Page 47: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 15, 1983)

Armco Adds Forging Capability

For Stainless-Steel Products —Free Literature Available

Armco's Stainless Steel Division, Baltimore,

Md., producer of boat shafts and stainless steel for other marine and industrial products, has become the country's first integrated spe- cialty steelmaker to begin operation of a pre- cision rotary forging complex. "The finished products will have signifi- cantly improved mechanical properties and surface quality, among other things," said

F.H. Cheffy, president of the division. "Qual- ity and variety will be far greater than possi- ble with most conventional forging processes. "The forging facility is part of a $30-million program which will also add continuous cast- ing capability to the Baltimore Works," Mr.

Cheffy said.

Forging is done with four high-powered hammers striking the workpiece at the rate of 200 strokes a minute. Each stroke reduces the diameter of the ingot and increases the length until the billet or other desired shape is com- pleted. The manipulators feed and rotate the piece so that it will not be moving at the in- stant the hammers strike, eliminating twist and stretch that can mar the quality of the forged piece. Internal quality is superior be- cause the precision rotary forging machine does not require repeated re-heating and con- ditioning. Its high forging speed maintains the temperature of the workpiece. Round forged shapes can be produced as small as 4 inches in diameter, and flat forged shapes can be produced with cross sections ranging from 2.5 by 5 inches to 12 by 14 inches; all config- urations can be made up to 39 feet long.

Operators can use computers to direct and monitor the complete forging operation or, if desired, operate the machine manually or semi-automatically. Dennis Jensen, general foreman of precision rotary forging, said forg- ing times can be reduced from up to six hours to as little as 15 minutes, depending on the

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EASY DOES IT—More than 400 tons of steel formed into dozens of rooms is lifted carefully over the Estelle Maersk by four giant cranes at Bethlehem Steel Corporation's Sparrows

Point (Md.) yard. The new, additional accom- modations deckhouse was lifted from a pre- outfitting area on the ground to its permanent location just forward of the ship's existing house. Estelle Maersk, the first ship scheduled for completion in the U.S. Navy's Maritime

Prepositioning Ship Program, will be floated out of the yard's 1,200-foot-long building basin.

Construction will continue at pierside. Deliv- ery is scheduled for August 31, 1984. Owned by a consortium of banks, the ship will be op- erated by affiliates of Maersk Line, Limited, of New York City and chartered to the Navy's

Military Sealift Command. In addition to the construction of the accommodations deck- house shown above, a major portion of the work has involved the construction of 157- foot-long midbody section, which lengthens the ship to 755 feet.

SNAME Gulf Section

Meets In Biloxi

Gult Section SNAME, September 23-28 (from left); Chester

A. Hard III, papers chairman; Robert Woodruff and John F.

Robbins II, authors; and Dr. John P. Hackett, section vice chairman-East.

The Gulf Section of The Society of Nava'

Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) held its fall meeting at the Biloxi Hilton in

Biloxi, Miss. Two informative and interesting papers were presented.

John F. Robbins II of Ingalls Shipbuilding presented a paper describing a "Destroyer

Synthesis Computer Algorithm." This go- rithm is an effective tool in establishing a baseline weight estimate during the feasibil- ity or conceptual design process for a ship uti- lizing a destroyer hull form. Inputs for this model include payload, performance and mis- sion requirements, manning, and a descrip- tion of vessel characteristics. Outputs include estimates of speed and power, electrical load requirements, fuel load, total volume, weights by weight group and vertical centers of gravity.

The development of submerged foil hydro- foils with emphasis on the "Boeing Offshore

Jetfoil" was the topic of the second paper, which was delivered by Robert Woodruff of

Boeing Marine Systems. Boeing hydrofoils, which have been under development for over 25 years, have three major systems that make them unique—fully submerged foils, water jet propulsion, and an automatic foil control sys- tem. With its high speed and superior sea- keeping ability, the jetfoil promises to find a sizable role in the support of the offshore oil industry. Boeing engineers are currently working to complete development of a person- nel transfer device needed before the jetfoil can assume this role.

Dr. John Hackett, vice chairman-East, and Chet Hard, papers chairman, presented certificates of application to the authors for their papers.

Submarine Honolulu Launched

At Newport News Shipbuilding

The attack submarine Honolulu is launched at Newport News

Shipbuilding.

National Security Advisor William P. Clark was the principal speaker at the launching of the attack submarine Honolulu at the New- port News Shipbuilding yard where the sub- marine was built. Jean Clark, wife of the Na- tional Security Advisor, was the ship's sponsor breaking the traditional bottle of champagne over the ships bow.

The Honolulu is a Los Angeles-class sub- marine, 360 feet long, 33 feet abeam, dis- places 6,900 tons submerged, has a draft of 32 feet, is powered by a steam turbine utilizing a pressurized water reactor, and accommodates 12 officers and 115 enlisted men. It is the 37th submarine launched by Newport News Ship- building since 1960.

Edward J. Campbell, president and chief executive officer of Newport News Shipbuild- ing, remarked, "Hawaii began a new era of growth and prosperity as our 49th state in 1959, the year Newport News Shipbuilding made a spectacular entrance into the nuclear age with the launchings of three United

States nuclear Naval vessels: the Polaris sub- marine Robert E. Lee, the attack submarine

Shark, and the first nuclear aircraft carrier

Enterprise—a remarkable achievement by anyone's standards."

November 15, 1983 43