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General arrangement of the frames

The framing system of a hull assembly may be best classified
by the way the plate panels supported by frame work are
arranged. Thus, if the plate panels formed by intersecting
longitudinal and transverse frames are arranged with their
long sides fore and aft, the hull assembly is said to be
longitudinally framed
The plate panels arranged with their short side fore and aft are
predominant in the transverse framing. Consequently, while in
a hull assembly framed on the longitudinal system the fore-
and-aft strength members are spaced closer than the strength
members running athwarships, in a transversely framed hull
assembly the apposite with the case.
Where a longitudinal system is employed the closely spaced
fore-and-aft strength members are regarded as the primary
system, and the relatively widely spaced transverse frames are
th bearers. On the other hand in a hull assembly featuring a
transverse system of framing , the closely spaced transverse
strength members are referred to as the primary system, and
the longitudinal frames are called the bearers.
Dia.

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Where the frames running in the two directions are spaced

equidistantly i.e. transverse and longitudinal dimensions of
the plate panels are approximately the same, the hull
assembly is said to be framed on the mixed system or the
cellular system.

Transverse framing system

Fig 2 shows half of the midship section of a transversely
framed ship. This framing system consists of many small,
closely spaced transverse stiffeners and few larger, widely
spaced longitudinal stiffeners. The transverse stiffeners are
arranged so as to form structural rings that are closely spaced
through out the length of he ship. Tracing the ring around the
girth of the ship, we see that it consists of a deck beam under
each deck, side frames supporting the side shell plating and a
deep floor plate supporting both the bottom plating and tank
top (or inner bottom) plating. At each “corner” of the ring,
brackets connect the members beam knees at the deck beam
to the side frame connection, and margin brackets (also called
hold frame brackets) connecting side frames to the floors.
These frame rings with their brackets provide transverse
strength to the structure, helping to maintain the cross-
sectional shape of the hull but they do not contribute anything
to the ships longitudinal strength.

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Dia.

Longitudinal strength in a transversely framed ship is

provided by the shell plating and inner bottom plating, by the
deck plating outboard of hatch and machinery casing
openings and by a number of large, widely spaced longitudinal
members, longitudinal deck girders support the deck beams.
Deck girders adjacent to the hatches are called hatch side
girders. In addition to providing longitudinal strength, deck
girders reduce the span (length between supports) of deck
beams so that the beams will not have to be very deep.
The longitudinals in the double bottom are the centre girder or
center vertical keel, and the side girders, located so as to be
directly beneath the deck girders to provide a rigid foundation
for pillars as necessary to support the deck girders. Additional
deck girders and side girders in double bottom provided in
ships with a large beam.

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Longitudinal framing system

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The longitudinal framing system consists of many closely

spaced longitudinals supporting the plating directly and being
supported in urn by a few large, widely spaced longitudinals. A
typical tanker midship section is shown above to illustrate the
longitudinal framing system because it is in tankers that this
system in its purest form is most commonly employed. The
tanker shown has no double bottom and no intermediate
decks, and it is fitted with two longitudinal bulkhead, one is
shown in the figure. Longitudinal stiffeners spaced about 600-
900mm give direct support to the plating of the deck, sides,
bottom and bulkheads. They also contribute to the
longitudinal strength of the ship making the longitudinal

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framing system more structurally efficient than the transverse

system.
The bottom longitudinal on centerline, or center girder, is
extra large and heavy, principally to carry the loads imposed
by keel blocks during dry docking very deep, heavy transverse
structures called transverse webs or web frames are
constructed at intervals of about 3 to 5 meters to provide
transverse strength and to support the longitudinals. These
heavy transverse web consist of deck, side and bottom
transverses plus a vertical web on each longitudinal bulkhead.
The side transverse and vertical web on the bulkhead are
usually tied together with one to three horizontal struts or
cross ties.

Comparison of two system

1. Although the transversely framed ships were structurally
sound and satisfactory in service, the fact that most of
their stiffeners contributed nothing to the ships
resistance to longitudinal bending meant that the
framing system was not optimal from the stand point of
structural efficiency, that is, of achieving the required
strength which most of the plate stiffeners are disposed
in the fore and aft direction, has superior structural
efficiency. In the early 1900’s the advantages of
longitudinal framing were clearly demonstrated, so it
became increasingly common, especially in oil tankers
and bulk carriers. It was not often employed in dry cargo

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ships because the deep web frames or transverses,

which were spaced every 12-15 feat in the holds,
projected into the cargo space and interfered with the
efficient stowage of packaged cargo.
2. The principal advantage of the longitudinal framing
system is that the many longitudinal stiffeners serve
dual purposes they support the shell plating against
local loading caused by water pressure and cargo loads
(just as transverse pressure and cargo loads (just as
transverse frames in the transverse system do) and at
the same time they contribute to the ships resistance to
longitudinal bending (which transverse frames do not).
Therefore a longitudinal strength to a transversely
framed ships of equal size of equal size and structural
weight.
3. An additional advantage of stiffening the plating
longitudinally in the deck and bottom plating is that
longitudinally stiffened plating is more resistant to
buckling between longitudinals when the deck or bottom
is subjected to compressive stresses as it bends in a
seaway than it would be stiffened transversely.
4. A final advantage is the weight savings which arises out
of the fact that longitudinal stiffeners supporting side
shell and bulkhead plating are subjected to variable
pressures from the sea or liquid cargo. The hydrostatic
pressure on each successive longitudinal and its
associated plating increases with its depth below the
waterline or below the surface of the liquid in the tank.
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Each longitudinal can be sized to withstand the

maximum pressure associated with its depth in the ship,
thus achieving an efficient use of the structural material.
This “graduated size” configuration cannot be done
effectively with transverse frames, which as a result or
overly heavy at their upper ends.
5. The drawback with a longitudinally framed ship is
difficulty which arises in the structural arrangements
near the ends of the ship. The spacing of the
longitudinals around the girth of the ship can be
maintained constant so long as the girth does not
change. As the hull narrows toward bow and stern,
however, the girth necessarily reduces and the
longitudinals become closer together. Difficulties in
construction arise when they converge so closely that
some longitudinals have to be eliminated. For this
reason, transverse framing is usually resorted to at the
bow and stern of longitudinally framed ships.

Combination framing system

1. Tankers and dry bulk carriers are framed longitudinally,
while most other ships employ a combination framing
system that exploits the best features of both traditional
systems.
2. As shown in figure, longitudinal framing is used in
bottom and decks, where the advantages of extra
longitudinal strength and resistance to compressive

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plate buckling are most needed and transverse framing

is used in the sides, precluding the need for deep webs
that might inhibit efficient cargo stowage.
3. The transverse framing members shown in figure are the
deep, widely spaced transverses that support the
longitudinals in the decks and bottoms.
4. More closely spaced, smaller transverse side frames (not
shown) support the side shell plating between the deep
transverses.
5. Combination systems are employed in many types of
shops, including general dry cargo ships, container ships
and Ro/Ro ships, for example.
Dia.

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