PLATE WEB AND PROFILE ELEMENT

Abstract: The invention relates to a web frame in the form of a plate having a flange welded along one side edge thereof. The flange is designed as a bulb body (2) projecting symmetrically or asymmetrically relative to the mid-plane of the plate (1) on both sides thereof. The bulb body (2) in cross section has inclined sides (5, 6) projecting from the plate (1) at an obtuse angle ( alpha ) of 100 DEG to 120 DEG which, via a respective edge side (9, 10) having rounded corners (7, 8) and formed parallel to the plate, passes into a common side (11) extending at right angles to the plate plane.

Description: PLATE WEB AND PROFILE ELEMENT The invention relates to a web frame in the form of a plate with a flange welded in place along one side edge thereof. The invention also relates to a profile body intended to be welded at right angles onto on a web-forming plate as a flange projecting symmetrically or asymmetrically from both sides of the plate. The invention has been developed in connection with the design and construction of fair-sized ships, but the new web frame and profile body according to the invention could, of course, also be used to advantage in other installations where there is a need for the use of frames or frame-like braces. As ship dimensions have increased, the shipbuilding industry has seen a development of frames, including longitudinal frames, transverse frames and other similar braces, from rolled profiles to welded profiles. The last-mentioned profiles are supplied and used in the form of plates onto which flanges are welded along one side edge thereof, as is known from the typical T profiles or frames. The flange terminations on the web frame are important with a view to obtaining the desired satisfactory strength for the web frame and the structure in general wherever the web frame is used. In addition to the requirement of sufficient strength, it is also a major factor that large, strong flanges increase the weight of the structure and also have a surprising, but considerable influence on the surface of the steel. The surface area in a structure, primarily a ship, is of great significance in terms of sheer costs because it involves surfaces which have to be treated with a view to corrosion protection. Moreover, today's usual welded web frames do not have an especially favourable structural design from a surface treatment point of view, primarily because in this case the web frames have rather inaccessible 90° internal comers, and also sharp external corners. SE 9301013 makes known a web frame having a bulb-shaped flange welded onto the end face of a plate. The bulb projects from one of the sides of the plate only, thereby giving the web frame an L shape. This shape has not proven to be particularly favourable. It is very vulnerable to fatigue. The stress concentration factor (K) for an L profile of this kind will be about 2.5. In order to compensate for this, the dimensions, and hence the weight, must be increased. In the case of a traditional T-shaped web frame where both the web and the flange consist of flat bar steel, K will be about 1.5. However, a flat bar steel web frame of this kind has poor properties with respect to corrosion resistance and accessibility for surface treatment as mentioned above. It is an objective of the invention to provide web frames and profile bodies which will yield advantages with respect to weight/strength ratio, and especially with respect to paint area/strength ratio. The term paint is used here to mean any kind of surface treatment whose objective is to provide protection against corrosion. According to the invention, it has been found that relatively large savings can be made with the special design of the web frame flange, the aim of which is to optimise conditions with respect to weight and paint area. According to the invention, it has been found surprisingly that the aim of the invention can be reached by shaping the flange as a bulb body projecting symmetrically or asymmetrically relative to the mid-plane of the plate on both sides thereof, and that the bulb body in cross-section has inclined sides projecting at an obtuse angle (α) of 100° to 120° which, via a respective edge side having rounded corners and formed parallel to the plate, passes into a common side extending at right angles to the web frame. The term bulb or bulb body is used here to mean a thickened, rounded profile body, which is distinct from the usual flat and straight-edged flange embodiment, where the actual flange is in reality a plate member which is welded at right angles onto the plate in order to form a web frame. With this design it is possible to achieve a stress concentration factor which is as low as 1.5 to 1.9, whilst obtaining the above-mentioned favourable conditions with respect to corrosion resistance and surface treatment. The moderate asymmetrical shape provides better buckling resistance compared with a symmetrical profile and a rather good anti-fatigue capacity. The asymmetric design is especially suitable for web frames of smallish dimensions as here there could otherwise be some torsional buckling. However, the asymmetry will be so small that the K factor will not rise significantly. The preferred angle between the plate and the inclined side faces is 110°. In the case of the asymmetric profile, the angle of the smaller projecting bulb part may to advantage have the same value. A symmetric or asymmetric bulb body as mentioned will yield surprising savings with respect to weight and paint area, compared with the known embodiments. Thus, one of the objectives of the invention has been a favourable solution where an improved weight/strength ratio and a more favourable paint area/strength ratio are achieved than are known from earlier designs, a conscious effort having been made to provide a more rounded profile form (on the basis of the acknowledgement that the circular cylinder and the sphere are optimal embodiments with respect to surface area). With the new web frame, and in particular the special, new flange embodiment, improved physical conditions are obtained, a web frame being obtained having improved rounded corners, and with no sharp outer edges, i.e., areas that are rather inaccessible or are difficult to treat and coat properly with a suitable protective agent are avoided. Another objective of the invention is to give the design engineer the possibility of favourable technical solutions on the basis of a small number of standardised elements, the design engineer being given the opportunity to dimension the web frames, and particularly the principal flanges according to need. According to the invention, a profile body is therefore also proposed that is designed to be welded at right angles onto the web-forming plate as a symmetric or asymmetric flange, which profile body is characterised in that in cross-section it is bulb-shaped, having a side with a central face for welding onto the plate, from which central welding face there inclines a respective falling side portion which, via respective parallel edge sides having rounded corners, passes into a side in opposite relation to the welding face and extending at right angles to the plate plane Thus, by means of the invention a profile body is provided which can be used for • welding onto different plate widths for the formation of desired web frame dimensions (frame widths). The profile bodies can to advantage be dimensioned and shaped so that a design engineer could manage with a small number of such profile bodies, in that he could choose amongst these and specify a selected profile body for welding into place on a desired plate dimension. The larger of the said side portions, or optionally both, can to advantage incline at an angle of 20° relative to a perpendicular on the plate plane. Typical for a web frame or a profile body according to the invention is that the symmetric and asymmetric bulb body will have a considerably larger dimension in the frame plane than the actual thickness of the frame plane and the thickness of the commonly known plate-shaped flanges. As in the case of known web frames, the frame width will generally be at least one size larger than the thickness of the flange. The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a perspective outline of a typical web frame according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a perspective outline of the web frame in Fig. 1, seen from the welding side of the web frame; Fig. 3 is a perspective outline of a profile body according to the invention; Fig. 4 shows the profile body in Fig. 3 seen from the outward facing side, i.e., the free or unattached side of the profile body when it is welded in place; Fig. 5 shows an example of the application of the new web frame on board a ship; and Figs. 6-10 show the same as Figs. 1-5 for an asymmetric cross-section. Figs. 1 and 6 are perspective outlines of a typical web frame according to the invention, built up of a plate 1 and a bulb-shaped profile body 2. The bulb-shaped profile body 2 forms a flange on the web frame, the plate 1 constituting the web plate in the web frame, and the two members are welded together at 3. As shown in the drawings 1 ,2 and 3,4, the profile body 2 is designed to have a central welding face 4, whence there inclines to both sides falling side portions or side faces 5,6 which, via side faces 9J0 having rounded comers 7,8, pass into a common side face 11, which is opposite the welding face 4. One of or both of the two inclined side faces 5,6 incline (Figs. 1 and 6) at an angle α = 110 ° relative to the plate plane. In other words: the inclined side face or faces 5,6 form an angle of 20° relative to a perpendicular on the plate plane. As shown in Figs. 2 and 7, the web frame has a frame width h which is several times greater that the thickness t of the bulb body 2, preferably at least one size greater. Thus, for example, h in the case of a typical web frame may be 650 mm, whilst the thickness t of the bulb-shaped body 2 may be from 40 to 50 mm. A relevant thickness s for the actual plate 1 will, for example, be 12 mm. The width b of the flange may be from 125 to 200 mm. The width of the welding face 4 may be from 20 to 30 mm, preferably 25 mm, i.e., greater than the thickness s of the plate so that one and the same profile body can be used to build up a thicker web frame, s < 18. With this design it is possible to use conventional welding lines. Figs. 5 and 10 show an example of how the web frame according to the invention can be used on board a ship, in this case a tanker having a longitudinal frame. Here, it can be seen in particular that the bulb-shaped flange is very rounded so that rather inaccessible corners (internal corners) are avoided, which is a major advantage with respect to the anti-corrosion treatment which is necessary in structures of this type. As mentioned, it is a particular advantage of the invention that the areas on the back of the flanges are rounded in shape, to which the inclined rear side faces 5,6 and the rounded corners of the side edges 9,10 contribute.

Claims: P t e n t c l a i s 1. A web frame in the form of a plate having a flange welded along one side edge thereof, characterised in that the flange is in the form of a bulb body (2) projecting symmetrically or asymmetrically relative to the mid-plane of the plate (1) on both sides thereof, and that the bulb body (2) in cross-section has inclined sides (5,6) projecting from the plate (1) at an obtuse angle (α) of 100° to 120° which, via a respective side edge (9J0) having rounded corners (7,8) and being parallel to the plate, passes into a common side (11) extending at right angles to the plate plane. 2. A web frame according to Claim 1 , characterised in that the obtuse angle is 110°. 3. A web frame according to one of the preceding claims, characterised by a welding face (4) located between the inclined sides (5,6), and having a width of 20 to 30 mm, preferably about 25 mm. 4. A web frame according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the bulb body has a width (b) of 125 to 200 mm and a thickness (t) of 40 to 50 mm. 5. A web frame according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the bulb body width (b) to thickness (t) ratio is between 2.5 and 4.5. 6. A profile body intended for welding at right angles onto a web-forming plate as a flange projecting symmetrically or asymmetrically on both sides of said plate, characterised in that in cross-section the profile body has a bulb shape, with one side having a central face (4) for welding onto the plate (1), from which central welding face (4) there inclines a respective falling side portion (5,6) which, via respective edge sides (9,10) having rounded corners (7,8), designed parallel to and extending at right angles to the central face (4), passes into a side (11) extending at right angles to the plate plane and lying opposite the welding face (4), and that the said side portions (5,6) incline at an angle of 10° to 30° relative to a perpendicular on the plate plane. 7. A profile body according to Claim 6, characterised in that the said angle is 20°. 8. A profile body according to Claim 6 or 7, characterised in that the bulb body has a width (b) of 125 to 200 mm and a thickness of (t) of 40 to 50 mm. 9. A profile body according to Claim 6, 7 or 8, characterised in that the bulb body width (b) to thickness (t) ratio is between 2.5 and 4.5.

Inventors: BJOERU OERJAN, JANDINGER RUNE, OEVRINGMO GUNNAR, BJOERU, OERJAN, JANDINGER, RUNE, OEVRINGMO, GUNNAR
Applicants: BJOERU OERJAN, FUNDIA PROFILER A S, JANDINGER RUNE, OEVRINGMO GUNNAR, BJOERU, OERJAN, FUNDIA PROFILER A/S, JANDINGER, RUNE, OEVRINGMO, GUNNAR
Application year: 1996
Main classification: B63B3
IPC codes: B63B3, E04C2, E04C3, E04C5