Different Types Of Roll

Stabilization Systems
Used For Ships
By Tanumoy Sinha | In: Naval Architecture | Last Updated on December 29, 2015

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Imagine yourself to be one of the first passengers of the Royal
Caribbean International Quantum of the Seas. As soon as
you enter the ship you hear the Master requesting all the
passengers & crew members to fasten their seat belts and
remain in their respective rooms until the voyage is complete!
Definitely, this is something no passenger would like to hear
who has spent a fortune to enjoy the excellent facilities, food
and exceptional beauty of such a marvelous ship.
However, this could become a reality if the ship had not been
equipped with machinery or designed in a way to overcome
all the various types of motions felt at the seas. Why take only
cruise ships and ocean liners, think about the cargo carrying
ships such as Bulk carriers, Ro-Ro ships or even Tankers &
LNG carriers. Just imagine how difficult would it be to carry
the cargo (liquid or bulk) safely if we did not have any
technology to control the various motions during the voyage.

In this article we shall be focusing on how we can control the

Rolling motion of the ship and the various principles behind
the different types of Roll Stabilization systems.
Rolling is indeed the biggest problems among all the other
motion in seas. Technological advancements in the design of
ships have already given us naval architects the advantage to
study the wave motions around the hull of the ship and give
the best possible design to minimize such effects & ensure a
comfortable and safe voyage for the passengers and the
crew.

Image Credits: George / Wikimedia

Roll motion stabilization can be achieved in conventional

ships by changing their hull forms, however, reduction in roll
amplitudes are possible by other means as well. Stabilization
systems can be broadly classified into
1. Passive Systems: In which no separate source of
power is required and no special control system like the
Bilge keel, anti rolling tanks (passive), fixed fins &
passive moving weight system.
2. Active Systems: In which the moment opposing roll is
produced by moving masses or control surfaces by
means of power like the active fins, Anti rolling tanks
(active), active moving weight & the gyroscope.
Bilge Keels: They are the most popular and are fitted to the
great majority of ships. They are plates projecting from the
turn of bilge and extending over the middle half to two-thirds
of the ships length. To avoid damage they do not normally
protrude beyond the ships side or keel lines, but they need to
penetrate the boundary layer around the hull. They cause a
body of water to move with the ship and create turbulence
thus dampening the motion and causing an increase in period
and reduction in amplitude. Although relatively small in
dimension, they have large levers about the rolling axis and
the forces on them produce a large moment opposing the
rolling.Their effect is generally enhanced by ahead speed.
They are aligned with the flow of water past the hull in still
water to reduce their drag in that state. When the ship is
rolling the drag will increase and slow the ship a little.

Structural Component of Bilge Keel (Source: INA Eric Tupper)

Passive Tank system (Source: Basic Ship Theory, BST)

Anti Rolling Tanks (Active): They are similar to the

principle of passive tank system but the movement of water is
controlled by pumps or by the air pressure above the water
surface. The tanks either side of the ship may be connected
by a lower limb or two separate tanks can be used. The air
duct contains valves operated by a roll sensing device. This

concept uses an axial flow pump to force the water in the tank
from one side of the ship to the other, rather than to have it
slosh under the natural roll, sway and yaw forces, as happens
in a passive tank. In a simplified version of an active system
an accelerometer senses the rolling motions, and signals are
sent from this roll sensing device to a variable pitch pump,
which controls the liquid flow between the tanks. The device
can be either a simple accelerometer or a complicated
gyroscopic sensing system that detects even a small angle of
roll by the gyroscopic precession. Thus, the device can be
used control ship motion due to every single wave. Depending
on the sophistication of the system active tank stabilizers
have been found to leave an efficiency of 80% or more in
motion stabilization.

Active Tank system (Source: www.hoppe-marine.com)

Active Fins: With active fins a sensitive gyro system senses

the rolling motion of the ship and sends signal to the actuating
system which, in turn, causes the fins to move in a direction
such as to cause forces opposing the roll. The actuating gear
is usually electrohydraulic. The fins, which may be capable of
retraction into the hull, are placed about the turn of bilge in
order to secure maximum leverage for the forces acting upon
them. A flap from the trailing edge may be used to enhance
the lift force generated. The capacity of a fin system is usually
expressed in terms of the steady angle of heel it can cause
with the ship moving ahead in still water at a given speed. The
force on a fin varies in proportion to the square of the ship
speed, whereas the GZ curve for the ship is independent of
speed. However, a fin system is not likely to be very effective
at speeds below about 10 knots.

Arrangement of Fins in activated fin system

Fin Stabilizer system (source: alibaba.com)

The following table highlights some of the major aspects

among the Roll Stabilizers as discussed above:

Table 1: Comparison between various roll stabilizers (Source: BST)

From the above observation it can be concluded that each

and every stabilization system has got its own advantages &

disadvantages. Therefore, more amount of effort has to be

given to the hydrostatics and the hydrodynamics of the ship
hull motion through the waves, so as to avoid the need for
kind of roll stabilization system or to use it to its minimum.
Also, in principle methods used to stabilize against roll can be
used to stabilize against pitch, but the powers involved are too
great to justify their use.
A ship's stabilizers are often automatically piloted. When a
ship's sensor system detects sea activity that pushes the ship
to one side, the stabilizers are automatically extended from
the hull with a hydraulic system and are piloted to exert force
in the opposite direction.
The stabilizers can be operated independently of each other.
One stabilizer can be used while the other remains inside of
the ship in its compartment. When stabilizers are in use, they
can reduce the fuel economy of the ship by creating a small
amount of drag. Stabilizers only reduce the amount of roll;
they cannot be used to reduce pitch. Pitching happens when
the hull of the ship drops or goes up suddenly, causing the
back end to rise or fall in opposition to the hull. To reduce
pitch, a ship may be steered so the wave movement breaks
against the side of the ship where the stabilizers can be used
to counteract the movement.