Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and boundary element methods are now well- established approaches to the numerical modelling of ships and[ds_preview] marine structures in general. As the simulation of fluid dynamics becomes faster, more accurate and reliable, the challenge to the numerical modellers is now to automate the design of marine structures, such as ship hulls and appendages, to optimize performance. Furthermore efficient optimization often involves a multi-step process, using a combination of numerical methods, before a final optimum design can be achieved. The success of automatic optimization strategies depends on choosing the right parametric variations, appropriate and efficient numerical methods and a suitable optimization algorithm. It is often useful to optimize a few important parameters first, at least approximately, before moving on to a full optimization of all the parameters.
Phil Stopford
