1027. Weight Margins, A Design Parameter for Undersea Vehicles

Paper

Abstract

Defined weight margins are relatively new to the submersible design field. They have come into general use only
recently with advanced submarine designs. Weight margin refers to a design ‘tool’ now attaining a high degree of
sophistication, but often confusing to designers who have not been involved directly in a program of design weight
control.
Based on the premise that a technical paper is primarily an educational aid, the objective of this dissertation is
to provide technical designers with a working knowledge of intricate margin effect computations. Also given is
general background information on the development of margin to its present level of requirement in a submersible
vehicle design package.
Except for the section on computations, the material is presented in narrative form covering history, necessity,
source, and amount. Included is a graphic representation of the classification of margin types into the four groups
usually reported on current military submersible design controls.
Security restrictions preclude reference to any specific defense design or contract, but historical backup for the
statements in this paper exists in the record files of:
(a) The Electric Boat division of General Dynamics, Groton, Connecticut
(b) Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair, USN, Groton, Connecticut
The establishing of definite rules for the determination, allocation, and disbursement of weight margins has been
deterred by an insufficiency of historical data. Weight control for submersible vehicles is a new technology that
must be built up block by block on the firm foundation of experience.