Hatch covers strength

Abstract

Practice shows that the hatch covers are damaged more often than other elements of the hull. Causes of damage can be very diverse, hatch covers ship partially lose its strength due to corrosion and minor damage, etc. Therefore, during cargo operation there is a need to test their strength. To assess the strength of hatch covers on ships in service, usually resort to approximate methods for their residual strength. This often leads to erroneous conclusions and significant economic costs. The study performed beam approximation of the hatch cover design. It is shown that the representation of hatch covers in the form of single-span beams leads to an underestimated load, transportation of local packages at the hatch should be accompanied by direct strength calculation. The present work is devoted to assessing some approximate calculation techniques of hatch covers and provides recommendations on how to use them