Centroids and the centre of gravity

- The centroid of an area is situated at its geometrical centre.

- In each of the following figures G represents the centroid,

- if each area was suspended from this point it would balance

- The centre of gravity of a body is the point at which all the mass of
the body may be assumed to be concentrated and is the point
through which the force of gravity is considered to act vertically
downwards, with a force equal to the weight of the body
 things to remember about center of gravity

1. The centre of gravity of a body will move directly towards the centre of gravity of
any weight added.
2. The centre of gravity of a body will move directly away from the centre of gravity
of any weight removed.
3. The centre of gravity of a body will move parallel to the shift of the centre of
gravity of any weight moved within the body.
4. No matter where the weight w was initially in the ship relative to G, when this
weight is moved downwards in the ship, then the ships overall G will also be
moved downwards to a lower position. Consequently, the ships stability will be
improved.
5. No matter where the weight w was initially in the ship relative to G, when this
weight is moved upwards in the ship, then the ships overall G will also be moved
upwards to a higher position. Consequently, the ships stability will be decreased.
6. The shift of the centre of gravity of the body in each case is given by the formula:

where w is the mass of the weight added, removed or shifted, W is the final mass of
the body, and d is, in 1 and 2, the distance between the centres of gravity,
7. When a weight is suspended, its centre of gravity is considered to be at the point
of suspension.
examples
1. A ship has displacement of 2400 tonnes and KG 10.8 metres. Find the new
KG if a weight of 50 tonnes mass already on board is raised 12 metres
vertically.
Answer:

GG1 = (w x d)/W = 50 x 12/2400 = 0,25 meter

New KG = old KG + GG1 = 10,8 + 0,25 = 11,05 meter
 Law of Floatation

Archimedes Principle states that when a body is wholly or partially immersed in a

fluid it appears to suffer a loss in mass equal to the mass of the fluid it displaces.
The mass density of fresh water is 1000 kg per cu. m. Therefore, when a body is
immersed in fresh water it will appear to suffer a loss in mass of 1000 kg for every
1 cu. m of water it displaces. When a box measuring 1 cu. m and of 4000 kg mass
is immersed in fresh water it will appear to suffer a loss in mass of 1000 kg.
The centre of buoyancy is the centre of gravity of the underwater volume.
The conclusion which may be reached from the above is that for a body to float at
rest in still water, it must be displacing its own weight of water and the centre of
gravity must be vertically above or below the centre of buoyancy.
 Tonnes per centimetre immersion (TPC)
The TPC for any draft is the mass which must be loaded or discharged to change a
ships mean draft in salt water by one centimetre, where:
 FWA (Fresh Water Allowance)

To find the change in draft of a ship shape due to change of density a quantity
known as the Fresh Water Allowance must be known.
The Fresh Water Allowance is the number of millimetres by which the mean draft
changes when a ship passes from salt water to fresh water, or vice versa, whilst
floating at the loaded draft. It is found by the formula:
 Transverse statical stability

Recapitulation
1. The centre of gravity of a body G is the point through which the force of gravity is
considered to act vertically downwards with a force equal to the weight of the body.
KG is VCG of the ship.
2. The centre of buoyancy B is the point through which the force of buoyancy is
considered to act vertically upwards with a force equal to the weight of water
displaced. It is the centre of gravity of the underwater volume. KB is VCB of the ship.
3. To float at rest in still water, a vessel must displace her own weight of water, and the
centre of gravity must be in the same vertical line as the centre of buoyancy.
4. KM = KB + BM. Also KM = KG + GM.
Definitions
1. Heel. A ship is said to be heeled when she is inclined by an external force. For
example, when the ship is inclined by the action of the waves or wind.
2. List. A ship is said to be listed when she is inclined by forces within the ship. For
example, when the ship is inclined by shifting a weight transversely within the ship.
This is a fixed angle of heel.
 metacentre

The vertical distance between G and M is referred to as the metacentric height. If G is

below M the ship is said to have positive metacentric height, and if G is above M the
metacentric height is said to be negative.

where v is the volume of the

transferred wedge, and V is the
ships volume of displacement.
 Stable equilibrium
A ship is said to be in stable equilibrium if, when inclined, she tends to return to
the initial position. For this to occur the centre of gravity must be below the
metacentre, that is, the ship must have positive initial metacentric height.

Moment of Statical Stability = W x GZ tonnes metres.

The lever GZ is referred to as the righting lever and is the perpendicular distance
between the centre of gravity and the vertical through the centre of buoyancy.
At a small angle of heel (less than 15):
GZ = GM x sin and
Moment of Statical Stability = W x GM x sin
 To find transverse BM
The Transverse BM is the height of the transverse metacentre above the centre of
buoyancy and is found by using the formula:
BM = I/V
where
I = the second moment of the water-plane area about the centre line,
V = the ships volume of displacement.
 Angel of List

Posisi awal

Now let a weight already on board the ship be shifted transversely such that G
moves to G1 as in Figure 14.2(a). This will produce a listing moment of W x GG1,
and the ship will list until G1 and the centre of buoyancy are in the same vertical
line as in Figure 14.2(b). In this position G1 will also lie vertically under M so long
as the angle of list is small. Therefore, if the final positions of the metacentre and
the centre of gravity are known, the final list can be found, using trigonometry, in
the triangle GG1M which is right-angled at G. The final position of the centre of
gravity is found by taking moments about the keel and about the centreline.
Answer
Moment about the keel Moment about the centerline
Moment of satatical stability
 Heel at 5 deg.

Heel at 25 deg.
 Trim or longitudinal stability
Trim may be considered as the longitudinal equivalent of list. Trim is also known as
longitudinal stability. Instead of trim being measured in degrees it is measured as
the difference between the drafts forward and aft. If difference is zero then the ship
is on even keel. If forward draft is greater than aft draft, the vessel is trimming by the
bow. If aft draft is greater than the forward draft, the vessel is trimming by the stern.
When trimmed, the wedge of buoyancy LFL1 emerges and the wedge WFW1 is
immersed. Since the ship, when trimmed, must displace the same weight of
water as when on an even keel, the volume of the immersed wedge must be
equal to the volume of the emerged wedge and F, the point about which the ship
trims, is the centre of gravity of the water-plane area. The point F is called the
centre of flotation or tipping centre.
Trimming moments are taken about the centre of flotation since this is the point
about which rotation takes place. The longitudinal metacentre (ML) is the point of
intersection between the verticals through the longitudinal positions of the centres
of buoyancy. The vertical distance between the centre of gravity and the longitudinal
metacentre (GML) is called the longitudinal metacentric height. BML is the height of
the longitudinal metacentre above the centre of buoyancy and is found for any
shape of vessel by the formula:
the change of draft forward and aft due to change of trim
The effect of loading and/or discharging weights
 Loading a weight to keep the after draft constant
When a ship is being loaded it is usually the aim of those in charge of the operation to
complete loading with the ship trimmed by the stern. Should the ships draft on sailing
be restricted by the depth of water over a dock-sill or by the depth of water in a
channel, then the ship will be loaded in such a manner as to produce this draft aft and
be trimmed by the stern.
Assume now that a ship loaded in this way is ready to sail. It is then found that the ship
has to load an extra weight. The weight must be loaded in such a position that the draft
aft is not increased and also that the maximum trim is maintained. If the weight is
loaded at the centre of flotation, the ships drafts will increase uniformly and the draft
aft will increase by a number of centimetres equal to w/TPC. The draft aft must now be
decreased by this amount.
Now let the weight be shifted through a distance of d metres forward. The ship will
change trim by the head, causing a reduction in the draft aft by a number of
centimetres equal to l/L Change of trim. Therefore, if the same draft is to be
maintained aft, the above two quantities must be equal. i.e.
I - II