STUD LINK CHAIN FOR SHIPS
Stud Link Chain, also known as SLAC (Stud Link Anchor Chain) is the primary type of chain cable used by ships on the maritime industry, and is manufactured in grade 2 and 3 for serious applications. The grade can be also named U2 or U3, Q2 or Q3, or even K2 or K3, depending on the classification society that issued or arranged their certification. Stud Link chain cables are connected to the Anchor through specific connectors, which always include an Anchor Shackle of some type, and often also includes a Swivel Forerunner for simpler operations. Regardless of the accessories needed, at Bilbao Anclas y Cadenas we are able to supply the complete mooring line or chain cable fit for your specifications.
It is also common for larger ships to replace not the complete chain, but sections of it, with wire rope or even with fiber rope, which is lighter while offering sufficient WLL (Working Load Limit), and can be stored using less space.
Small yachts also use DIN 766 studless chain, or other grades of stud link chain, but their use is avoided by ships due to practical issues, primarily regarding the connection with the winch.
For Long Term Mooring, while SLAC can be used, it is more common to use Studless Offshore Mooring Chain, relevant for our Offshore Wind or Offshore Oil & Gas customers.
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Grade 2 and Grade 3 stud link chains are used on different applications due to their different mechanical properties.
For regular stockless or High Holding Power HHP anchors grade 2, U2 or K2 stud link chain cables should be used. Grade 3, U3 or K3 stud link chain should be used for Super High Holding Power SHHP anchors.
TECHNICAL DETAILS - SLAC
Anchor chain cables can be manufactured with different types of steel. Here at Bilbao our first choice is to use a few selected steel casts to satisfy our strict quality control policies.
For grade 2 chain cables our preferred steel type is S355J2 Non-Alloy Structural Steel. For grade 3 anchor chain we prefer S690QL High-Strength Quenched and Tempered Structural Steel. Both of these types of steel are rich in silicon, which creates a thin protective oxide layer that prevents corrosion when underwater.
We purposefully include small contents of nigrogen (N) in the steel of our grade 3 stud link chains since it is a powerful microalloying elemnt. It contributes to the strength of the material without the need of increasing the content of carbon.
Some manufacturers choose to increase the amount of carbon, but we choose nitrogen as an alternative since it is critical for ensuring the weldability of our chains, and maintaining its desired toughness.
The extremely high quality of our materials are reflected on the mechanical properties of the grade U2 and U3 stud link anchor chains from Bilbao.
Our moderately high content in manganese increases the strength and toughness of our steel used on the chains, while deoxidizing it during production, which is fundamental to prevent cracking.
We carefully choose the contents of aluminium in our steel, since it interacts with nitrogen, stabilizing it and forming aluminium nitrides on the process. Morover, our presence of aluminium increases toughness and weldability, as desired.
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There are 60 standard sizes of stud link chain for ships, each manufactured in a different grade, and thus serving a different purpose. Choosing the right chain for your ship is an important task, and our table of measurements, weights, sizes, break loads and proof loads aims to make this process more straight forward.
STUD LINK MEASUREMENTS
