Analysis of the failure of the propeller shaft of the motor ship "ELAND"

Abstract

The article considers an accident associated with the destruction of the tanker "ELAND" propeller shaft , which occurred in Lake Ladoga shortly after the work was completed at one of the shipyards as part of the regular survey. On the basis of the materials provided to the authors as independent experts, the arbitration court showed that the reason for the failure of the propeller shaft was violations of the work technology at the plant. Due to the excessive displacement of the bracket axis  relatively the deadwood, significant normal stresses arose in the shaft material, which caused a low-cycle violation of the fatigue strength. It is shown that the rules of the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping and the Russian River Register do not contain requirements for checking the strength of ship shafts under normal stresses, which, according to the authors, is a drawback of the rules.