Structural steels for warship building with some notes on brittle fracture¹

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Shepheard, Victor

Note: [1] Paper read before the North-East Coast Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders, 22nd March, 1957.

Abstract: Scientific and technical developments are revolutionizing weapons, equipment, and the warship hulls which carry them into service. Of the many problems which these changes are bringing to warship design, two particular aspects, namely developments in hull structural design and structural steels, are dealt with in this lecture. It describes some of the special problems in the hull strength of surface warships and submarines — particularly those due to the dynamic loading set up by underwater explosions — which led to the inauguration of the Naval Construction Research Establishment and the provision of special facilities, some of which are unique. Reference is made to the theoretical and experimental research work which is being undertaken to obtain a better appreciation of the way various design features of warship hulls resist the static and dynamic forces imposed upon them, and special emphasis is given to the post-war research on steel materials, welding, and the phenomenon of brittle fracture. These researches are being undertaen with the principal objects of avoiding brittle fracture in normal structural steels and of developing high-yield steels for special applications in warship construction. The difficulties that have been met in the development of these steels are discussed, including the problems of welding them under shipyard conditions. The discussion also brings out the need for more modern plant in our steelworks. This research work is directed not only towards the building of warship hulls that are capable of withstanding the forces of nature and enemy attacks, but also towards achieving these aims with minimum hull weight, in order that the largest military loads may be carried.

DOI: 10.3233/ISP-1957-43903

Journal: International Shipbuilding Progress, vol. 4, no. 39, pp. 579-595, 1957