The naval and maritime world is a point of fascination for many. The ship repair and building industry supports millions of jobs and contributes to the economies of many nations across the globe. They are responsible for transporting natural oil and gas as well as items varying in size and quantity across nations. But have you ever wondered what makes the giant man-made structures float through the endless blue waters? There are a wide variety of metals that are used in building ships. The ship construction materials include common materials like aluminum, steel, iron, fiberglass, and many more- that are often sourced from premium suppliers of building supplies for boats and ships. The diverse range of shipbuilding materials has some common factors and properties. These factors make them perfect for building giant vessels that can navigate through even the toughest water bodies under every climatic condition. A few of these common mechanical properties are toughness, ductility, and malleability.
In earlier times, marine incidents that led to the loss of property and life used to be very common. But times have changed, and several regulations have been brought to the shipbuilding industry that has managed to revolutionize the industry as a whole. For instance, previously, ships were constructed out of wood which makes them fragile vessels that are prone to rotting and wrecks. Hence the shipbuilding industry was introduced to strong materials like stainless steel and aluminum alloys. They are used for constructing various components of a ship. In this article, we will learn about some of the most commonly used shipbuilding materials across the globe.
Top Shipbuilding Materials:
- Steel: This is one of the most well-known shipbuilding materials. It is known for its sturdiness and resistance to rust. This material has impressive strength and exceptional malleability, which allows big seafaring vessels to carry a massive amount of weight without capsizing. In addition to the hull of a ship, steel is also used in masts, gunwales, and bulkheads.
- Aluminum alloy: Although steel is known for being resistant to constant exposure to saltwater, it is also heavy, and using too much of it can impact a ship’s ability to stay afloat. Hence in the areas which are not exposed to saltwater, aluminum alloy is used primarily as it is also an impressively strong and lightweight material. It is used for constructing storage fixtures, fuel tanks, equipment, and shipping containers.
- Brass: Although it is not a common shipbuilding material, sometimes brass is used to make propellers and engines of ships. Propellers of ships are prone to cavitation, and brass is known for being resistant to this phenomenon which helps to maximize the lifespan of propellers.
- Fiber-fortified plastic: In recent decades, fiber-fortified plastic has become a valuable material for the shipbuilding industry. FRP is used as a substitute for wood and steel, as it is a strong, waterproof, erosion-free, and lightweight material that was originally introduced for military use.
- Polyethylene: Another significantly adaptable material, polyethylene offers great support to big seafaring vessels. The lightweight and extraordinary resistance against corrosion of polyethylene make it an ideal choice for the plumbing systems of big ships. The economical maintenance cost, amazing flexibility, and high resistance against tensions and vibrations make it a leading solution for the shipping industry as well as offshore platform structures.
Shipbuilding is a complex process that involves a whole crew of expert fabricators and huge amounts of raw materials from premium suppliers. Hence good-quality metal fabricators have become an indispensable part of the shipbuilding industry. However, there are many determining factors that validate whether or not a metal can be used for building ships. It is very important to consider the yield strength and tensile strength of metal before declaring it as a shipbuilding material.
Firstly, a shipbuilding material should be able to withstand any amount of bending without getting brittle or fractured, as the shipbuilding process requires a lot of bending cycles of metals. Secondly the second quality is ductility which is defined by the degree to which a metal can withstand moldable deformation under tensile stress before breaking. This property is directly dependent on the rising and dipping temperatures. For instance, one of the most ductile metals is gold. It is an important consideration for the ship manufacturing industry. Lastly, the metal should be malleable for it to be declared a shipbuilding material. This means that the material should not crack under compression or change its shape due to forging or extrusion. All the above-stated materials qualify for these three qualities and have been used in the shipbuilding industry for a long time.
