The Fifth International Forum on Aluminum Ships Tokyo, Japan 11-13, October, 2005

ALUMINIUM ALLOYS IN THIRD

MILLENNIUM SHIPBUILDING: MATERIALS,
TECHNOLOGIES, PERSPECTIVES.
Stefano FERRARIS*
Fincantieri Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A., Naval Vessel Business Unit, Genoa, ITALY
Luis Mario VOLPONE**
Istituto Italiano della Saldatura, Genoa, ITALY

KEY WORDS: strength, lightness, speed, alloys, This paper aims to highlight some arguments about
technologies, laser, FSW, production, cost-effectiveness, materials and technologies, which may represent valid
opportunities. solutions for quality improvement of manufactured
structures as well as possible cost reduction and
productivity gain.
INTRODUCTION

The Shipbuilding sector, particularly the branch devoted to
the transport of passengers on high speed ferries, is
continuously overwhelmed with demands for the increase of
speed and for contemporary energy spare.
It is a paradox that the global market, so rich of innovative
materials and technologies, gives so few suitable
combinations of them for the design and production of high
speed craft. So few, in fact, within such a strongly
competitive market as shipbuilding is, where the costs for
ship structure must be “kept as low as possible” and
generally not exceed the 10% of the total price. Therefore
expensive materials and technologies are not very much
appreciated by the shipbuilders.
At the same time, innovations inside the design are not easy
to introduce because they often have to cope with rigid
reference rules, like those of Classification Societies, where
new materials and technologies are not easily implemented,
sometimes for conservatism, sometimes for excessive
caution, more often because of uncertainties, which include:
• limited knowledge and experience of the properties of
new materials, particularly after fabrication, and of
joints achieved by means of new joining methods. Low
confidence levels in the statistical data (arising from
limitations in the quantity of data available) have often
to be compensated by increased safety factors, which
effectively penalise the introduction of new solutions;
• insufficient data on the long-term degradation of new
materials and joints because of both the loads they are
subjected to and the prolonged exposure to the marine
environment.
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BRIEF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Since its industrialisation, about 120 years ago, aluminium
began to be considered as a very attractive material for
marine applications. In the last decade of the Nineteenth
Century, aluminium was adopted for the shell plating of
some sailing boats (one of which, the “Defender”, won the
America Cup in 1895) and for minor “fast” naval vessels.
These applications were followed by a rather long period of
stagnation: severe corrosion phenomena, due partly to the
chemical composition of the alloys and partly to wrong
production methods, which had made galvanic corrosion
much easier to occur, had not allowed to ensure a
reasonably long service life. Furthermore, the ratio between
the cost of aluminium and the cost of steel was much higher
than it is today.
The strength / lightness ratio was anyway too attractive to
prevent aluminium alloys from being considered an
important class of materials for shipbuilding. Hence, as the
aluminium-magnesium alloys became available, they found
immediate application both in the civil and the naval field.
However, the actual success of aluminium alloys in
shipbuilding came clear only after the Second World War,
when the development in arc welding methods gave a real
alternative to riveting as the joining technique for the
material. The availability of a reliable, industrial and rather
cheap assembly technology, together with the increasing
demand for higher speed performances, made aluminium
alloys one of the best choices as the structural material for
several kinds of boats, vessels and components.

* Manager of Ship Platform Basic Design

** In charge of teaching activities at several Universities; involved in the choice of materials and technologies for welded products
The Fifth International Forum on Aluminum Ships
Nowadays, better alloys, capable of ensuring improved
corrosion resistance and higher mechanical properties, even
in HAZ, well established industrial solutions, like extrusion,
new joining techniques, like laser welding, FSW and
adhesive bonding, give aluminium the chance to be not only
the reference material for many marine applications but also
to look for further developments.
AN IDEAL COMBINATION OF LIGHTNESS AND
STRENGTH: ALUMINIUM ALLOYS AND THE BLUE
RIBBON
Lightness, strength, easy production: the ideal recipe for
speed at sea. It was not at all surprising when an aluminium
wave-piercing catamaran, the Hoverspeed Great Britain
(Fig 1), conquered the Hales Trophy in 1990, crossing the
Atlantic Ocean at an average speed of almost 37 knots. The
Trophy was then won, eight years later, by another similar
but larger vessel, the CAT-LINK V (Fig 2), which sailed
from America to Europe at more than 41 knots.
Fig 1 The Hoverspeed Great Britain
Fig 2 The CAT-LINK V
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Tokyo, Japan 11-13, October, 2005
Apart from commercial vessels, the only entitled to win the
Hales Trophy, the Blue Ribbon for the fastest crossing with
no intermediate refuelling is owned by another well known
aluminium ship, the monohull Destriero (Fig 3), which
reached Bishop Rock in 1992 at an average speed exceeding
53 knots.
Fig 3 Destriero
ALUMINIUM ALLOYS IN PRESENT SHIPBUILDING
Aluminium alloys play an important role in many sectors of
present shipbuilding.
Many pleasure boats and large yachts are made of
aluminium, either entirely or partially (superstructures,
deckhouses, funnels, masts, etc.). Several minor, light and
fast vessels, having customs, police or coast guard
patrolling purposes, are aluminium ones.
The material is currently used in the offshore field for the
construction of specific portions of oil platforms: that is the
case of living quarters and landing pads, generally made of
extruded profiles.
Fig 4 Living quarters and landing pad
on an offshore platform
The Fifth International Forum on Aluminum Ships
As regards civil ships, aluminium superstructures are widely
used for cruise vessels, due to the need for light, efficient
structures with reduced impact on vessel stability.
In the HSC field, aluminium is again an essential:
catamarans, swaths, wave-piercers, SES, monohulls, etc.,
are made, partially or entirely, of its alloys, which grant a
significantly high strength/weight ratio, giving the chance,
case by case, of increased speed, reduced fuel consumption
or increased deadweight. The argument has been widely
treated in the ISSC 2000 and ISSC 2003 Specialist
Committees dedicated to the Structural Design of High
Speed Vessels.
Fig 5 Midship section of an aluminium alloy monohull
The use of aluminium in naval vessels deserves special
consideration: up to the Nineteen Seventies, many military
vessels were designed and built with aluminium alloy
superstructures, which granted a remarkable spare of weight,
even taking account of the higher amount of insulation
needed for fire protection purposes, with low impact on
both intact and damaged vessel stability.
The Falkland Islands war, at the beginning of the Eighties,
changed the feeling of most navies about the use of
aluminium alloys for structural applications: nine British
ships were attached and sunk by Argentine aircraft and the
media suggested those vessels had been lost because the
aluminium used for superstructures had caught fire. There
was no actual evidence of a direct relationship between
aluminium and those accidents, but the loss of mechanical
properties, which aluminium alloys undergo when exposed
to temperatures exceeding 200 °C, was strongly emphasized
and considered a sufficient reason for banishing the
structural use of the material.
After more than twenty years, that belief is still present even
though some specific applications have been re-introduced
(i.e. small deckhouses, funnels, masts). A recent tender for
few corvettes in Eastern Europe has anyway explicitly
asked for aluminium superstructures. Nevertheless, the use
of aluminium for structural applications is not permitted by
all Navies and/or Classification Societies: for instance,
while DNV and RINA allow the use of light alloys, Lloyd’s
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Tokyo, Japan 11-13, October, 2005
Register practically does not and ABS limits the use to
AA5xxx series alloys.
ALUMINIUM VESSEL DESIGN: THE NEED FOR A
CHANGE OF MENTALITY
The peculiarities of aluminium alloys with respect to steel,
in terms of mechanical properties, loss of strength in HAZ,
higher notch sensitivity and consequent lower capability of
withstanding cyclic loads, reduced fire resistance, higher
production constraints but, at the same time, availability of
tailored solutions, push to the application of different
concepts and design approaches.
The designer, who believes it possible to treat an aluminium
vessel as a conventional steel one, will probably undergo a
severe failure: aluminium does not allow mistakes and
makes it necessary to adopt more sophisticated structural
details so as to keep stress concentration factors as low as
possible. This is particularly important for structures that
can experience sudden high loads (e.g. slamming pressure)
or are constantly subjected to vibrations or other cyclic
loading, which can easily induce damages and fatigue
failures. Not only such concepts are to be applied to
structures but also to outfitting components and their
integration with structures themselves.
On the other hand, the possibility of using tailored sections
and purpose-designed components with a high strength on
weight ratio makes extrusions a cost-effective solution for
aluminium structures. This can be obtained both by the
suitable mechanisation of traditional processes, like MIG
welding, and by the use of more recent joining techniques,
like laser and FSW, which give the chance of a significant
improvement for every designer, who is ready to study their
best application inside production processes.
STRUCTURAL MATERIALS
The general outline has shown aluminium alloys as the best
technical choice for the construction of ship structures with
particular speed requisites. There are also other light
materials suitable for minor ships, specially mass-produced
ones, such as various kinds of GRP or titanium alloys, but
they are very expensive and do not ensure high productivity.
Aluminium alloys own a lot of characteristics that are very
interesting for high speed craft designers and builders:
lightness, good corrosion resistance, good attitude to
welding, cutting and shaping, in other words an excellent
predisposition towards manufacturing technologies.
Table 1 gives typical mean values of some physical
characteristics of specific interest for design and production.
With reference to same characteristics, the table also
highlights possible implications or consequences that may
derive from the use of aluminium alloys instead of steel.
The Fifth International Forum on Aluminum Ships Tokyo, Japan 11-13, October, 2005

Table 1 Comparison between physical properties of aluminium alloys and steel

Aluminium Steel for

Physical property Related matters
alloys construction
Density Lighter structures, hence opportunity to reduce the installed
2700 7850
[kg/m3] power and spare money with respect to steel solutions.
Aluminium alloys are much more deformable in the elastic
Young modulus
72000 205000 field. This requires the adoption of more stiffening elements
[MPa]
to keep strain down to acceptable values.
Thermal conductivity Welding processes based on thermal sources are less efficient
235 79
[W/m °K] in aluminium alloys with respect to steel.
Melting temperature The fusion bath is much more fluid and tends to breaking.
550 ÷ 650 ~ 1500
[°C] Fire resistance is worse and penalized.
Oxides melting 800 ÷ 900 The presence of alumina in way of joints causes remarkable
2060
temperature (FeO, Fe2O3, inconveniences to welding (difficult management of the arc
(Al2O3)
[°C] Fe3O4) and possible sticking).
Electrical resistivity
~ 2.65 10-6 ~ 10 10-6 Resistance welding is more difficult in aluminium alloys.
[Ohm cm]
Aluminium alloys do not magnetize as a consequence of
Relative magnetic <1 80 ÷ 160
working processes and can not be controlled by means of
permeability (paramagnetic) (ferromagnetic)
magnetic crack detection.
Crystalline structure single-phase two-phase In general, aluminium alloys do not undergo transformations
(elementary cell) CFC CBC - CFC of phase but only precipitation phenomena.

The aluminium universe includes some hundreds of alloys,
grouped in families, where they are classified as a function
of alloy elements inside them.
Which are the alloys of major interest for the shipbuilding
world? The answer seems quite clear. Those alloys that
grant:
• availability of semi-finished products (sheets, profiles,
etc.), having shapes and sizes corresponding to design
and fabrication requirements;
• a good attitude towards all manufacturing technologies,
in particular welding;
• good marine corrosion resistance;
• costs compatible with shipbuilding economy.
All these requisites are largely satisfied by:
• aluminium-magnesium alloys (series AA5xxx)
• aluminium-magnesium-silicon alloys (series AA6xxx)
The former are mainly found as sheets and rolls, while the
latter are generally used for extruded profiles.
Table 2 shows a list of chemical and mechanical
characteristics of some of the alloys most frequently used in
shipbuilding.
Alloys AA5083 and AA5059, and other similar ones, like
for instance AA5383, are single-phase alloys, whose
mechanical properties are determined both by Mg content in
solid solution and grain size.
The zirconium contributes to the grain refinement in alloy
AA5059 especially in the heat-affected zones (HAZ) of
welded joints.
Table 2 also offers an overview of the mechanical
properties of same alloys, but the real problem is the
decrease of same properties after the execution of a welded
joint.
AA5xxx series alloys are known as work-hardened alloys,
while AA6xxx series ones are suited for thermal treatment.
It is therefore understandable that the heat coming from a
welding process can modify the metallurgical grade of
supplied wrought materials.
Table 3 shows the drop in strength levels of the AA5xxx
series alloys considered in Table 2. It refers to butt welds on
grade H321 sheets, MIG-welded with AA5183 filling wire.
The loss of mechanical properties of AA5083 is such that
the HAZ of the joint reaches the state 0, characterized by
the lowest strength level for this alloy, while the loss for
AA5059 is contained.
AA6xxx series alloys undergo a similar drop in mechanical
properties, which can be compared to a reduction to state T4
(hardened or solubilized) with a decrease of strength
sometimes equal to half of the RP0,2 value corresponding to
state T6. These alloys are anyhow capable to subsequently
recover by natural ageing, reaching values around 70% of
the original RP0,2 value for the wrought material after some
weeks.
The phenomenon of resistance drop, particularly in way of
H.A.Z., the area of the welded joint coinciding with the
structural notch between the filling material of the seam and
the parent metal, has a disruptive effect on the fatigue
properties of welded joints. It is worth underlining that the
fatigue resistance of aluminium alloys, like those mentioned
in present paper, is about three times lower than that of
structural steels.

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The Fifth International Forum on Aluminum Ships Tokyo, Japan 11-13, October, 2005

Table 2 Chemical and mechanical properties of some aluminium alloys typically used in shipbuilding

Nominal chemical Mechanical strength

Alloy Metallurgical grades
composition [%] minimum levels
For thickness ! 12.5 mm
RP0.2 " 125 MPa
Mg: 4.0 ÷ 4.9 0
Rm " 275 MPa
Mn: 0.4 ÷ 1.0
A50 " 14%
AA5083 (1) Cr: 0.05 ÷ 0.25
For thickness ! 10 mm
Cu + Fe + Si + Zn: ! 1.15
RP0.2 " 215 MPa
Ti: ! 0.15 H321
Rm " 305 MPa
A50 " 10%
For thickness ! 20 mm
Mg: 5.0 ÷ 6.0 RP0.2 " 160 MPa
0
Mn: 0.6 ÷ 1.2 Rm " 330 MPa
Cr: 0 ÷ 0.3 A50 " 24%
AA5059 (2)
Zr: 0.05 ÷ 0.25 For thickness ! 20 mm
Cu + Fe + Si + Zn: ! 2.9 RP0.2 " 270 MPa
H321
Ti: ! 0.15 Rm " 370 MPa
A50 " 10%
Si: 0.50 ÷ 0.90
For thickness ! 10 mm
Mg: 0.40 ÷ 0.70
RP0.2 " 215 MPa
AA6005A Cu + Fe + Zn: ! 0.85 T5 / T6 (3)
Rm " 280 MPa
Mn + Cr: 0.12 ÷ 0.50
A50 " 11%
Ti: ! 0.10
Si: 0.70 ÷ 1.30
For thickness ! 10 mm
Mn: 0.40 ÷ 1.0
RP0.2 " 250 MPa
AA6082 Mg: 0.60 ÷ 1.2 T6 (3)
Rm " 310 MPa
Cu + Fe + Cr + Zn: ! 1.05
A50 " 9%
Ti: ! 0.10

Notes about Table 2: (1) the values may be also representative of similar and better AA5383
(2) alloy patented by CORUS Aluminium Rolled Products – Karl Später strasse 10,
56070 Koblenz, Germany
(3) Grade T6 is here generically indicated: extruded profiles manufacturers often
apply thermal treatments together with stretching or other more complex methods

Table 3 Mechanical properties of AA5xxx series alloys after welding

Alloy RP0.2 [MPa] Rm [MPa]

AA5083 125 275

AA5059 160 300

Fig 6 shows the results of fatigue tests carried out on the use of either too little or unfit filling material will
various types of welded joints. unavoidably lead to poor results.

From fatigue resistance point of view, alloy AA5059 shows
a certain advantage in comparison with traditional alloys
like AA5083: for instance, the fatigue resistance of
non-levelled butt welded joints at 107 cycles is about 20
MPa higher than that of alloy AA5083, thanks essentially to
the grain refinement in H.A.Z..
The use of innovative and, at the same time, cost-effective
technologies surely implies a significant change in the
mental approach to welded joints.
INNOVATIVE WELDING TECHNOLOGIES

Certainly above mentioned alloys represent a great potential In traditional practice, aluminium alloys are welded by
for the fabrication of ship structures, but often unfit welding means of G.T.A.W., G.M.A.W. and P.A.W. arc processes
procedures could cancel all benefits: excessive heating or

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The Fifth International Forum on Aluminum Ships
but, within the shipbuilding sector, only G.M.A.W. welding
procedures, in their MIG version, are generally adopted.
Fig 6 Fatigue behaviour of MIG and FSW
welded joints in aluminium alloys
The reason is that G.T.A.W. is a slow and not very
productive process, while P.A.W. is particularly good for
thin sheets, is more expensive and does not grant the same
versatility like G.M.A.W. does. G.M.A.W. technique is
undoubtedly cheap, highly productive and can be easily
automated. Depending on the type of vessel, most of its
major structural parts (decks, sides, bulkheads) can be built
by using this procedure.
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Tokyo, Japan 11-13, October, 2005
Anyway the technique shows quite clearly the metallurgical
problems already pointed out in previous paragraph and is
affected by diffuse porosity in the joint as well as
remarkable shrinking deformation.
Arc-welding techniques require the complete removal of
alumina (Al2O3), the passivating oxide that spontaneously
covers the surfaces of all aluminium alloys, as it is
refractory and dielectric and creates serious problems
because of its difficult melting and the transfer of electric
charges.
Since a few years, industry makes use of continuous filling
wire gas metal welding systems, which weld by means of
two separately fed synergic wires (“twin arc”). Such a
technique allows the reduction of overall heating, which
means a decrease of welded structures deformation level.
Nevertheless, big efforts have still to be made to leave
behind the traditional way of welding.
Two are the innovative welding methods, one of them being
really revolutionary:
• laser welding (or the hybrid laser-MIG process);
• friction stir welding (F.S.W.).
Such procedures have an elevated level of automation, high
productivity, and can carry out high-quality welded joints
with very low or null deformation levels (FSW).
The peculiarities of these welding techniques require a
change of mentality, as the structural design must be
reviewed to obtain the utmost benefits from the use of the
joining process.
Next pages describe in detail the two methodologies and
illustrate some of the possible results.
Laser
“Laser” (light amplification by stimulated emission of
radiations) sources are heat ones consisting of a
monochromatic light beam at elevated density of energy,
capable to concentrate, in only one cm2, from 7·105 up to
1.2·106 W.
Laser techniques mainly used in welding processes are
Nd:YAG (laser pumped by diodes), with a light beam
having a wave length # = 1.06 µm and power of about 4 kW,
and CO2 (laser slab), with a light beam of a wave length # =
10,6 µm at variable intensities up to more than 25 kW.
In latter method the light is driven by optical glasses and
mirrors, which allow to obtain a “dot-like” beam with a
section between 0.4 and 0.6 mm in the focal area. Energy
density can carry out a hole, known as “keyhole”, in the
metallic surface, in which overheated plasma is generated.
The walls of the keyhole melt and the molten metal fills the
hollow step by step along the laser track. The welding has
very small dimensions in comparison with a traditional
The Fifth International Forum on Aluminum Ships Tokyo, Japan 11-13, October, 2005

arc-welded joint, approximately 1/5 with respect of a MIG • firm clamping of the parts to weld.
joint.

Fig 7 Operating principle of laser welding

It is worth pointing out that the welding process takes place

without any filler material. The edges are straight and the
gap between them is to be max 0.1 ÷ 0,2 mm.

However, the use of filler metal is sometimes suggested in

order to correct the chemical composition of the molten
material (excessive evaporation of Mg) or avoid hollow
spots in case of excessive gaps. b
The impact of the already exposed metallurgic problems is
reduced: for instance the width of the H.A.Z. can reach 1/10
in comparison with MIG welded joints, but the drop of the
mechanical properties in such an area takes place anyway.

Significant advantages of laser methodology are that

caulkers and filling wires are not necessary and welding
speed, for single-pass welds and a thickness from 2 to 6 mm,
can reach about 2.5 ÷ 4 metres/minute.

Typical welded joint types are: c

• butt welding (a)
• 100% penetrating fillet welding (b)
Fig 8 Three typical laser welding joints
• lap welding (c)
These joints are shown in Fig 8.
Who is acquainted with shipbuilding production activities
surely knows the difficulties one has to cope with in case of
Up to now, only a summary description of laser
a butt weld of up to 18 meters on rather thin sheets (3 to 8
methodology has been given. The use of such a welding
mm). The problem has been faced in various manners,
technique is obviously not limited to aluminium alloys, but
among which the most successful, so far, is a combination
ensures also many advantages for what concerns the
of two processes, Laser + GMAW, into a method better
welding of structural steel, stainless steel, etc..
known as “Hybrid-Laser”. Fig 9 shows schematically the
basic operating principle.
But which is the real level of interest for the shipbuilders
towards laser technology? Is laser welding actually
Hybrid-laser is a technological solution that allows the laser
applicable to shipbuilding?
beam to produce a keyhole, in which a MIG type
continuous filling wire is put. The arc itself is facilitated by
The significant industrial application of laser within the
the plasma created by the laser source.
shipbuilding sector has started about fifteen years ago, but
its practical use is more recent.
An advantage is that the method accepts gap values between
welding edges significantly higher than those tolerated by
Laser technology gives many benefits but it imposes a lot of
the classical laser technique. In fact, compared with the 0.1
severe requisites, such as:
÷ 0.2 mm of the “pure” laser process, the "hybrid" laser
• constant and extremely reduced gap between welding
process tolerates gaps of even 0.8 ÷ 1.0 mm, can weld
edges (0.1 ÷ 0.2 mm);
sheets from 5 mm up to 10 mm thick and grant speeds from
• flatness of welding edges;

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The Fifth International Forum on Aluminum Ships
1 metre/min up to 2.5 metres/min, which are indeed
interesting for shipbuilders!
Fig 9 Hybrid-Laser functioning scheme
There are many kinds of panel lines for the production of
flat panels, which carry out automatic butt welds of steel
sheets and fillet welds of stiffening elements. Same
methodology could be used for the production of aluminium
alloy flat panels, where Nd:YAG laser technique, supported
by a glass fibre, may provide an additional benefit, that is
the reduction of reflection losses and of absorption of the
beam by the plasma created by the laser beam itself.
Another interesting application of laser in shipbuilding is
the manufacturing of “sandwich” panels via overlapping or
“transparency” welding. Fig 10 shows one of the most
typical “sandwich” panels with the basic variables that
concur to its design definition.
Fig 10 A kind of sandwich panel
Table 4 Advantages offered by sandwich(1) solutions
(1) CORALDEC ! is a Trade Mark of CORUS
WALZPRODUKTE GmbH
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Tokyo, Japan 11-13, October, 2005
It is interesting to point out that three components of the
sandwich panel, i.e. top and bottom sheets as well as the
corrugated surface, can be of different thickness and even
be made of three different materials.
In order to illustrate “sandwich” structure benefits, Table 4
shows the weight saving factor of different structural
“sandwiches”, made of laser-welded AA5059, destined to
two typical marine applications: passenger decks and car
decks.
Friction Stir Welding
The F.S.W. methodology has found interesting applications
all around the world, from north to south, from east to west.
It may be considered the natural evolution of welding
processes with the intent to overcome the metallurgic
problems related to hardening of molten metal.
As well known to everybody, F.S.W. can produce welded
joints by softening metallic material via heat deriving from
the friction produced by a circular-moving tool. Such a tool
performs the welding with its translational motion along the
contact line between two straight edges without any
particular caulk. Fig 11 shows the operating principle of this
process: the scheme has become the symbol of a radical
change.
Fig 11 F.S.W. operating principle
The benefits offered by this process, related to aluminium
alloys, can be summarily described as follows:
• solid-state welding process, free from re-crystallisation
phenomena of the liquid metal;
• it allows to obtain optimum mechanical characteristics
of the welded joint, comparable with those of the parent
material or even slightly better thanks to grain
refinement;
• flat welds, levelled as the parent material. The
substantial absence of notches between the seam and the
parent metal determines a significant increase of fatigue
characteristics, as clearly shown by Fig 6. Moreover,
due to its flatness, the welded joint can weigh down to
12% less than traditional MIG seams;
The Fifth International Forum on Aluminum Ships
• it produces the lowest level of distortion among all
known welding processes;
• it requires neither any filling metal nor, in general, any
inert gas, reaching a maximum temperature of about
80% of the melting temperature of the parent metal and
a welding speed up to 2.7 metres/min. (for a reference
thickness of 5 mm) in one single pass;
• it can weld up to 35 mm thick sheets in one single pass;
• the process does not produce light radiation, dangerous
smoke, sparkles or noise;
• it allows to weld practically all metals (with melting
temperature < 1800 °C) and even combinations of
different kinds of materials, which are practically
impossible to join by using traditional welding
processes.
It is absolutely clear what a revolutionary way of welding
this process represents!
Fig 12 Example of deck panel welded by using F.S.W.
Fig 13 Panel welded by using F.S.W. and then rolled up
This methodology was born in 1991, patented by T.W.I.
(Cambridge, UK) and only a few years later, in 1994, a
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Tokyo, Japan 11-13, October, 2005
huge machine built by ESAB began to produce ship
structural parts (decks, bulkheads, side panels, landing pads,
etc.) at (today) Hydro Marine Aluminium in Haugesund,
Norway.
Approved by the most important Classification Societies, it
has got its place among the pioneering technologies for the
production of ship structural parts in aluminium alloys, but
its industrial use to weld steel structures is forthcoming.
Fig 12 and Fig 13 are good, even though limited, examples
of what can be done by using F.S.W..
Anyhow, the range of application will grow in so far as the
mind of the designer will grow too.
Up to now the FSW process offers remarkable benefits in
the automated construction of flat panels, therefore a “panel
line” equipped to produce panels for decks, bulkheads and
sides.
But we ought to exit this contexts and project towards a
wider and feasible one. Fig 14 suggests in a fanciful manner
what could become a reality in a few years: the use of
aluminium alloy panels, suitably moulded from flat ones,
for the construction of portions of the external shell as well
as of superstructure side bulkheads.
The diffusion of these kinds of aluminium alloy products
has still to be broadened.
OTHER OPPORTUNITIES
Combined structural solutions for sandwiches
There are numerous solutions to connect sandwich panels
among each-other, either on top or sides, as well as simple
solutions by using of lot of ad hoc extruded profiles to
connect a sandwich panel to the ship conventional structures,
or to carry out deck passages for various applications
(piping, cables, etc.).
Adhesive bonding
Adhesive bonding offers considerable potential benefits.
This kind of joining technique allows the use of thinner
plating and higher strength alloys, thanks to the lack of heat
affected areas, giving the chance for significant reductions
in scantling and structural weight.
The fabrication process can be more flexible, as there is the
strong opportunity to paint the single parts before joining
them together.
The Fifth International Forum on Aluminum Ships
Fig 14 Possible new structural solutions by adopting F.S.W.
Rework and fairing of surfaces by means of fillers can be
indeed minimised, as there is much less distortion than
with traditionally welded structures: a significant reduction
in production costs may be consequently achieved.
The main advantages of adhesive bonding with respect to
traditional welding connections are that:
• mechanical properties of parent material do not
decrease due to the joining technique;
• lack of heating implies no distortions;
• high quality surface finish can be easily achieved;
• rework is very limited.
The factors which still prevent the wide use of such a
technique on vessels are the lack of information about
long-term behaviour in the marine environment and
strength retention in case of fire, the substantial lack of
reference rules and the need for precise application,
inspection and repair procedures.
Honeycomb
Adopted for mezzanines and movable car decks,
honeycomb is a possible way towards a further reduction
of secondary structure weight. All-aluminium products
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Tokyo, Japan 11-13, October, 2005
(sheets + core) fulfil IMO requirements in terms of
toxicity, smoke generation and low flame spread.
Honeycomb solutions, even though in competition with
FRP ones, can be used on high speed vessels as separating
divisions or other secondary structures, wherever their
excellent rigidity/weight ratio can be properly exploited.
In the last decade, constant development in sandwich
construction has led to the production of honeycomb
materials with higher peel strength, capable of
withstanding complex processes, such as folding, pressing
and forming, and thus giving chances of a wider
utilization.
CONCLUSIONS
New aluminium alloys, capable of higher corrosion
resistance, tailor-made aluminium products, the fantastic
improvement in joining methodologies: a whole world of
opportunities for every shipbuilder, who wants to improve
his designs and fully exploit cost-effective and
production-friendly solutions.
The Fifth International Forum on Aluminum Ships
The advantages achievable in some fields of shipbuilding
scenario, like high speed craft and light naval vessels, as
well as those related to the design and construction of
portions of major ships and offshore platforms, are quite
evident. But it is also clear that there is the need for a
further change of mentality in the praxis of ship structural
composition.
Not only the designer must understand the benefits offered
by mentioned materials and methods, but he has also to
carefully study the procedures for the correct integration of
the “new” structures with traditional ones, in order to
avoid distressing damages to the former when the latter are
implemented on them, generally by means of traditional
joining techniques like MIG welding.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to thank Dr. Eng. Stefanie Mueller
(Istituto Italiano della Saldatura) and Mrs. Hennie Van der
Waard (Fincantieri S.p.A., Naval Vessel Business Unit)
for their fundamental contribution.
A special thank is reserved to Prof. Enrico Evangelista
(Marche Polytechnic University), who provided the
opportunity for the submission of present paper.
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