.25 inches
c) 0.06 inches
d) 0.04 inches