Course Overview

Ship accidents in intact conditions occurred in the last decades, causing fatal injuries and important economic losses, led to the development of the Second Generation Intact Stability Criteria (SGISC), with the aim to improve ship safety and integrate current stability regulations. The development process was on the top of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) agenda for almost 20 years, involving experts from research institutions, industry, classification societies and ship operators.

The course is intended to provide the theoretical background of the SGISC and the necessary tools for their application.

Five physical phenomena are covered by the criteria and described in the course: parametric roll, pure loss of stability, surf-riding/broaching, dead ship condition and excessive acceleration. After a preliminary introduction to the basic knowledge to understand the physics behind the SGISC, each criterion is studied in detail from the mathematical and regulatory point of views (following IMO circulars).

Numerical applications of the criteria will be assigned and solved in Matlab/Simulink environment. An introduction to the basic skills for coding and simulations will be preliminary provided together with the necessary tools to solve each application.

The addressed topic is of great interest for the maritime community, and it will become a fundamental requirement for new ships.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students should:

• reach a global understanding of the phenomena covered by the SGISC;
• be able to recognize which ships can be potentially vulnerable to a specific phenomenon;
• have the tools to predict the vulnerability of ships to one or more criteria;
• achieve the skills and competencies to follow and apply IMO’s procedures;
• have the competencies to evaluate possible actions to take in preventing potentially dangerous situations for people on board and cargo;
• learn the structure, commands, functions and control flow operations in Matlab and Simulink environment, which will be used to apply the SGISC through the development of ad hoc codes.

Course Content

The topics addressed in the course will cover the following points:

1. Basic ship stability and seakeeping theory;
2. Introduction to the SGISC: structure and characteristics;
3. Physical description of each of the five criteria addressed by the SGISC: parametric roll, pure loss of stability, surf-riding/broaching, dead ship condition and excessive acceleration;
4. Mathematical models at the basis of each criterion;
5. IMO regulations: description and application;
6. Corrective actions to take in case vulnerability is detected;
7. Introduction to Matlab and Simulink: basic skills, structure, commands, functions and control flow operations, and built-up routines;
8. Predicting the vulnerability of a ship to the five phenomena using Matlab and Simulink environment.

Instructional Method

The approaches used will be:

• lectures and relevant reading material (slides, regulations, books, and research papers);
• example applications shown and replicated in the class;
• group assignments of the criteria or specific aspects of each failure mode.

Required Course Materials

Course materials (slides and IMO’s regulations) will be provided to the students.

Excel, Matlab and Simulink software are necessary to solve the applications.

Assessment

The students’ overall comprehension of the topics addressed in the course will be evaluated based on a final discussion on the assignments for the numerical and practical application of the criteria.