Overview
Ship Structural Design Optimization for Improved Producibility and Enhanced Life-Cycle Performance (2017-443)
Project Team:
- Fincantieri Marinette Marine,
- MAESTRO Marine
- P. Jaquith & Associates
- Ship Design USA
- SPAR Associates,
- NSWC Carderock Division Code 65
April 2017 – March 2019
NSRP ASE INVESTMENT: $999K
INDUSTRY INVESTMENT: $974K
OBJECTIVE:
The objective of this research was to develop a ship structural design and optimization modeling and simulation capability that shipbuilders will be able to utilize to enable ship structures to be holistically designed to meet structural performance and safety criteria, facilitate optimization for producibility, and simultaneously enhance structural life-cycle, in-service performance, and generate total ownership cost reductions.
SUMMARY:
This project showed that higher fidelity structural modeling combined with producibility-oriented design optimization will result in:
- Improved quality of ship construction
- Reduced costs during ship construction, modernization and maintenance
- Reduction in Total Ownership Costs (TOC) of ships for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard.
This research project created and demonstrated a Ship Structural Design & Optimization (SSDO) system with the capability to conduct structural design space exploration using full ship finite element analysis, failure mode evaluation and optimization of the ship’s global structure in the early stages of design to Navy standards in order to reduce weight, meet safety performance criteria, and reduce both production costs and in-service repair and maintenance costs.
KEY DELIVERABLES / BENEFITS
The project team accomplished the following:
- Demonstrated the effectiveness of structural optimization
- Demonstrated that a comprehensive evaluation of the ship structure’s performance versus design safety criteria can be automated
- Showed that shipbuilders can improve the producibility of the structure
- Demonstrated structural life-cycle monitoring and assessment
POINTS OF CONTACT: Charles Jackson | Fincantieri Marinette Marine | [email protected]
Tobin McNatt | MAESTRO Marine LLC | [email protected]
Key Deliverables:
Request Final Report from NSRP – Limited Distribution authorized to U.S. shipbuilding and repair industry.