Schenectady Failure Essay

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At 11pm on the 16 January 1943, the 152m long T2 tanker 'Schenectady' broke in two amidships while lying at the outfitting dock in the constructor's yard in Portland, Oregon, USA. The temperature of the harbor water was about 4°C and the conditions were still. The air temperature was approximately -3°C and the winds were light. The failure was sudden and accompanied by a report that was heard a mile away. The fracture extended through the deck, the sides of the hull, the longitudinal bulkheads and the bottom girders. The vessel jack-knifed, hinging on the bottom plate which had remained intact. The central part of the ship rose clear of the water so no flooding of the hull through the fracture occurred.
Causes of failure The failure of the …show more content…

However, in case of the
Schenectady, another factor adds to the reason. The Liberty Ships were all-welded constructions, which was a new technology at that time. This process was implemented to speed up the production and increase the cargo capacity by reducing the vessel's dead load. However, the shortage of skilled workers is the reason why insufficiently trained personnel were employed as welders, resulting in poor weld quality. In this case, significant flaws in the welds acted as stress raisers causing the fracture to start.
Significant of problem and Conclusion
Today, more than 60 years later it is hard to give suggestions. It is apparent that a steel quality that had a higher fracture toughness at low temperature would have prevented many ships from failing. It is also obvious that more experienced and better educated welders could have produced welds without or at least with fewer and smaller flaws. Today, it is commonly understood that rectangular corners have to be avoided in order to prevent stress concentration. However, considering the constraints of that time, considering the fact that large cargo ships were needed quickly, sufficient steel not being available and qualified labor being short, there are not many improvements that could have been suggested at that

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