Instant help with MARINE STEERING GEARS?

Question

I am doing an assingment on steering gears, and theres a few answers I cant find online. Any help would be appreciated.

1) The three parts that a steering system is made up of?

2) What provides the force needed to move the rudder?

3) Why is a constant running pump used in most steering systems?

Thanks.

Answer 1

All of this information can be found in any marine engineering textbook, which can be found in many technical libraries.  If you would like to order a copy for yourself please explore the SNAME site listed in the sources section.

The steering system is made up of three parts

a. the remote input on the bridge - typically a wheel, though some modern vessels have joystick controls

b. steering gear

c. the rudder(s)

2. A hydraulic system typically driving rams powers the steering gear which moves the rudder.  If for some reason the hydraulic pump fails large ships have a man powered pumping station located on the steering gear.  There are regulations about the length of time in which the crew of the vessel must be able to pump the hydraulic pressure in a way to move the rudder from "hard over" to "hard over."  This is a safety concern.  If the steering gear were to fail the ship must be able to navigate the rudder to hard over to avoid a potential collision situation.

3. On large vessels a hydraulic pump is used in the steering gear to hold the pressure in the steering gear system.  This holds the roughly rudder in place but allows for nearly instant corrections in course.  A ship's steering is not fixed, the rudder is always making small corrections.

Additionally,  if the pump were to shut down and restart that would introduce a point of failure.  It is more likely for a motor or pump to fail to start than to fail under normal load. Since steering gear is a critical system it is important to keep the pump online at all times.