Concept of barge hull structure made of extruded aluminium panels

A design of the hotel barge of 52 m overall length and 9 m breadth , intended for inland waterway shipping on the route from Berlin to Kaliningrad, is presented. Hull of the barge is characterized by a unique structure consisted of densely stiffened aluminium panels of 4.5 mm plate thickness and 70 mm depth of stiffeners, supported by transverse walls or girders. The stiffeners of the panels are longitudinally directed. Also, are described problems associated with assurance of adequate strength and stiffness of such structure, resulting from a limited maximum depth of the barge.