Java Application for Analysis of Lightweight Constructions in Cruise Vessels

In 2002 an amendment was added to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) which opened up for shipbuilders to replace steel with lightweight materials in the superstructures. However, SOLAS requires equal fire safety compared to ships with steel superstructures. LASS-c is a cross-organizational project with the aim to find a method to build cruise ships with part of the superstructure made in lightweight materials. As a part of the LASS-c project the purpose of this thesis has been to develop an application in Java (FISPAT). The tool has been designed to find fire sensitive areas in structures such as cruise vessels. A second aim with the thesis has been to evaluate the cruise ship Norwegian Gem with respect to fire sensitive areas. In FISPAT the user can make a model of a structure. The model is built up by rooms, networks and devices. With the model, FISPAT can simulate fire spread and the effects on the networks included in the model. The user can then analyze the results to find fire sensitive parts. One of the main results in this thesis is the tool itself together with this report which also serves as a manual to FISPAT. An evaluation of Norwegian Gem was also made which points to some critical parts of the ship. One example is the main water supply pipe to the sprinklers which has no redundant systems and all sectioning valves are manually operated, hence it is vulnerable to faults. The electrical feed to the three pump units is also a vulnerable point on the vessel. The pumps have redundant electrical networks, but the wires are drawn on the same paths, making it possible to take out both systems with one fire