A demonstration of an advanced library based approach to the initial design exploration of different hullform configurations

The importance of requirement elucidation, in shaping both the customers' needs and initial solutions during the concept stage of the ship design process, has previously been emphasised in the choice of initial design methods. It is well known that alternative hullform styles can bring distinct performance benefits in certain design investigations. However, current design methods or tools suitable for exploring alternate hullform styles during requirement elucidation do not readily facilitate this. This paper describes a library based ship concept design tool and its ability to include exploration of hullform options in the initial exploratory stage of the ship design process. The library based approach utilises sub-structuring to describe the design in terms of four functional subsets to increase the efficiency of the search process. The example presented looks at monohull, catamaran and trimaran hullform options for a fast naval combatant. The paper concludes with the advantages seen in adopting the tool in concert with a configuration-oriented approach to ship design, namely, the UCL Design Building Block approach. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved