| Submit your comments on this article |
| Science & Technology |
| USS Edsel |
| 2010-12-25 |
| The Navy cruiser USS Port Royal is back in Pearl Harbor shipyard for more than $20 million in repairs -- on top of the $40 million spent to fix damage from a 2009 grounding and an $18 million refurbishment immediately before the warship ran aground. The latest yard period, which began in September and is expected to end in late February, is to address cracks discovered in the aluminum alloy superstructures on all 22 of the Navy's Ticonderoga-class cruisers, officials said. The ships were commissioned between 1986 and 1994. The Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, D.C., said cruiser hulls are made of steel and that superstructures -- everything above the main deck -- were fabricated using lighter-weight aluminum alloy 5456, a material that has been used by the Navy on deckhouses since 1958. The superstructures of all the cruisers in the fleet are prone to "sensitization," which contributes to stress-corrosion cracking and worsens with age and heat, said Chris Johnson, a NAVSEA spokesman. "At this point, all ships in the class are experiencing cracking issues that are related to sensitization," Johnson said in e-mailed answers to Star-Advertiser questions. "There have been various degrees of crack repair on every (cruiser) in the past year." More than 3,000 cracks have been found on cruisers across the Ticonderoga class, he said. Destroyers and frigates have not experienced the problem, he said. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose |
| #6 HMS ASTUTE = NOT-HMS USS "PORT ROYAL" versies * PEOPLES DAILY FORUM > US CONGRESS WANTS [Aegis-based BMD]SHIP MISSLE DEFENSE PLAN, from the USN vee Specs, Reqs, Numbers, Deployments, Costs, etc. All the good thingys that makes US Congress- Critters vote for the USAF. AS DUE, IN PART, TO ... * SAME > DPRK MAY SCHEDULE/HOLD THIRD NUCLEAR TEST IN 2011:ROK. Lest we fergit, NORTH KOREA = claims to have a LRBMS capable of striking GUAM. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2010-12-25 23:04 |
| #5 Maybe we should call it the Pork Royal. |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2010-12-25 13:44 |
| #4 I recall the Brits finding out that aluminum alloys were a no-no in the Falkland War when a frigate pretty much melted when it got set afire by a missle. |
| Posted by: Mercutio 2010-12-25 13:41 |
| #3 Without the lightweight structure I suspect the class would be prone to "turning turtle". And that's without RCS considerations. |
| Posted by: tipover 2010-12-25 12:32 |
| #2 I'm surprised that the Ticonderoga class used aluminum superstructures after the Belknap collided with the Kennedy in 1975. The resulting fire melted the superstructure to the main deck. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2010-12-25 12:10 |
| #1 If you like the aluminum superdtructuer, check out the upcoming Zumalt class destroyers, composites. while good for weight and RCS reduction, the ability to repair AND maintain that RCS is not easy. good news is that right now there are only 2 under contract, bad news is, they are way spendy. expect adding them to the USS Edsel class. |
| Posted by: USN,Ret 2010-12-25 11:47 |