PRESS RELEASE
August 22, 1995
New Steel Section for Ships Offers
Lower Weight and Lower Operating Costs

A welded steel section with rolled T-bulb head for ships that has now been introduced will cut building costs and give tankers and bulk vessels lower operating costs. The smaller upper flange and the rounder shape of the new T-Bulb head will also cut maintenance costs for shipping lines compared with traditional cut T-heads.
“The ship section combines the best properties of traditional T-sections with the rounded off upper flange of the T-Bulb. Because it has the excellent fatigue resistant properties of a T-section, the high-tensile properties of the section are utilized to a maximum degree, even in hull areas of highest stress,” says Marketing Director Jan Hovind at Fundia Profiler, a Limited Company of the Nordic Fundia Group.

The new T-Bulb will be included by Det Norske Veritas and other leading classification societies as a standard PC-design tool section. Since the section can more easily be inspected and maintained, the ship will be able to maintain its classification longer.

Leading Shipyards
The section has been developed in close collaboration with classification societies and shipyards in Europe, South East Asia and the U.S.A. A smaller upper flange area results in lower painting costs (blasting and coating) as well as in lower labor costs when machining, welding and installing the section. This increases the design’s possibilities and produces a more cost-effective ship.
Fundia Profile is now launching the new sections with six standard head sizes. Together, they cover the need for hull sections involving all ship classes above 80,000 tonnes, including the stringent high-strength specifications for VLCC tankers above 300,000 tonnes.

Low K-Factor
All the sections are designed to absorb stresses. Veritas and the other international classification societies emphasize that symmetrical sections generally are best suited for this purpose. Fundia’s totally symmetric T-Bulb head provides the shipbuilding industry with the lowest possible K-factor up to now. In order to combine the T-Bulb design with demands for buckling in intermediate-sized ships using extended distances between ribs, the smallest T-head width will be produced asymmetric.
The T-Bulb is available in head sizes from 125 to 200 mm, which allows designers a great degree of flexibility. All the section heads are shaped in such a way that they can be welded using conventional T-welding machines.

Corrosion Resistant
“Rust is a problem for the entire shipbuilding industry,” says Jan Hovind. “The T-Bulb’s flexible design and rounded corners facilitates upper-flange treatment and reduces the danger of corrosion. T-head is also suitable for other structures such as bridge supports. It can also be supplied separately.”
The Fundia Group has 3,600 employees and reports an annual turnover of approximately NOK 5 billion. A rolling mill with 300 employees and a turnover of about NOK 600 million is part of the Fundia Group. The Group has representatives at leading shipyards around the world.

Caption:
The new T-Bulb is said to be easier to install and results in less welding and painting.
Symmetrical sections absorb stresses best, according to Det Norske Veritas and other classification societies.










For further information, please contact:
Bjørn V. Hafenbrädl, Fundia Group, Norway,
telephone +47 22 45 0820.

Premier Steel Inc.
560 Sylvan Avenue
Englewood Cliffs NJ 07632
Tel: 201 894 5200
Fax: 201 894 5223





N.B. This text is available on 3.5" format disk (Word 5.1a) formatted for Macintosh or PC.
For further information, please contact:
Bjørn V. Hafenbrädl, Fundia Group, Norway,
telephone +47 22 45 0820.

Useko Trading Co.
3rd Fl. Sonwol Bldg Room
305 Pusan
Tel: 051 325 66 61
Fax: 051 325 6663




N.B. This text is available on 3.5" format disk (Word 5.1a) formatted for Macintosh or PC.