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FACTORS AFFECTING STABILITY

The principle governing a vessel's stability is not difficult. The most important factors are the height of
her center of gravity, the amount of freeboard she has, and her watertight integrity. If the center of
gravity is not too high, the freeboard is sufficient, and she is capable of returning to the upright when
rolled, the vessel will be stable. If any of these things are deficient, she will be hazard.

Stability is only one aspect of a vessel's seaworthiness. The hull form, stability, application of power,
and ship handling all contribute to her sea-kindliness or her behaviour in a seaway. Her sea-kindliness,
her structural strength, the competence of the crew, and many other things all contribute to her
seaworthiness.

SEAWORTHNESS
STRUCTURAL STRENGTH
COMPETENCE OF SKIPPER & CREW
SURVEY REQUIREMENTS
SEAKINDLINESS
HULL FORM
POWER APPLIED
SHIP HANDLING

STABILITY
HEIGHT OF CENTRE OF GRAVITY
FREEBOARD

Illustration of the relationship between stability, sea kindliness, seaworthiness

You can see from the figure that stability by itself is not enough to make a vessel seaworthy. Equally,
however, a vessel that is not stable can never be seaworthy

Stability is first and foremost about the prevention of capsize. Stable vessels don't capsize, but a
combination of circumstances may render a vessel unstable, although she started the voyage with
adequate stability.

A vessel needs to become unstable for only a few seconds, less than one roll period, to be in danger.
This temporary instability may be brought about by one or more of several causes, by added weights,
such as a wave breaking on deck, by the free surface of fluids either on deck or below, or by shifting of
cargo. Whatever the cause, a temporary loss of stability may result in capsizing.

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This section introduces the fundamentals of stability, and help in the understanding of why Stability is
the tendency of a vessel to rotate one way or the other when forcibly inclined.

Learning Objectives
On completion of this section the learner will be able to:

1. DESCRIBE the reference points, forces, and linear measurements used in stability calculations.
2. DESCRIBE the movement of stability reference points as a function of changes in displacement
and inclination.
3. DIFFERENTIATE between indicators of initial stability and measures of overall stability as a
function of ship displacement.

STABILITY REFERENCE POINT

STABILITY NOMENCLATURE

K = Keel
G = Center of gravity
B = Center of Buoyancy
M = Metacentre
ø = Angle of Heel
BM = Metacentric Radius
GM = Metacentric Height
GZ = Righting Lever measured from G
KB = Height of Center of Buoyancy
from keel
KG = Height of Center of Gravity from
keel
KM = Height of Metacenter from keel

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CENTRE OF GRAVITY (G)

Transverse centre of gravity G;

Before applying this concept to a ship, a few short definitions of a general nature are necessary.
The centre of gravity of a body can be defined as:
The point at which the force of gravity is exerted vertically downwards;
The point where a pivot can be placed that will keep the body balanced;
The geometric centre of a uniform body.

For a ship, the centre of gravity, G; that point at which all the vertically downward forces of weight of
the vessel can be considered to act or it is the centre of mass of the vessel.

EFFECTS OF CHANGING LOAD

The height of the centre of gravity depends on the vertical distribution of the ship's mobile weights
such as cargo, fuel, and ballast). The height of the centre of gravity is measured from reference point K.
The height of the centre of gravity is identified as a ship's KG.

For a ship to float without an angle of list, point G must be on the same vertical axis as K. As soon as G
leaves this vertical axis, an angle of list is produced and the ship will no longer float upright.

The centre of gravity can thus be shifted vertically and horizontally by transferring, adding, or removing
mobile masses.

If mass is added to a ship, the centre of gravity shifts towards the position of the added mass.
For example, fuel added to a ship's double bottom tank will lower the centre of gravity. Deck cargo
generally raises a ship's G. A concentration of cargo on a ship's port side will shift G to port, which will
cause the ship to list to port.

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Shifting of G resulting from movement of loads

The inverse is true when mobile masses are removed. For example, fuel consumption reduces the mass
in the storage tanks, and if they are double bottom tanks, the loss of mass shifts G upwards. If deck
cargo is unloaded, G is shifted downwards. Unloading cargo on the starboard side will shift G to port,
which will result in a list to port.

If a mass already on board is moved, the position of the ship's centre of gravity will shift in the same
direction as the mass. For example, shifting port ballast to starboard will shift G to starboard, which
will tend to cause a list to starboard.

CENTRE OF BUOYANCY (B)

A ship's centre of buoyancy can be defined as the point through which the force of buoyancy acts
vertically upwards. You can also say that the centre of buoyancy is the geometric centre of the ship's
underwater volume. The height of the centre of buoyancy is measured from reference point K and is
thus KB.

The Center of Buoyancy will move as the shape of the underwater portion of the hull body changes.
When the ship rolls to starboard, “B” moves to starboard, and when the ship rolls to port, “B” moves to
port.

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When the ship’s hull is made heavier, the drafts increase as the ship sits deeper in the water. “B” will
move up. When the ship’s hull is lightened, the drafts decrease as the ship sits shallower in the water. “B”
will move down. The Center of Buoyancy moves in the same direction as the ship’s waterline.

SHIP'S INCLINATION

If a ship is floating upright, points K, G and B will all be on the same vertical axis. If the ship is inclined by
external forces (wind, waves, tight mooring at the wharf), G should not change position (no mass has
shifted), but B will shift to the geometric centre of the new underwater volume. Points B and G will no
longer be on the same vertical axis, consequently, the ship's weight will act vertically downwards
through G and the force of buoyancy will push upwards from B1.

RIGHTING MOMENT

When a ship is inclined, these two forces are no longer on the same vertical axis and a righting moment
is created. The righting moment tends to bring the ship back to an upright position. This moment is
equal to a force multiplied by a distance. The value of the force is the same for the upwards and
downwards vectors, and is equal to the ship's displacement.

Hence, Stability is the ability or tendency of a vessel to return to its original or upright position after
it has been forcibly inclined or being heeled by external forces.

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Forces of gravity and buoyancy

RIGHTING LEVER (GZ)

The distance between the two vectors is called GZ and represents the righting lever. The larger the
righting lever, the higher the righting moment. The size of the righting lever increases with the ship's
inclination. In other words, up to a certain angle of inclination (usually between 40° and 60°), the more
the ship heels, the greater its tendency to return to an upright position.

The value of the righting moment (also called the moment of statical stability, MSS or righting moment
RM) is calculated by the formula RM = W ×GZ
To find the value of GZ at small angles of inclination, the following trigonometric equation is used:
GZ = [Link]Θ, Where Θ being the ship's angle of inclination.

METACENTRE (M)

The Metacentre. (M) can be defined as the intersection of the vertical line though the incline centre
of buoyancy B1 and the vertical line of force through B when the ship is erect, for small angles of
inclination (less than 10°), M is considered to be fixed.

The metacentre depends on the shape of the waterline, the beam, and the draft.

For box-shaped vessel; KM = KB + BM; KB = half the draft, BM=B2/12D

KM = D/2 + B2/12D; where D= draft; B = beam

That is why multihulls are so stable. Their great beam gives them a very large KM, so their metacentre is
well above the centre of gravity, and they have large values of GM and hence large values of GZ`

The presence of M allows us to introduce a new concept that controls stability at small angles of
inclination.

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METACENTRIC HEIGHT (GM)

This is the distance between G and M, which is identified as distance GM, also called the metacentric
height. It is a measure of the initial stability of the vessel.

Stable equilibrium GM positive; Neutral equilibrium GM = 0; Unstable equilibrium GM negative.

The position of G in relation to M is crucial in a ship's ability to right itself. Under normal conditions, G
should always be below M. The GM is then said to be positive. The greater the distance between these
two points, the higher the positive GM. The larger the GM, the larger the righting lever. If G approaches
M, the righting lever decreases and the righting moment is weak.

If GM is zero,
Meaning that G coincides with M, the righting lever is non-existent. If an external force then makes the
ship heel to a small angle, the ship will remain heeled at this angle because there is no righting
moment.

If GM is negative, meaning that G is above M, not only is the righting lever non-existent, but it also
becomes a capsizing moment. If the ship is then subjected to a light external force, it will incline
sharply and, depending on the shape of the hull, may even capsize completely. In any case, a negative
GM is a situation that must be avoided.

PRACTICAL VALUES OF GM

A good value of GM for a cargo vessel is about 5% of the beam. For a tanker, it is about 8% of the
beam.

A good Metacentric height for a fully loaded merchant ship is usually between one half
and one meter. The recommended initial GM should not normally be less than 0.15m.

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STIFF AND TENDER SHIP

STIFF SHIP
A stiff vessel has a relatively large GM and hence a large GM and rolls quickly in a seaway. This
the condition will occur when the vessel has heavyweights near the keel (shown on the
left in Figure

An excessively stiff ship has a large righting moment and tends to right the effect of the wind
and the waves by sharply returning to an upright position whenever the external forces relent.
This can cause excessive stresses in the hull and structures of the vessel and the vessel’s
movements are uncomfortable.

TENDER SHIP
A tender vessel has a small GM and hence a small GZ and has a long period of roll. This will
occur on a vessel when heavy weights are loaded high up in the vessel, that is in the tween
decks or on deck (shown on the right in Figure.

A tender vessel will have a small righting moment and will roll easily and slowly in a seaway and
so be very comfortable; however, if the GM is at, or close to, its minimum, on a long voyage
such a vessel may become unstable due to the consumption of fuel and fresh water from the
double-bottom tanks.

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STABILITY CURVE


GM used as a measure of stability up to 7°, after that, GZ is used asa measure of Stability; values
of GZ are plotted at successive angles to create the stability curve


 Plot GZ (righting arm) vs. angle of heel

 Ship’s G does not change as angle changes

 Ship's B always at the center of the underwater portion of the hull 

 Ship's underwater portion of hull changes as the heel angle changes 

GZ changes as angle changes

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RELATION OF GM TO ROLLING PERIOD

The metacentric height, GM, has a definite relationship to the rolling of the vessel. That is, a
stiff vessel, one with a large metacentric height, will roll quickly whereas a tender vessel, one with a
small metacentric height, will roll slowly.

The GM of a vessel can be verified by experiment in still water by two methods;

* Inclining the vessel by moving masses across the deck and noting the angle of heel.
* Causing the vessel to roll and noting the time taken to complete a roll sequence.

After calculating the ship’s GM, it is customary, to determine the vessel’s rolling period. A fairly
accurate approximation of natural rolling period can be made from the following formula:
For Metric System: T = 0.8 B
GM
Where: T is a full natural rolling period in seconds
B is the beam of the vessel.

DEFINITIONS

Natural rolling period;

If a vessel were inclined in still water and released, the time it would take for the vessel to roll
from port to starboard and back to port again would be its T, natural rolling period.

Apparent period
The apparent period of a wave is the time interval between the passages of two successive
crests relative to a ship-borne observer.

Synchronism rolling
When the period of the ocean waves and the apparent rolling period of the vessel is the same,
synchronous rolling occurs. This results in very heavy rolling and, if maintained for a time, might result
in the capsizing of a vessel.

Synchronous rolling can be eliminated by: changing course; or, in some cases, changing speed; or
altering the vessel’s natural rolling period by ballasting or deballasting thus changing GM.

To obtain an approximation of a vessel’s GM, time as many rolls as possible, and do this
at several different periods. The roll period may be measured at sea, or in port.
0.8B 2
The formula now becomes GM (metric)
T

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Exercise

1 How can the roll period help the skipper to determine the vessel's stability? Why
is synchronous rolling dangerous?
2 How does the pumping out of a double bottom tank at sea affect the stability of a
stiff and tender ship?
3 Define centre of Buoyancy and explain how its position affect the stability of a
vessel.

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