Currently the shipbuilding industry is seeking to minimise to improve corrosion protection provided to the structures which comprise the Water Ballast Tanks (WBT’s) of a vessel. At the design stage two factors could reduce the carbon footprint of the coating process through life material selection and optimising the structural design to facilitate the coating process and maintenance processes. Thus the design stage exerts considerable influence on these two elements and can determine the through life costs and environmental penalties of maintaining the structure.

This paper focuses on the material selection and optimisation of structural design with specific application to complex structures in ships (Water Ballast Tanks). It will report on research work being carried out by some of the industry leading organisations in a 3 year programme to look at how to improve the design of complex structures to reduce the total coating required, reduce waste and provide better through life performance with reduced maintenance and repair.

By proper consideration of material selection and the structural design, complex designs can be simplified to enable easier surface preparation and application, thus improving the quality of the first time application and hence maximising through life performance.

The challenges of proper planning and scheduling to support the better structural design are also addressed and some guidelines are offered to for structural designers to consider.

Subject
Steel structures, Costs, Protective coatings, Coatings, Materials, Aluminum, Shipping, Steel, Carbon steel, Corrosion protection, Stainless steel, Risk reduction, Paints
© 2011 Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). All rights reserved. This work is protected by both domestic and international copyright laws. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of AMPP. Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
2011
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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