• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.438-446
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• 2010

The purpose of this study is to establish the proper evaluation method of member forces on the propulsion shaft using strain gages to confirm bearing offset. The strain measurements to find out the bending moments of the shaft have been performed in the yard to be compared with the results of the shaft alignment analysis. The clutch of the propulsion shaft is highly sensitive to shear forces as well as bending moments and the necessity of the measurement of shear forces on the shaft for normal operation of the clutch is recently on the rise. In this study, an evaluation method of the member forces (bending moments and shear forces) of the shaft clutch based on the shaft strain measurement is established. Through the application of this method to the eight $216,000\;m^3$ LNG carriers, the safeties of the clutch systems are evaluated and the better bearing offsets are deduced for the LNG carriers. After adjusting the bearing offsets, all the sea trials of the eight LNG carriers are successfully carried out without any troubles.