CAESES-The HOLISHIP platform for process integration and design optimization

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the approach taken within the European R&D project HOLISHIP to flexibly integrate and utilize software tools and systems of tools for the design, analysis, and optimization of maritime assets, primarily of ships. The tools and systems come from different developers, companies, and research institutes and, consequently, have been mostly used as stand-alone applications. The purpose of integration is to create (software) synthesis models that comprise many, if not all, key aspects that ought to be considered when working on a specific ship design task. Rather than proposing an all-encompassing single (monolithic) design system in a top-down approach, the idea pursued within HOLISHIP is to support bottom-up approaches, namely the ad hoc assembly of dedicated models that are fit for a specific purpose under the umbrella of a state-of-the-art computer-aided engineering (CAE) system, namely CAESES®. This CAE system will be elaborated in the present book chapter. The approach of tool integration will be discussed, and it will be shown how to replace time-consuming simulations by means of surrogate models. Examples taken from the design and optimization of a RoPAX ferry and of an offshore supply vessel will be given for illustration.