An Inverse Design Procedure For High Speed Forms

Abstract

Due to modern effective missile and sensor systems high speed small to medium sized corvettes and frigates have become the main force in many navies. These craft are cheap alternatives to larger and more expensive conventional warships. However, being small brings its own problems, particularly in seakeeping performance in rough seas. Due to relative smallness in size these vessels must have superior seakeeping performance characteristics in order to carry out complex missions. In the design of these ships proper selection of main dimensions and hull form parameters will influence the operational effectiveness of the vessel. In order to achieve a balanced design an inverse design methodology is developed and applied to high speed small to medium sized vessels. This methodology is based on a direct search method and employs various hull form generation routines, seakeeping performance prediction programs as well as stability and resistance routines. Introduction The primary objective of a ship designer is to obtain the most effective ship that satisfies all requirements of an owner, such as payload, speed, and endurance as well as fulfilling certain safety requirements. Since the hull is the major element of the ship which provides form and structure and contains all other elements of the ship the effectiveness of the design largely depends on the degree of excellency of the hull form design. The design of a high speed vessel is basically a search for the least cost synthesis capable of delivering a required level of performance. Traditionally, it was considered that the best design was determined more by intuition based on the experience of the designer. However, modern weapon and Transactions on the Built Environment vol 5, © 1994 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3509