STIFFENERS
Stiffeners
We all are aware that for construction of a ship, it requires million tons of steel and billions of man hours. But have you ever thought why the ship sides do or any plating all over a ship has too many stiffeners? The answer is simple which in one word is for “strength.” But how does just welding so many pieces of steel like channel bars, bulb angles and bulb plates make the plates strong?
To understand this, just hold a sheet of paper in your hands and ask someone to blow air on it. The paper bends and finally it may ever tear if the force is too strong. But hold the same sheet of paper with lots of broom sticks or match sticks attached to it. Now if some one blows air on it, it will not flutter as before. It will be intact and stronger than before. The same applies to ship side plates and other structures.
