TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention is, in the most general sense, about a system for stabilizing that will be used on ships during loading operations. The invention relates primarily to a ballast-free system that uses buoys and channels to ensure dynamic control of the ship's stability according to the instantaneous loading situations. Because there is no ballast tank, the onboard water will not carry bacteria, viruses, and many other sea creatures in the larval or developmental stages to new maritime ecosystems.

BACKGROUND

There are two primary forms of wave effects that hinder all vessels. These are sea-based waves formed by the force of the wind and ship-based waves formed by the movement of a vessel. Sea-based waves are undesirable, and almost all vessels are exposed to them. On the other hand, ship-originated waves are formed when the ship pushes water above sea level while moving. Sea-based waves and winds force the ship to make heel or roll motion. Ballast tanks are also used to prevent stability problems caused by wave effects.

Ballast water is carried by ships in ballast tanks to provide stability while cruising. Ships with empty cargo holds (unloaded ships) often requires taking on ballast in the lower tanks and shifting the center of gravity. By using ballast water to stabilize the ship, both its maneuverability and stress levels can be improved. On the other hand, several drawbacks are associated with the ballast water stored in ships' ballast tanks. Because the ballast waters taken on boards may contain bacteria, viruses, and sea creatures that are in the larval or developmental stages. Despite ballast discharge and uptake processes, some organisms can persist and be transported to other ecosystems. This situation creates ecological and economic problems and poses a danger to public health.

Even though it is known that ecological systems in the water are getting affected, ships keep moving billions of tones of ballast water around the world every year. Some of the creatures in the ballast waters die due to temperature changes in the ballast water, food shortages and a lightless environment during their journey on the ship. However, some of the surviving and resistant creatures are mixed with the new marine ecology they arrived in. In new ecosystems, they might become an invasive species by occupying the natural environment. As a result of ships moving the microorganisms in their ballast tanks to new environments, marine ecology faces significant threats.

Although some improvements have been to prevent the disadvantages of ballast water, more is needed. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) developed the "International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments" to prevent the spread of microorganisms through ballast water. The agreement was signed by many countries in 2004. As per the agreement, ships are obligated to treat their ballast water and perform ballast water analysis to verify compliance prior to changing the water. Nevertheless, this precautionary actions require extra costs and labor today, as a result of the mandatory requirements of ballast water analysis, treatment, and management.

Given the known drawbacks of the current ballast system used in ships, some improvements have been made to address these issues. The first of these improvements is the use of ballast-free ships. The ballast-free ship model does not have extra piping or pumps on board for ballast tanks and eliminates maintenance costs by not having tanks. This system features hollow spaces or channels, known as "trunks," located beneath the keel of the ship. Water continuously flows through these trunks, serving as the ballast system on the ship. However, this system also has many disadvantages. The continuous flow of water through the channels causes to shift constantly the center of buoyancy of the ship from the stern to the bow, thereby posing a threat to its stability. Another drawback of this system is that it limits the size of the ship. The absence of ballast tanks on ships means that to avoid stability issues and maintain the same cargo capacity, the ship's width must be increased instead of its length. However, this approach will lead to higher construction costs for the ship. Hence, there is a need to develop a new system that can control the water entering the channels through a buoy-like mechanism for the stabilizing operations.

The article "Hydrodynamics of the Ballast-Free Ship Revisited" discusses preventing the transportation of harmful species through ballast tanks, avoiding increased ship resistance at the ship's service speed, and ensuring trim, heel, and stability control under all sea conditions. To achieve these goals, valves located at the entrance and exit of the channels open and close depending on the ship's stability. Depending on the ship's speed, seawater enters through the channel inlet and exits through the channel outlet. Opening and closing the valves fill fixed-volume tanks with water. Keeping the outflow valve open allows the water to flow out, preventing harmful species from adhering and being transported to different regions. New technology is needed to maintain the ship's stability without additional valves. This can be achieved with a buoy-like structure placed along the side of the ship's hull to maintain weight stability. The existing solutions in the technical field have some issues and limitations, which necessitate innovation.

The patent application "KR20150062310A" proposes a system that allows holds to float inside the ship's hull with their weight and volume stability, thereby eliminating the need for ballast tanks and preventing the transport of dangerous species. However, this system may not be suitable for transporting heavy loads like ore and can be risky for safe navigation in severe sea conditions. Therefore, a new technology is required that can transport dangerous species without compromising the shipping efficiency of cargoes of different densities and weights. This technology should also address challenges such as correcting the trim and inclination, maintaining the longitudinal strength of large merchant ships, reducing operating and production costs, and ensuring uninterrupted water flow and stability.

Another patent application in the technical field, "US4528927A," was designed for high-speed boats that use hydrodynamic buoyancy along with hydrostatic buoyancy to achieve high speeds. However, the system can cause the bow of the boat to lift excessively during sudden accelerations and high speeds, which highlights the need for a new technology to enhance the longitudinal strength of large merchant ships against trims and inclinations caused by loading and unloading.

As a result, due to the drawbacks mentioned above and the inadequacy of existing solutions on the subject, it has become necessary to make a development in the relevant technical field to correct the trim and heeling that arise from loading and unloading of large commercial ships, prevent ecosystem degradation caused by changes in the locations of bacteria, viruses, and many other marine creatures, reduce production and operation costs, ensure uninterrupted water flow, and maintain stability.

BRIEF DESCTIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The most important aim of the invention is to limit and control pollution that is caused by ships. In this proposed system, it is ensured that ecological transport is prevented by transporting different organisms in the water that is charged into the sea by the ballast operations of the ships. Another purpose of the invention is to prevent the deterioration of the ecological balance by preventing the transport of bacteria, viruses and other marine species in the parts of the wall thanks to the water flow during the cruise.

Another goal of the invention is to meet the Ballast Water Management system requirements of the International Maritime Organization by not carrying sea water in the ship.

Another aim of the invention is to provide different loading scenarios. For this purpose, in this system, the buoys can be gradually moved vertically.

Another purpose of the invention is to develop a system whose operating cost would be low. There are no parts that are likely to malfunction, such as a pump, or an opening-closing hatch in the proposed system. In addition, a continuous flow is ensured due to the presence of channel inlets at the bow of the ship and channel outlets at the stern, which provides natural flow depending on the pressure distribution on the ship's surface.

A further objective is to modify the amount that can be filled with sea water in order to maintain the ship's stability. On the board of the ship, there are buoys that can move up and down for this purpose. By moving progressively up and down, the volume that can be filled with the required sea water can be changed. This makes it possible to modify the ship's stability as needed to accommodate various loading scenarios. Also, because the buoys are inside the ship's hull, an excessive increase in resistance values is prevented that is caused by the hydrodynamic design of the ship's surface. Also, it lessens the impact of pressure values on the areas where the buoys are located. Providing ship stability is another goal of the proposed invention. Even when all of the buoys are at the top position, that is, the volumes that can be filled with sea water are maximum, they contain additional reserve volume at large angles in extreme roll movements. In other words, even if the chambers (6) are completely filled with sea water, additional reserve volume can be provided thanks to the buoys. This situation is beneficial in terms of stability. Since it is possible to increase the maximum angle of vanishing stability

Another aim of the invention is to reduce the wave loads caused by the sea and the wave resistance caused by the ship. LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. View of the system for stabilizing the ship's hull under loading conditions on ships

Figure2. View of the cargo compartment, the ship's hull and the buoy in loading conditions

Figure3. View of the cargo compartment, the ship's hull and the buoy in loading conditions

Figure4. View of the up and down movement of the buoys in loading conditions

Figures. View of the volumes filled with sea water and the buoys moving up and down under loading conditions

Figures. View of how the stability control is made with the volumes filled with sea water in the system related to ensuring the stability of the ship's hull under loading conditions

The equivalents of the numbers given in the figures:

1. Ship hull

2. Cargo compartment

3. Buoy

4. Channel passing through the ship's hull

5. Channel passing through the buoy

6. Chamber

7. Channel inlet

8. Channel outlet

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention presents a system for stabilizing a ship's hull (1 ) under loading conditions on ships. In particular, the invention proposes a system that does not comprise a ballast tank, using buoys and channels for stability control on ships.

Different loads are placed in a cargo compartment (2) of a ship depending on the loading operations. This situation causes the ship's center of gravity to shift and thus the ship to trim and/or heel. The moment required to bring the ship's hull (1 ) back to its stability position is provided by a multiple of chambers (6), which are filled with sea water as a result of the up and down movement of a multiple of buoys (3). With the use of the buoy (3) that can move up and down on the ship’s boards, the use of ballast tanks is no longer necessary. In this way, dangerous marine species are prevented from being transported to different places with ballast tanks.

There is a multiple of channels (4) inside the ship's hull (1 ) for seawater circulation, extending from the fore quarter to the aft quarter at ship boards. The sea water required for sea water circulation is provided by a channel inlet (7) located on the fore quarters. In order for circulation to occur, sea water must be able to be discharged from a channel outlet (8) located on the aft quarters of the ship.

During the cruise of the ship, the pressure distribution on the ship's surface varies. The difference between the positive pressure in the bow where the channel inlet (7) is located and the negative pressure difference in the aft where the channel outlet (8) is located provides flow in the channel. Thanks to the mentioned water flow, dangerous species can be prevented from being transported to different regions. In order to prevent the sea water flow from being obstructed by the changing positions of the buoys (3) with the up and down movement of the buoys, there are channels (5) that pass through the buoy (3) in a way that coincides with the channels (4) passing through the ship's hull. The volumes of the ship that provide hydrostatic lift, namely the chambers (6) filled with sea water, can be adjusted by the movement of the buoys (3). Thanks to the movement of buoys, adjustments can be made according to the height and position of the center of gravity. In addition, additional volume is provided for excessive roll motion and the roll angle of the ship is increased.

This system comprises the channels (4) passing through the ship's hull and the channels (5) passing through the buoy, which allows water flow during the ship's movement, and the buoys (3), which are sequentially placed in the inner wall and capable of movement in the vertical axis. In this way, the water flow prevents the transport of bacteria, viruses and other sea creatures in the inner wall during the cruise and the deterioration of the ecological stability is prevented.

In addition, there are many holds separated by transverse bulkheads along the ship and loads of different densities or weights can be carried in these holds. T rim and heeling can be controlled by the adjustable chambers (6), which are filled with sea water in the system proposed. Because the transportation of cargo loads of different densities in the holds is also effective on the longitudinal strength of the ship. For this reason, the chambers (6) filled with sea water must be adjusted by the movement of the buoys (3) in a way that does not adversely affect the longitudinal strength. As a result, the transportation of micro-organisms and marine species living in different regions and the invasion of the seas with these species are prevented by considering the above-mentioned requirements.

Ship stability is important for the safety of ship personnel, passengers and cargo. Thanks to the system developed in this invention, the buoys (3) moving on the vertical axis provide stability control by providing sufficient volume, allowing the ship to cruise safely and in stability in all sea conditions. In addition, even if the buoy (3) system fails in case of excessive heeling, there is a reserve volume, which is important for the stability of the ship. Because, in order to increase the angle of vanishing stability, even if the chambers (6) filled with sea water are completely filled, a reserve volume is formed thanks to the buoys (3). This means that the ship will be safer.

For ships to travel the same distance with less fuel, their hydrodynamic design must be optimized at an optimum level. However, it is desirable for the ships to cruise without trimming. Because the ships, especially while carrying less cargo, are trimmed at the stern due to the weight of the main engine, and a ship with trim at the bow is an undesirable situation in terms of maritime. Thanks to the system developed with the invention, fuel savings are achieved by preventing the increase in ship resistance.

Since there is no need for an extra ballast tank, valve-channel configuration in the system proposed, both production and operation costs are reduced. In addition, the cost is reduced in this respect, as there will be no maintenance costs that must be incurred for certain periods in the ballast tank, valve-channel configurations.