Side wall
The side wall (also outer skin ) is the structural device on a ship that separates the hull from the water. Together with the ship's bottom, it forms the hull.
Depending on the area of application of the ship, the side wall is specially reinforced at the bow and stern of the ship. On ships that are used in the Arctic Ocean , parts of the bow and stern are made from particularly thick shipbuilding steel plates (ice belts). In the bow and stern area, the reinforcement also merges into the bottom of the ship and the side wall. On all ships, the side wall in the bow area ( stern ) is pulled higher in order to ward off the waves and the spray that also come up . This area is called bulwark . If the side wall in the bow and stern area is higher than in the middle part of the ship, one speaks of a jump . The height at which the jump protrudes above the main deck usually has a ratio of around 2 at the bow to 1 at the stern. In addition to the advantages of the bow apron, the jump also allows the main deck to be raised in the bow area, creating additional storage space and reducing the ship's draft compared to a comparable ship without a jump, as the cargo can be distributed more efficiently.
In inland shipping , the bulwark is used primarily to prevent the forecastle from flooding when it is loaded. Inland vessels also have bulwarks at the stern. In the area of the floor as well as in the area of the transition from the ship's side to the gangways , inland vessels have another reinforcement of the side. This reinforcement is called the mountain plate and is a stiffening of the upper part of the trunk. A doubling of Kimm protect the base plate and gate in berthing riverside.
Side wall type Scheldehuid
In the Netherlands , engineer JWL Ludolphy developed a new double-walled side wall for inland tankers at the end of the 1990s . In this construction, called Scheldehuid , Y-shaped longitudinal stiffeners are built into the double shell , which allow strong deformation of the outer skin without leaks. In July 1998, the first collision attempts were made. For this purpose, a piece of the so-called Scheldehuid was welded to a pontoon and rammed by a tanker with a bulbous bow. It happened at a speed of 20 km / h. The ship's side remained watertight in two successive collisions. Two years later there were two more collisions, this time with a different bow shape. The load was higher due to the other shape and the ship's side arched 0.60 meters inward, but remained watertight.
Based on these tests, the classification societies approved the construction of a new gas tanker with four 550 m³ cargo tanks. Until then, only tanks with a maximum of 380 m³ were allowed. The upper limit for gas tankers built with the Scheldehuid is 1000 m³ per tank.
The new mineral oil and chemical tankers are also built with this side wall construction. With a tanker with a capacity of 12,000 tons, you save half of the tanks, instead of 36 tanks only 18 are required.
The height of the ship's side is referred to as a freeboard . It runs from the upper edge to the waterline ( Plimsoll mark ).
At deck level, the ship's side is partly provided with holes, so-called hawks , for the passage of chains, lines or cables , and with scuppers for draining off overflowing water.
