Bulb flats for shipbuilding and bridges

When you’re looking for a high-performance plate stiffener for shipbuilding or bridge building applications, no other profile is more cost-effective, efficient and corrosion-resistant than the bulb flat.

Cost savings – for life

Cost savings begin from the moment you specify bulb flats for your project. These profiles have an excellent strength to weight ratio, a low paint area with no need for edge grinding prior to painting and require fewer lugs compared with alternative plate stiffeners.

In-service costs are also reduced for the life of the vessel or structure. That’s because the rounded edges of bulb flats minimise paint degradation and their shape prevents the build up of corrosive debris. They are also easy to access for inspection, cleaning and maintenance.

Proven track record

Tata Steel has a long track record of supplying specially made bulb flats for major bridges and ocean-going vessels constructed worldwide over the past 50 years.

Quality-assured product range

We offer a range of bulb flat sizes, from 160mm to 430mm wide, all manufactured in our state-of-the-art rolling mill at Skinningrove, UK. Our factory is certified to ISO9001 and our bulb flats have approvals from all the major Ship Class societies, including:

• Lloyds
• American Bureau of Shipping
• Bureau Veritas
• Det Norske Veritas
• Germanischer Lloyds
• NKK
• RINA
• China Classification Society

We are accredited to supply CE-marked material in accordance with the Construction Products Directive. We also hold ISO14001 environmental management certification.

High-performance – lower weight

All bulb flats are individually specified for each project, ensuring they provide the precise shear capacity, structural performance and buckling resistance you need. The special shape of bulb flat profiles delivers an unrivalled strength-to-weight ratio, giving you the desired buckling resistance at a lower weight than is possible with flat bars or structural angles.

Easy-maintenance design

The unique shape of bulb flats facilitates simple and efficient painting and welding, while also making maintenance and cleaning quicker and more effective than with any alternative plate stiffener on the market. T-sections and structural angles both create blind corners and hidden recesses that are difficult to clean effectively. Consequently bulb flats offer much better corrosion resistance and long-life performance.