Metacentric Buoyancy Stability
Distinguish floating equilibrium from stability using the metacenter and restoring torque.
Free theory articleDistinguish floating equilibrium from stability using the metacenter and restoring torque.
Concept & interpretation
The stability of a floating object is determined by the relative positions of its center of gravity (G), center of buoyancy (B), and the metacenter (M). When the object heels at a small angle, the center of buoyancy shifts to a new position. The metacenter is the intersection of the new vertical line of buoyant force and the original centerline of the object.
Experiment
In the interactive module, you can alter the beam, draft, center of gravity, and heel angle to see how these factors impact stability. You can try this yourself in the Metacentric Buoyancy Stability module.
- Set the Beam to 2, Draft to 0.5, and Center of gravity to 0.5.
- Set the Heel degrees to 5.
- Observe that the Initial stability is Stable, and restoring torque is -1424.996393924211 N·m.
- Increase the Center of gravity to 1. Observe that the Metacentric height (GM) becomes negative and Initial stability changes to Unstable.