"Assembly for connecting a non-structural bulkhead to the structure of a ship, and method for the installation thereof"

Technical field

The present invention pertains, in general, to the field of metal carpentry; in particular, the invention relates to a connection assembly between structural and non-structural elements of a vessel. Prior Art

With particular reference to the naval field, the structural bulkheads and the so-called "non ^¬ structural" partitioning bulkheads are distinguished. The difference between the two is that the former serve a supporting function, and are made of planar metal sheets associated with a framework comprising uprights and horizontal reinforcement profiles, while the latter serve no structural function, but a merely separating one.

The non-structural bulkheads, typically made in the form of planar or corrugated sheets, are lighter than the structural bulkheads, and are not considered in the design calculation of the structures, to evaluate the overall behavior of the ship, since they do not contribute to the overall resistance of the structure.

The non-structural corrugated bulkheads are able to withstand local loads only, due for example to the connection of components such as steel pipes, electrical panels, etc., in the absence of structural reinforcements such as cords, ribs, etc ..

In the prior art, the corrugated bulkheads are joined to structural load-bearing elements of the ship by means of a weld junction and, having a cross section with standard geometry, they are not sized to bear the loads which are inevitably transmitted by the structures connected thereto.

During the operation of the ship, it happens in fact that the corrugated bulkheads, and in particular the longitudinal ones, exhibit substantial flexions, bulging or even considerable plastic deformations, due to the load transmitted by the settling of the load-bearing structures of the ship. In particular, the stresses transmitted by the structure of the ship may result in a peak load instability of the metal sheets which form the non-structural bulkheads, and as said may generate the collapse of the bulkheads themselves.

In order to obviate these problems, in the prior art it is preferred to make use of heavy structural bulkheads even when their use is solely to serve as partition walls, thus avoiding the bulkheads from flexing, especially when these must cover long segments. It is obvious that such a solution is widely disadvantageous, both in economic terms and in terms of the weight unnecessarily added to the structure.

Summary of the invention

It is an object of the present invention to obviate the aforementioned problems, providing a solution to manufacture non-structural bulkheads which are not subjected to substantial deformation during the operation of the ship (or, as it will be seen, in a building) , while ensuring reliability and lightness of said bulkheads. In order to achieve this result, use is made of a connection assembly of the bulkhead to the structures of the ship adjacent thereto, which may be load-bearing structures rather than other partitioning panels (as it will be much appreciated in the description below) , so that between said elements there is not a rigid constraint, such as to affect the structural stability or integrity of the bulkhead.

The connection assembly suggested according to the present invention allows a flexible constraint to be provided, which allows the non-structural bulkheads to be unloaded with respect to the stresses transmitted by the structural elements of the ship.

More in detail, in the assembly according to the invention there is a separation gap between the bulkhead and the constraint element, to which it must be connected, which gap allows the structure to settle in the absence of a direct transmission of the stress from the load-bearing structure to the non-structural bulkhead. The bulkhead is thus indirectly connected to the constraint element (which preferably is a structural element of the ship) by means of the coupling between a protrusion, integral with the constraint element, and at least one element projecting from the bulkhead, free to oscillate in a hole obtained on the surface of the aforesaid protrusion.

As the possibility exists for the projecting element (for example, a cylindrical stud) to oscillate with respect to the fixed constraint, a decoupling between the bulkhead and the structure connected thereto occurs. As the rigidity of the constraint disappears, the stresses transmitted to the bulkhead from the bordering structures will not be such to affect the structural stability or integrity thereof.

The aforesaid and other objects and advantages are achieved, according to one aspect of the invention, by a connection assembly and by an installation method having the features defined in the appended claims.

Brief description of the drawings

The operational and structural features of some preferred embodiments of a connection assembly according to the invention will now be described. Reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which :

- Figure 1 is a diagrammatic axonometric view of a portion of a vessel, comprising a plurality of non-structural bulkheads therein, according to an embodiment of the invention;

- Figure 2 is a diagrammatic view of a detail in Figure 1;

- Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view of a detail in Figure 2;

- Figure 4 is a diagrammatic axonometric view of a portion of a bulkhead, according to an embodiment of the invention;

- Figure 5 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a detail of a connection assembly, according to an embodiment of the invention;

- Figure 6 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional view of the assembly in Figure 5;

- Figure 7 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional view of the assembly in Figure 5, according to an alternative embodiment; and

- Figure 8 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional view of a connection assembly, according to an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed description

Before explaining in detail a plurality of embodiments of the invention, it should be clear that the invention is not limited in the application thereof to the constructional details and to the configuration of the components disclosed in the following description or shown in the drawings. The invention is able to take other embodiments and to be carried out or practically made in different ways. It should also be understood that the phraseology and terminology have descriptive purposes and shall not be construed as limiting.

The case described below relates to a technical solution which is explained in detail for the case of a bulkhead of a ship, but it is understood that the same technical solution adopted to connect the bulkhead to the surrounding structure, so as to decouple it with respect to the stresses which may be transmitted thereto by the structure itself, is also adoptable in other contexts, where the same technical problem exists.

For example, in industrial or civil constructions the need to decouple the partition walls from the load-bearing structures of the building (regardless of their construction material) may arise, so that a stress, caused by a structural settling, by a seismic event, etc., is not transmitted to said partition walls, and therefore, does not compromise the integrity or the structural stability thereof.

It is emphasized, however, that a plurality of embodiments of the invention in the naval field will be described below, reiterating that other application contexts are not excluded, in which the solution suggested here will help to solve the same technical problem.

Initially referring to Figure 1, a vessel 9 comprises a plurality of non-structural bulkheads 10, particularly suitable to separate the various interior spaces of the vessel, but without offering contributions to the structural resistance thereof.

Figure 3 shows a possible configuration of a non-structural bulkhead 10, comprising a first face 10a, which is substantially vertical and optionally corrugated, said surface being delimited by a plurality of edges 10b, 10c, lOd in the longitudinal and vertical directions.

Bulkhead 10 is variously connected to one or more constraint elements 11, in the example shown in Figure 3 represented by a deck of the ship (to which the bulkhead is connected along its lower edge 10b) , and by a vertical wall (to which the bulkhead is connected along a side edge lOd) .

As it is necessary to decouple the bulkhead from at least one of the constraint elements adjacent thereto, Figure 5 shows an embodiment of a floating connection assembly 12, adapted to connect bulkhead 10 to a constraint element 11, in this case represented by the deck of the ship.

The floating connection assembly 12 is conceived so as to provide the aforesaid decoupling, so that the bulkhead does not receive the stresses transmitted by the structure of the ship; for this purpose, the bulkhead 10 and the constraint element 11 are mutually separated by a separation distance h along an edge (in this case, the lower edge 10b) of bulkhead 10. It is assumed that the transverse thickness of bulkhead 10 is negligible with respect to the two dimensions of the first face 10a.

More in detail, the fastening assembly 12 comprises a protrusion 14 (seen in Figure 5), integral with the constraint element 11 (in the example shown here, by welding) .

Protrusion 14 has a second face 14a opposite and parallel to the first face 10a of bulkhead 10, and a third face 14c parallel to the second face 14a. Protrusion 14 is spaced apart from bulkhead 10 by a clearance p, along a normal direction to the second face 14a of protrusion 14.

According to an embodiment, at least one longitudinal sealing bead 16 is interposed between protrusion 14 and bulkhead 10, so as to be longitudinally connected to the first face 10a of bulkhead 10 on one side, and to the second face of protrusion 14 on the opposite side, so as to have a transverse thickness which is substantially equal to clearance p and ensure the resistance to water between protrusion 14 and bulkhead 10. The sealing bead 16 may be a first flexible seal or, alternatively, one or more beads of sealing adhesive material can be employed, for example silicone-based, even with flame-retardant properties; mono and bi-component polyurethane- based, with flame-retardant properties; based on hybrid polymers, with flame-retardant properties; or based on acrylic materials, with flame-retardant properties and in some formulations with excellent flame reaction properties.

Protrusion 14 or bulkhead 10 comprises one or more through holes 14b, obtained on the second face 14a of protrusion 14 (as seen for example in Figure 6) , or on the first face 10a of bulkhead 10 (as seen for example in Figure 8) . Such holes 14b axially receive at least one projecting element 18 which protrudes from the first face 10a of bulkhead 10 or from the second face 14a of protrusion 14 (as seen for example in Figure 8) . Such a projecting element may be a stud (in the case shown here, a cylindrical stud) , for example a Nelson stud, or a cantilevered element of any type.

The projecting element 18 is configured so as to have a smaller diameter than the diameter of hole 14b in which it is received, since stud 18 must be free to oscillate radially inside of said hole 14b. Thereby, the floating connection assembly 12 makes a flexible-type connection between the constraint element 11 and the bulkhead 10, due to the combined action of the flexible seal 16 (capable of deforming as a function of the relative displacement between the constraint element 11 and the bulkhead 10) and the profile of hole 14b, which conveniently forms an abutment for stud 18, in the event that the radial travel of the latter exceeds the dimensional tolerance admitted in the design of the constraint. According to an alternative embodiment (shown in Figure 7) , a pair of flexible seals or beads 16 made of sealing adhesive material can be spaced apart transversely, so as to extend on opposite sides of stud 18.

Therefore, bulkhead 10 will actually be decoupled from the constraint element 11, within the limits of the dimensional tolerance given by the difference between the diameter of stud 18 and the diameter of hole 14b.

The projecting element 18 has an axis x substantially normal on the second face of protrusion 14.

According to an embodiment of the invention, a closure plate 20 is placed parallel to protrusion 14; in the embodiment shown in Figure 6, such a closure plate 20 faces the third face 14c of protrusion 14, so as to be transversely spaced apart therefrom, while in Figure 8, for example, the closure plate 20 faces bulkhead 10.

Throughout the present description and in the claims, the terms and expressions indicating positions and orientations, such as "longitudinal", "transverse", "vertical" or "horizontal", shall be referred to the longitudinal edges 10b, 10c of the bulkhead .

The closure plate 20 is connected to protrusion 14 or to bulkhead 10 by means of a second peripheral seal 22, again flexible as in the case of the first seal 16.

The closure plate 20 is particularly suitable to constrain bulkhead 10 transversely to protrusion 14 or bulkhead 10, since it is made integral with the projecting element 18 (for example, by welding) , or provides a backing surface for any retaining means 24, adapted to secure the projecting element 18 to the closure plate 20.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the retaining means 24 may comprise a nut 24a which tightens the projecting element 18 against the outer surface of the closure plate 20, for example with the interposition of a washer 24b, with any anti-unscrewing system.

According to an alternative embodiment, bulkhead 10 comprises a plurality of modular panels 10', of variable shape and size. Such panels 10', configured as in figure 4 for example, are laterally juxtaposable to one another, thus forming the bulkhead 10.

According to an embodiment (not shown) , the individual panels 10' may represent the constraint elements of the panels adjacent thereto, i.e. each panel may be constrained to the adjacent panel or panels, along one or both side edges lOd, by means of at least one floating connection assembly 12.

According to an embodiment, bulkhead 10 (or one or more panels 10' composing it) may be rigidly connected to a constraint element 11, for example an upper constraint element as in Figure 4. Such a rigid connection can be made, for example, by welding, so as that bulkhead 10 or panel 10', at least along one edge, is conveniently supported in a rigid manner by a load-bearing structure of the ship or rigidly connected to an adjacent bulkhead or panel 10'.

The advantage achieved is that a solution for connecting the constructional elements of a ship or building is obtained, while preventing the stresses transmitted from one to another from resulting in a detriment to the structural stability or integrity of one of the connected elements.

Various aspects and embodiments of the floating connection assembly according to the invention have been described. It is understood that each embodiment may be combined with any other embodiment. Moreover, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described, but may be varied within the scope defined by the appended claims.