Lightweight Construction for Advanced Shipbuilding - Recent Development

In this paper some recent advances in lightweight construction for modern shipbuilding are presented. Following a description of lightweight structures and their current use in shipbuilding, emphasis is put on naval applications of composites, and in particular on aspects related to cost benefit assessment and survivability. The following part reports on the use of adhesive bonding for superstructures of high-speed craft and passenger ships. It focuses on material selection, design and analysis, manufacture and application. Finally a recent application of laser-welded steel sandwich panels in hoistable car decks is reviewed. The content of the paper is based on the results of three ongoing research projects aimed at developing lightweight solutions for the shipbuilding industry the BONDSHIP and the SANDWICH European co-operative research projects, part of the 5th Framework, GROWTH, and the EUCLID RTP3.21 project, a European military research project.