Mid-February 2005
Table of Contents:

Hampton Roads

Northern California

Greek

Philadelphia

Canadian Atlantic

Hampton Roads Section
by Raymond M. Walsh

November 18, 2004

“The Influence of Aircraft-Driven Requirements on Future Aircraft Carrier Designs"

Presented by Mr. Rich Johnson, Northrop Grumman Newport News

On November 18, 2004, Rich Johnson of Northrop Grumman Newport News provided a presentation on how aircraft-driven requirements influence future aircraft carrier designs. The US Navy’s Next Generation Aircraft Carrier Program (CVN 21) is currently in the early phases of design and will deliver the first of its class in 2013. Each ship of the new class design is expected to have a service life of over 50 years. Current requirements of definition processes for the ship’s aviation functions tie performance parameters to past, current and near future airframes, yet this class will fly multiple generations of aircraft during its expected life span by questioning if there are definition strategies that will enable less costly upgrade paths for the class than those currently implemented, design changes approached from this viewpoint allows for evaluation of engineering trade space on both sides of the ship-aircraft Interface. The implementation of such new strategies can result in engineering benefits to each of the individual elements of the larger weapons systems and reduce the Life Cycle costs of larger weapons system as a whole. Mr. Johnson presented us with past and present challenges, which the CVN 21 program have encountered.

Richard W. Johnson is a retired Naval Officer with over 22 years experience on active duty, 12 of which were spent deployed on world-wide on aircraft carriers assigned to various duties in flying Fighter squadrons, ship’s company assignments in Air Departments and as the Air Boss of USS Theodore Roosevelt, CVN-71. His last duty in the Navy was basic training of all East Coast Carriers, as Deputy for Afloat Training Group “Atlantic”. . He is currently the Manager for Carrier Technology Development, at Northrop Grumman Newport News working in the Virginia Advanced Shipbuilding and Carrier Integration Center (VASCIC).

back to top

Northern California Section
by Tom Mader

January 13, 2005

USCG Great Lakes Icebreaker Replacement Project

Northern California Section’s first meeting of the new year was held jointly with the Golden Gate Section of ASNE and the Society of Port Engineers of San Francisco. Approximately 60 members of these societies attended the joint meeting, which was held at the El Torito Restaurant in San Leandro, CA. Three students from California Maritime Academy attended

The program was presented by CDR Jim Knight, USCG; Commanding Officer, Great Lakes Icebreaker Project Resident Office, Marinette, WI. The presentation provided an interesting overview of the development of a multi-mission icebreaker for service on the Great Lakes. The project presented several design challenges, which were resolved through innovations in hull form, propulsion and machinery cooling. CDR Knight’s presentation provided an overview of the approach used to develop the Great Lakes Icebreaker Replacement, as well as the specific design solutions. The project will result in construction of USCGC MACKINAW, which is scheduled for delivery next October. Details of the icebreaker design include displacement of 3400-tons, 240-foot length, 58-foot beam, 15.3-foot draft, and a crew of 50. It is a diesel-electric vessel with three 4200 hp diesel generators and two 3350 KW azimuthing propulsion units.

back to top

Greek Section
by Nikos Dionissopoulos

January 13, 2005

Technical Meeting Report on:
“ New Developments in Laser Welding in Shipbuilding “ presented by Prof Vassilios Papazoglou on Jan 13, 2005

On January 13th, 2005 the third technical meeting of the Greek Section for 2004-2005 was held at the presence of more than 70 members and students, during which Professor Vassilios Papazoglou, Director of the Shipbuilding Technology Laboratory, Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens presented his paper on “New Developments in Laser Welding in Shipbuilding”.

The following topics were discussed:

An overview of the use of laser welding in shipbuilding, especially the European one, its benefits and obstacles were provided. The more recent technological advances in the field were described, including laser welding of sandwich panels, the application of laser hybrid welding for long structural welds in pre-assembly and the development of mobile laser equipment for block and dock assembly.

A new hybrid laser system for three-dimensional welds, developed during a European project was also presented. The project aimed to improve the competitiveness of the European shipbuilding industry by enabling the industrial use of laser welding technology in the construction of ship structures, leading to a reduction of 6-8% of the total man-hour costs of the hull and to improved quality and accuracy of the laser welded structures.

In the project an Nd-YAG laser was combined with the Gas Metal Arch Welding (GMAW) process into a hybrid process to perform fillet welds in flat subassemblies and large panels typical of a passenger ship hull. The most important results of the technological implementation of the new process was reviewed and its main advantages outlined.

After the presentation the traditional Greek Vassilopitta (New Year’s cake) with a golden coin was cut and wishes for the New Year were exchanged. The lucky coin was won by a Greek NTUA student.

back to top

Philadelphia Section
by David Moorhead

January 19 , 2005

THE PHILADELPHIA SECTION held its January 19 meeting at the Ramada Inn in Essington, PA. The topic was a presentation of a unique methodology used for shafting and main engine alignment at the Kvaerner Philadelphia Shipyard.

The method was developed in conjunction with LamaLo Technologies and uses strain gauges to accurately measure bearing load, flywheel flange shear force, and bending moments to obtain more precise alignments than is possible with sag and gap technology still in use in many shipyards. The methodology requires measurements and alignment before the shafting and engine are chocked in place. A final verification is taken after the engine and shaft bearings are secured. The methodology results in an accuracy of less than 2% deviation from the theoretical calculation, compared to up to 20% deviation for the direct measurement method. While the older technology has been adequate for ships with short, stiff shafting, such as tankers, ships with long and flexible shaft lines, particularly combined with higher power transmission, are more critical. With many design criteria now calculating bearing loads much closer to the bearing load limits, assuring the correct alignment and loading is achieved is important to assure future problems are not encountered in the trial testing and operational life of the vessel. The system was successfully employed on the alignments of the first Kvaerner Philadelphia ships, NB-001 M/V Manukai and NB-002 M/V Maunawili, which were purchased by Matson Navigation and are currently in service between the west coast of the United States and Hawaii.

A written presentation of this process will be available in the near future.

back to top

Canadian Atlantic
by Sean Tobin

January 19, 2005

Australian Navy 30 year Development plans

For the regular January meeting of the Canadian Atlantic Section, members were given an interesting presentation by Dr. Craig Gardiner of Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) of the Department of Defence of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Dr. Gardiner is on a one year exchange program in Canada at DREA (Defense Research Establishment – Atlantic) of the Canadian Navy.

Dr. Gardiner, who is a Research Scientist with the Marine Platforms Division of the Platform Sciences Laboratory of DSTO, was thus able to present, to the Section, a relevant overview of the naval research program being conducted by the RAN, under their Government’s overall 30 year military plan. The primary aim of the RAN is to achieve a high degree of naval self-reliance while featuring increased inter-operability and increased extra-operability with the other branches of the forces. Their performance related objectives are to increase their mobility and reduce their reaction time, since their expectation is that tomorrow’s requirements will occur at an increased tempo and their quick response becomes mandatory.

At the same time there is a strategic national objective of nourishing their indigenous marine industry, which ensures that the Australian content of all the marine platforms is to be maximized.

Unlike Canada, the RAN has to deal with a very long coast line (ranging from 11 deg south down to 40 deg south and from113 deg west to 153 deg west), with a sparse population base of 20 million. The uniformed members of the RAN number about 15 000, and their duties, in addition to military aspects, also cover Coast Guard duties and Fisheries Protection. As a result, the RAN is moving to develop a range of specialized marine vehicles, including surface platforms of a range of sizes and speeds, and submarines. Dr. Gardiner presented an overview of the present fleet, and traced the evolutions and developments being planned for the next 30 years. Given the interest level as evidenced by the scope of the questions, Dr. Gardiner promised to return in a few months to present to the Section, a more detailed paper on the RAN surface ships program.

back to SNAMeNewsLetter